The STEP IN project

STEP IN is an acronym for Studying Training and Educational Paths for the Integration of young Roma. STEP IN was considered an appropriate name because it also means ‘to enter’, ‘to intervene’, i.e. to step in(to) society as citizens with full rights.

On the initiative of Caritas Ambrosiana as lead partner, 14 organisations committed to the plight of young Roma’s, have joined forces and committed themselves with the aim to increase school attendance and career prospects for young Roma kids between the ages of 13 to 18.
Studying Training and Educational Paths for the Integration of young Roma otherwise known as STEP IN is the result of this commitment. The project is supported by “Joint Actions Socrates, Leonardo Da Vinci and Youth Programmes" and it lasts from December 2004 to December 2006.
All project partners believe that education is one of the best ways to overcome isolation and the best-proven tool to integrate young Roma into the local community. Education should be seen as a tool to give the Roma access to the same chances as their peers, to develop mutual trust and to encourage them to become active and responsible citizens. The STEP IN project set out to find and test new and innovative ways for integrating young Roma into the national education systems.

The general basis of the project is formed by the educational package. The educational package was agreed between all project partners, it was than used by the partners to plan local experimentations. This educational package is meant as a flexible tool and was adapted by each partner to the local contest and to the target group.
The main seven partners in STEP IN are: Caritas Ambrosiana, from Italy, Caritas Bucharest and Asociatia Aproapele from Romania, Bulgarisch-Deutsches Sozialwerk from Bulgaria, Secours Catholique from France, Diecezna Charita Nitra from Slovakia, Cordaid from The Netherlands and Caritas Europa based in Belgium.

EU Programmes for Education
The promotion of intercultural education, countering social exclusion by providing support to disadvantages groups, is a priority of the European Union.

Roma-specific transnational projects have addressed various themes and areas, including school attendance levels and quality of education, intercultural education and dialogue, teacher training and Roma mediators, and the educational needs of Roma to improve their employability and ability to enter or re-enter formal education.

A range of transnational projects on Roma education and training are, or have been, supported in recent years within the Socrates (school, higher and adult education), the Leonardo da Vinci (vocational training) and the Youth Community Action Programmes.