A Shared Brainstorming Process to Build a Stakeholder Survey on Adult Roma Inclusion

 

The stakeholder survey developed within the Erasmus+ KA210-ADU project “Educational Perspectives: Understanding the Needs of Adult Roma” is the result of an international brainstorming process involving the four partner organisations of the project.

The project is funded through the Tempus Foundation – National Erasmus+ Agency of Serbia and involves partners from Serbia, Türkiye, Portugal and Italy:

• ROMAG – Serbia, project coordinator;

• T.C. Eskişehir Aile ve Sosyal Hizmetler İl Müdürlüğü – Türkiye;

• Agrupamento de Escolas Martim de Freitas / AEMF – Portugal;

• Associazione Stigmamente – Arte, Media e Psichiatria sullo Stigma e la Diversità – Italy.

The questionnaire was not created as a top-down tool. It emerged from a gradual process of discussion, comparison and refinement among the partners. Each organisation contributed from its own specific experience and professional background.

The questionnaire (italian version) is available here:

https://forms.gle/NyLtAThKxGRmjgA87

Through this survey, the project partners aim to collect useful evidence and reflections to better understand how adult Roma inclusion can be supported through education, employment and more aware social perceptions.

The Serbian partner, ROMAG, contributed direct knowledge of the needs of Roma communities, highlighting concrete social, educational and employment-related issues affecting adult Roma.

The Portuguese partner, Agrupamento de Escolas Martim de Freitas / AEMF, brought the perspective of the school environment, based on experiences developed with students, educational pathways, participation challenges and school-based inclusion practices.

The Turkish partner, T.C. Eskişehir Aile ve Sosyal Hizmetler İl Müdürlüğü, contributed reflections related to traumatic experiences, relational vulnerability and bullying. These themes are also connected to another ongoing Erasmus+ KA210 project, and they are highly relevant when analysing exclusion, vulnerability and access to education.

The Italian partner, Stigmamente, contributed its twenty-year experience in the field of psychometric and evaluative tools, with a specific focus on collective social perceptions, stigma, diversity, communication and inclusion.

The construction of the survey followed several steps. First, each partner prepared documents, reflections and proposals based on its own field experience. These materials helped identify key themes such as adult education, employment, digital skills, institutional trust, discrimination, social barriers and community participation.

After this first phase, the partners held a web meeting to discuss the different proposals. During the meeting, each organisation explained the reasoning behind its suggested questions, the methodological logic adopted and the priorities emerging from its local context.

The process continued through individual review of the dossiers and further exchanges by email. Partners discussed the strengths and limits of different items, shared arguments in favour or against specific questions, and progressively refined the structure of the survey.

This collaborative process made it possible to develop a tool that is not merely the sum of different national perspectives, but a shared instrument built through dialogue among community, educational, social, institutional and evaluative approaches.

The survey is anonymous and addressed to stakeholders working in adult education, schools, social services, employment services, NGOs, public institutions and community-based organisations.