On Roma Resilience for Students & Scholars

We are thrilled to launch On Roma Resilience for Students & Scholars, a mini-scholarship program that will match students and scholars eager to learn about the Roma topic with generous individuals who will support them to access the Roma Peoples Project 2021 educational festival.

Why is this necessary?

Since Roma studies are still marginal to mainstream academia worldwide, there are very few opportunities for students to access knowledge of Roma. Many students learn about Roma through professors or their own individual research, and many of them reach out to us for help with answering questions for their homework or providing more context to the articles they read. We are launching this pilot program to provide knowledge and guidance for students in a more structured way, and we believe that our festival events would be an excellent starting point for students to familiarize themselves with topics of relevance to Roma studies.

However, we understand that the $200 festival pass, which gives access to all events, could be out of reach for some students. Those who want to contribute to our fund for students have the option of sponsoring one or multiple students, or to sponsor part of a mini-scholarship for a student, which we will pair with support from another individual. Let us know if you choose to remain anonymous or if you would like to be connected with the student who will benefit from your generosity.

Who are the students benefiting from this?

To identify students who will receive festival passes, we are working with our extensive international network of professors and educators. They will nominate students with interests in Roma studies, human rights, social justice, global studies, mobility and displacement, and other related topics. We will recruit students from a variety of universities and from a variety of backgrounds, including Roma students. Scholarship recipients will attend a minimum of three live events, will have access to video recordings of all events, and will have the responsibility to share their impressions of the festival with us, as well as a thank-you note to the individual(s) who supported their mini-scholarship.

The Roma Peoples Project is committed to sponsor 50 mini-scholarships through the support we already received from our community over the past year, and we will be sure to reserve passes for others in our community who might find it financially challenging to purchase a pass. It is very important to us that we provide access to those who would like to join us and learn, and to make sure that the financial component is not an impediment. Our goal is to provide access to 250 students. Please join us in making the knowledge we produce accessible to 200 more students. It will take the Roma Peoples Project and the work we do to a remarkable new place, helping us connect with students who will shape the world we live in and challenge the misinformation and stereotypes that still prevail.

If you would like to support a student to attend our educational festival, please make your donation through the Columbia University giving portal.

Confirm your donation at romapeoplesproject@columbia.edu. We do not receive real-time updates on donations received through the Columbia University portal, so it is important to confirm directly with us.

We hope you will support us by contributing to our mini-scholarship fund and spreading the word about our festival. In 2022, we will also host a follow-up event where students and scholarship sponsors will connect.