Narratives4Change · Capitalising Public Narratives in the organising of Grassroots Roma Women
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2019-06-01 → 2022-05-31
- EU contribution
- €245,732
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Capitalising Public Narratives in the organising of Grassroots Roma Women
The Narratives4Change project is a 36-month research investigation consisting in two main phases: data collection and analysis in an outgoing phase (outside of Europe), and implementation of results in a return phase (in Europe). The first 24 months of the project (outgoing phase) were carried out at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), and the last 12 months (return phase) took place in Europe, at Department of Sociology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, Barcelona, Spain). The main goal of the Narratives4Change project is to study how the public narrative framework is being used for the development of individual and collective leadership in different areas of action (e.g.: advocacy/organizing in education, health, politics, etc.) and cultural and geographical contexts, to better understand how it enables individuals’ agentic action and their capacity to develop agency in others, enhancing organizational capacity. Doing this could in turn inform a twofold objective. First, to better understand how the use of public narrative impacts on individuals’ interpersonal relationships by means of enabling agency. And second, to explore how it impacts on creating new social realities. Drawing on the results obtained in the research phase at the HKS, the project seeks to contribute with novel knowledge on how public narrative can be adapted to the European context. More specifically, Narratives4Change aims at findings ways to inform how to advance in better organizing the Roma women movement in Europe, and in Spain.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
In contrast to what social imaginary portrays, Roma women are not passive in regard to the racial and gender-based discrimination they face across Europe. They participate in various forms of political and social activism through Roma women-led civic associations, slightly achieving more representation in higher structures of power. Despite on-going mobilisations, the Roma women’s movement has faced obstacles that prevented it from being better organised. Scant scientific literature has yet analysed how existing networks of solidarity, support, or respectful listening between Roma women and other non-Roma allies, can be turned into a better-organised movement and contribute to a better strategic process as a way to enforce Roma and Roma women’s fundamental rights. Conceived as a qualitative research, Narratives4Change project will study what has been theorised as “Public Narratives”, an effective leadership practice for community organising that is used worldwide. The project’s main goal will be to examine Public Narrative as a promising theoretical and practical model of the leadership practice and organising, inquiring on how when applied by civic associations it contributes to activate members’ agency and their strategic capacity to achieve social and political impact. Special attention will be granted to those civic associations working in the field of education, health and gender equality, mainly with at-risk social groups. Drawing on this analysis, Narratives4Change will contribute novel knowledge about the conditions that need to exist in order for the Public Narrative model be capitalised by Roma women associations in Spain, informing how to advance in better organising the Roma women movement in Europe. Its theoretical contributions are of major relevance for Europe in current times. It will unveil actions and strategies for the social inclusion of Roma and the empowerment of Roma women, thus suggesting ways of making EU funds more effective and impactful.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA · Cerdanyola Del VallesCoordinatorSpain
- PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE · CambridgeUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union