What We Do

The organisation has been running since 2010. Our overall aim is to tackle the exploitation of the Roma community in Coventry and to advance their integration within the city. We harness the motivation and energy within The Roma Project in Coventry and build on its acknowledged reputation to create a strong and sustainable organisation with the capability needed to support the community to achieve those goals.

We build capacity for the Roma community in Coventry to have a voice and influence public authorities and highlight the issues and needs that are specific to the community:

discrimination and hate crime (much of which is currently un-reported);
exploitation that comes from a poor understanding of the systems and processes within the UK and communication difficulties;
high levels of poverty, poor health and substandard accommodation.

The Roma community we support have an origin country of Romania as well as Poland and the Czech Republic.

In 2017 we have supported many families and seen several cases that deal with a variety of issues ranging from employment, and education to health and social welfare. We facilitate social inclusion and see over 100+ hundred cases a month.

Some highlights include:

We use our experience of working every day with the Roma community to deliver training to professionals. We have delivered training to 227 professionals that include cultural awareness, the needs of the community and how best to engage with families and individuals to the following organisations:

– 2 days of training at Birmingham Police Training college. (140 attendees)

– 4 sessions with Coventry City police officers (60 attendees)

– 1 session with Wolverhampton police officer (20 attendees)

– 1 session with Chairs of Coventry Local Safeguarding Children Board (7 attendees)

– We have facilitated a visit by Faye Abbot, Councillor and Cabinet member for Community Development to meet with members of the Roma community in Coventry.

– Organised and facilitated a walk around the Foleshill area of Coventry where many Roma families live for the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police.

We continue to maintain a close relationship with the Romanian Embassy hosting a visit from the Ambassador (now has a new role as Romanian representative to the UN and remains supportive of the project) and two visits from the First Secretary, Home Affairs attaché and Social Affairs attaché to celebrate this partnership project with Coventry Law Centre.

IMPACT REPORT- May 2022

The project Steps to Empowerment and Improving Access to Mainstream Services (2018-2021) has been funded by The Big Lottery Fund to enable the Coventry-based charity The Roma Project to support capacity and capability building and sustain processes of social inclusion for the local Roma community. This report describes the results of an evaluation and impact assessment study which collected evidence by means of a community survey, internal documentation and interviews with charity staff and local service providers. The analysis considered how the project’s aims and targeted outputs and outcomes measured up against its achievements, giving careful consideration to the bearing of contextual challenges associated with the effects of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic on the local socio-economic and political environment. On this basis, it offers a detailed assessment of the project’s effectiveness, efficiency and contribution to long-term impacts on the Coventry Roma community, as well as remaining challenges and recommendations.

IMPACT REPORT- FEB 2018

The Roma Project is about to complete a 3-year project funded by the Metropolitan Migration Foundation (February 2015 – January 2018). An independent evaluator has been appointed to conduct an evaluation of the activities conducted by The Roma Project, which for the past 3 years spanned: building capacity for the local Roma community and enabling them to strengthen voice and autonomy for social, civic and economic participation; further dialogue and communication among the Roma community and the multicultural population of Coventry on the one hand, and public authorities on the other; and strengthen its own institutional capacity and workflows for providing timely, efficient and reliable support to the Roma community. The report will be published in February 2018 and made available on the Roma Project website

Visit from Romanian Officials to Coventry, UK (Sept 2019)

The minister of Romanians living abroad along with consulate officials visited Coventry, UK and the Roma Project came to meet local Romanian citizens to discuss more about their experience of living abroad. The Roma Project was delighted to facilitate this event and take part in the meeting.

The delegation included the following persons:

Natalia-Elena Intotero – Minister for Romanians living abroad

Andreea Berechet, consul general of Romania in Manchester

Daniel Duță – director general, Logistics and Electoral Resources Department, Permanent Electoral Authority

Ion Mincu Rădulescu – counselor, Department for International Cooperation and Public Relations, Permanent Electoral Authority

Raluca Stratulat, counselor to the secretary general, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Florin Ciornei, diplomat, Embassy of Romania in London

Marian Văduva, counselor, Ministry for Romanians Living Abroad

Iulian Iovan, clerk, Ministry for Romanians Living Abroad

Radu Alexandru – security detail

As a charity, we have strong links with organisations, services, universities and other charities in the country and abroad. We work closely with academics and other political entities to ensure that we are sharing best practices with others interested in the Roma community. We have collaborated on a number of local, national and international European projects and worked closely with leading thinkers in Higher education.

Some highlights include:

-The Erasmus+ Project Nefeli

–Erasmus+ RTransform: Roma Women transforming the educational systems around Europe through their social and political Mobilization

–Roma: Recycle Reuse Reimagine Project: Co-creation of a children’s book on recycling

–Urban Villages: The Growing Project

-SP Policy Funding GRT in Higher Education: Transforming Policy

–CEF EU-Funded WEAVE Project (Widen European access to cultural communities via Europeana)