About
"I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow human." ~Sun Bear (Chippewa Tribe)
A blog on the progress of a current PhD action research project centered around the study of ghettoisation and self-organisation in Roma settlements -with particular focus on the Fakulteta neighbourhood, one of Europe's largest ghettos, in Sofia, Bulgaria
#urban planning #informal urbanism #social architecture #sociology #Roma #housing
e: Carmel.Sutcliffe@mymail.unisa.edu.au
School of Natural and Built Environments
University of South Australia
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"Attempting to liberate the oppressed without their reflective participation in the act of liberation is to treat them as objects that must be saved from a burning building."
Absolutely incredible article highlighting a study of the Walled City in my hometown of Hong Kong, by Canadian photographer Greg Girard and Ian Lamboth, who spent 5 years there learning about the city. Life without a government, self-regulated/sufficient/determined, a truly fascinating case study for self-organisation.
via @euronews ‘Reaching out to Europe’s Roma’ | 30 April 2012
The example of Kavarna, Bulgaria
"[T]he more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side."
Interesting extrapolation. Whether the employment of Roma will be in the formal or informal economy should be considered, as well as how the young Roma generation will enter the labor market as such.
http://sofiaecho.com/2012/04/09/1804762_roma-people-will-make-up-close-to-a-quarter-of-bulgarias-labour-market-in-2020
May 2012 see many more successes for the Roma people!
Decade of Roma Inclusion video: How to Multiply Roma Success Stories in Bulgaria? (2011)
26-year-old Dimitrinka from the Bulgarian village of Medkovets works as a health mediator and studies medicine. She says “the Roma issue” is like a contagious disease - the whole society wants to get rid of it. Success stories of Roma integration are possible only through education, Dimitrinka says. She is one of 1400 Bulgarian Roma students awarded scholarships by the Roma Education Fund (REF), which has received support from many donors, the Open Society Foundations and the World Bank among the largest.
Video: http://romadecade.org/how_to_multiply_roma_success_stories_in_bulgaria_2011