PROJECTS

FROM DAUGHTER TO MOTHER ROMA

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM IN ART EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

From Daughter to Mother Roma: May the Road Be (More) Long and (More) Proud” is an interdisciplinary project that explores the relationship between mothers and daughters within the Roma community. While Roma people as a whole face exclusion, Roma women experience it in multiple, often invisible, forms.

The project consists of three core actions, all carried out in the area of Nea Zoi, Aspropyrgos, Attica.

• An educational and artistic workshop combining word (poetry) and image (photography)
 • A coordinated medical, sociological, and anthropological research initiative 
• The creation of a digital data hub to host the outcomes of the artistic-educational workshops and the research findings on Roma women

EDUCATIONAL, ARTISTIC WORKSHOP IN POETRY AND PHOTOGRAPHY

“Roma Schoolgirls in the Circle”

Eleven 6th-grade Roma schoolgirls took part in a creative workshop focused on the mother-daughter relationship.
Through the “Circle of the Self”, they expressed personal elements, portraits, and short poems. In the “Circle of the Mother”, they captured photos from their family environment, reflecting their daily life and emotional connections.
With the help of poetry, photography, and voice exercises, the participants explored expression, storytelling, and the art of presenting their dreams and aspirations.

We warmly thank the school principal Matina Vouvouli, the teaching staff — especially Christina Rizaki, teacher of the 6th grade — and the entire school community. We are also deeply grateful to the Panhellenic Confederation of Greek Roma “ELLAN PASSE” for their valuable support.
Above all, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the eleven 6th-grade girls who participated in the workshop. Their work is featured in the printed booklet “Roma Schoolgirls in the Circle.”

Workshop Facilitators:
Maria Topali: Poetry Workshop

Marilena Stafylidou: Photography Worksho

Location:
7th Primary School of Nea Zoi, Aspropyrgos

Dates:
17 November – 1 December 2023

Participants:
11 students from the 6th Grade

CREATION OF THE DIGITAL DATA HUB www.roma-gen.gr FOR ROMA WOMEN

The digital data hub www.roma-gen.gr is a valuable and user-friendly platform designed for any public or private institution, researcher, or citizen who, like us, seeks to engage with issues concerning the Roma population. Our focus is especially on Roma women, as through the implementation of the interdisciplinary project — combining scientific, artistic, and educational dimensions — titled “From Daughter to Mother Roma: May the Road Be (More) Long and (More) Proud”, we became acutely aware of the depth of inequality and exclusion these women face.
In this initial phase, the hub hosts the results of both the scientific research and the artistic–educational workshops conducted with Roma women. At the same time, it archives data and documentation related to Roma communities in Greece, such as research reports, scientific studies, bibliographies, and media coverage. Looking ahead, the digital hub will also be able to host data and metadata related to key concepts and processes centered around the Roma daughter and mother — tracing the daughter’s journey toward selfhood, in continuous interaction with the figure of the mother.

MEDICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON ROMA WOMEN IN THE SETTLEMENT OF NEA ZOI ASPROPYRGOS

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Natassa Koutsouri, physician and Director of the 1st Internal Medicine Department at Errikos Dynan Hospital, and Dimitra Kondyli, social scientist and Research Director at the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE), collaborated closely with the workshop facilitators.
With the support of key community figures and Anastasia Mitropanou, social anthropologist and representative of ELLAN PASSE, the team conducted a complex questionnaire among the Roma women living in the Nea Zoi community.
The aim of the research was to record and analyze issues related to gender, education, values, attitudes, and social practices, with a particular focus on critical health-related topics such as contraception, vaccination, infant care, and elder care.

Scientific Research Team:
Dr. Natassa Koutsouri – Physician
Dimitra Kondyli – Social Scientist
Anastasia Mitropanou – Social Anthropologist