We wanted the educators to better understand Roma community, and thus to be able to better address concerns of Roma parents. We also wanted to alleviate distrust and misunderstandings between Roma community and institutions in order for children and young people to be in a more supportive and stimulating environment when they are at school or participating in youth activities.
Our aim was to make experience of Roma children and youth with educational (formal, non-formal, youth work) insitutions smoother than it currently is in all baltic countries, and to a degree, also in Finland. This need had been expressed both by the Roma community and the institutions that work with youth. In addition that, we wanted to give Roma organisations possibility to discuss different aspects of children and youth participating in the work of these institutions: to share their experiences, worries, brainstorm solutions etc. Ultimately, we also addressed the need to counteract stereotypes through a number of events that prompted people to communicate with each other and share their thoughts and experiences.