Hearing the Voices of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities : Inclusive Community Development

"Over the past decade, interest in Gypsies, Roma and Travellers (GRT) has risen up the political and media agendas, but they remain relatively unknown. This topical book is the first to chart the history and contemporary developments in GRT community activism, and the community and voluntary organisations and coalitions which support it. Underpinned by radical community development and equality theories, it describes the communities' struggle for rights against a backdrop of intense intersectional discrimination across Europe, and critiques the ambivalent role of community development in fostering these campaigns. Much of it co-written by community activists, it is a vehicle for otherwise marginalised voices, and an essential resource and inspiration for practitioners, lecturers, researchers and members of GRT communities."-- Provided by publisher HEARING THE VOICES OF GYPSY, ROMA AND TRAVELLER COMMUNITIES Contents List of figures and tables Figures Tables Notes on contributors Acknowledgements Foreword The formation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller organisations in the UK Gypsy and Traveller accommodation policies List of abbreviations 1. Introduction Who are the Gypsies, Roma and Travellers? Social exclusion and counting Roma, Gypsies and Travellers Mobilisation and resistance through inclusive forms of community development ‘Inclusive community development’ Community development and cultural, social and emotional capital In search of empowerment 2. Pedagogies of hope: the Gypsy Council and the National Gypsy Education Council The formation and achievements of the Gypsy Council The Gypsy Council after Grattan Puxon The Peter Mercer era Achievements of the National Gypsy Education Council A new Gypsy politics? 3. ‘Ministers like it that way’: developing education services for Gypsies and Travellers Becoming involved Early beginnings The formalisation of national developments The fragmentation of advocacy The role of the Ministry of Education and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate Role of the Department of Education and Science and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate Community participation and involvement: ‘hearing the voice’ 4. Charles Smith: the fashioning of an activist Some reflections on Charles Smith 5. Friends, Families and Travellers: organising to resist extreme moral panics Who are New Travellers? ‘New age travellers? Not in this age! Not in any age!’ The impact of FFT 6. Building bridges, shifting sands: changing community development strategies in the Gypsy and Traveller voluntary sector since the 1990s Introduction The Traveller Movement and Friends, Families and Travellers: short histories The Traveller Movement Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) Gypsy and Traveller community development in context Developing skills and knowledge: effecting change Organisational practice Community impact Individuals Building bridges with services Advocacy Looking to the future 7. The Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition Background Origins and composition Organisational features Deliberative processes Collective frames End of the cycle 8. Below the radar: Gypsy and Traveller self-help communities and the role of the Travellers Aid Trust Introduction Origins and principles The different phases of the Travellers’ Aid Trust The importance and challenges of community development for Gypsies and Travellers Internal competition and structural challenges Community development and donor relationships Building solid national networks Financial squeezes and the Big Society The future 9. Gender and community activism: the role of women in the work of the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups Introduction Women and community development Women in Gypsy and Traveller communities Gypsy and Traveller women’s previous involvement in community activism The National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups The experience of women activists Conclusion 10. The Roma in Europe: the debate over the possibilities for empowerment to seek social justice ‘Canaries in the mine shaft’ A new beginning? Defining civil society Reviving civil society Education and scholarship Conclusion 11. Roma communities in the UK: ‘opening doors’, taking new directions The Roma Support Group Salford Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service Empowering Roma Cultural mobilisation Intercultural change and empowerment Strategic work Future dangers and hopes 12. Conclusion: in search of empowerment Praxis and obstacles to empowerment Social justice and identity Collectivity and empowerment Final reflections Appendix 1: Directory of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller organisations National Education, culture and history Local regional groups Legal advocacy Local authority liaison officers International Appendix 2: The numbers game Index The past decade has seen increased interest in, and attention to, the place of Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers (GRT) in both political and media circles, but the problems they face nonetheless remain relatively unknown. This book--much of it written by GRT activists--is the first to chart the history of and contemporary developments in GRT community activism, describing this community's struggle for rights against a backdrop of intense discrimination throughout Europe This book charts Gypsies Romany and Travellers community activism, and the community and voluntary organisations which support them. It describes the communities' struggle for rights against a backdrop of intersectional discrimination across Europe.emotional capital