ternYpe European Youth Campaign

Aim
The ternYpe European Youth Campaign stands up for mutual respect and responsibility of ALL in ONE society.We stand up against extremism, antigypsyism, racism, stigmatization and discrimination in Europe. As young Roma and non-Roma we want to take responsibility and show through our commitment and activism that intercultural dialogue and mutual respect between Roma and non-Roma are real and possible.

Philosophy of ternYpe

We are a network of youth and youth associations, which creates space for young people to become active citizens through empowerment, mobilisation, self-organisation and participation. We believe in the common efforts by creating trust, and mutual respect between Roma and non-Roma youth.

Stigmatization and the negative perception of Roma

Roma are European citizens. Nevertheless, they face structural discrimination and are not accepted as equal citizens. Prejudices and stereotypes are widely spread and remain often unquestioned in the media, in politics and in society. Stigmatization of Roma and antigypsyism are some of the main causes of social exclusion. Especially many young Roma accept the stereotypes of the majority society as normal, reproduce them and are afraid to identify themselves as Roma. Striving for a better life for ALL in ONE society, we have to stress that not Roma are the problem, but their marginalization, discrimination and bad social situation. This campaign intends to promote a positive image of Roma as active citizens and to strengthen the Roma voice in order to stand up against discrimination and stigmatization.

Rise of extremism, racism and antigypsyism

Extremism, racism and antigypsyism is a problem of ALL in ONE society. We are strongly concerned about the current rise of extremism, racism and antigypsyism in many European countries: In the past years many Roma were killed in hate crimes, schools remain segregated, high politicians use Roma as scapegoat, governments do not take equal responsibility for their Roma citizens and racist and extremist parties became part of government bodies. This reminds us of the importance of Holocaust and Human Rights Education. We have to strengthen young people to develop a critical thinking and activism against populist, racist and extremist political movements.

"Be Young, Be Roma" - campaign to strengthen the identity of young Roma

The youth campaign seeks to strengthen the awareness of identity, critical reflection and self-confidence of young Roma, who often have difficulties with their cultural background because of the ongoing experience of discrimination and stigmatization. We want to challenge the stereotypes and prejudices and show the diversity of young people and their lifestyles by strengthening the visibility of role models, empowering young people to take responsibility and developing mutual trust and respect between Roma and non-Roma.