"Roma ethnic minority, also called the Romani people and sometimes as gypsies (usually in derogatory way), have one of the most dramatic histories in Europe and worldwide. The Indian origin of Roma as advocated by linguists since the 18th century, based on similarities between the Romany language (referred also as Romanes or Romani) and the Sanskrit (Achim, 2004), is now widely accepted. Although the precise region of the Indian sub-continent which Roma originated and migrated from to Europe remains elusive, genetic linguistic, historical and anthropological findings suggest that their migration started from Central India, to the Northern India, then transiting Persia and Armenia and travelled towards the Byzantine Empire and Asia Minor, and finally to Greece (Kenrick, 2007). The precise time when the journey started is also uncertain. Historical records indicate that Roma first came to work in Persia sometime between 224-241, and were either brought or deported to the Arab Empire at the start of 661, reach Constantinople in 1050, and then were in Greece in 1290. They then continued to Eastern Europe and Balkans (arriving in Serbia in 1348, Croatia in 1362, Bulgaria in 1378, Romania in 1385), followed by Central and Western Europe (arriving in Germany in 1407, France and Switzerland in 1418, Belgium in 1419, Holland in 1420, Italy in 1422, Spain in 1425, Hungary in 1489, and England in 1513; see Kenrick, 2007, for a comprehensive chronology of Roma history)"--

The current volume presents new empirical data on well-being of youth and emerging adults from a global international perspective. Its outstanding features are the focus on vast geographical regions (e.g., Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America), and on strengths and resources for optimal well-being. The international and multidisciplinary contributions address the complexities of young people’s life in a variety of cultural settings to explore how key developmental processes such as identity, religiosity and optimism, social networks, and social interaction in families and society at large promote optimal and successful adaptation. The volume draws on core theoretical models of human development to highlight the applicability of these frameworks to culturally diverse youth and emerging adults as well as universalities and cultural specifics in optimal outcomes. With its innovative and cutting-edge approaches to cultural, theoretical and methodological issues, the book offers up-to-date evidence and insights for researchers, practitioners and policy makers in the fields of cross-cultural psychology, developmental science, human development, sociology, and social work.

This handbook examines positive youth development (PYD) in youth and emerging adults from an international perspective. It focuses on large and underrepresented cultural groups across six continents within a strengths-based conception of adolescence that considers all youth as having assets. The volume explores the ways in which developmental assets, when effectively harnessed, empower youth to transition into a productive and resourceful adulthood. The book focuses on PYD across vast geographical regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and Latin America as well as on strengths and resources for optimal well-being. The handbook addresses the positive development of young people across various cultural contexts to advance research, policy, and practice and inform interventions that foster continued thriving and reduce the chances of compromised youth development. It presents theoretical perspectives and supporting empirical findings to promote a more comprehensive understanding of PYD from an integrated, multidisciplinary, and multinational perspective.

Right to Remember is a self-contained educational resource for all those wishing to promote a deeper awareness of the Roma Genocide and combat discrimination. The handbook is based on the principles of human rights education, and places remembrance as an aspect of learning about, through and for human rights. Strengthening the identity of Roma young people is a priority for the Roma Youth Action Plan of the Council of Europe. This implies the creation of an environment where they can grow up free from discrimination and confident about their identity and future perspectives, while appreciating their history and their plural cultural backgrounds and affiliations. The Roma Genocide carried out before and during the Second World War has deeply impacted on Roma communities across Europe and plays a central role in understanding the prevailing antigypsyim and discrimination against Roma. Learning about the Genocide is very important for all young people. For Roma young people it is also a way to understand what was perpetrated against their communities, and to help them to com to terms with their identity and situation today. Involving young people, including Roma youth, in researching, discussing and discovering the meanings of the Roma Genocide is a way to involve them as agents and actors in their own understanding of human rights and of history. Right to Remember includes educational activities, as well as ideas for commemoration events, and information about the Genocide and its relevance to the situation of the Roma people today. It has been designed primarily for youth workers in non-formal settings, but it will be useful for anyone working in education, including in schools.

Jekatyerina Dunajeva explores how two dominant stereotypes—“bad Gypsies” and “good Roma”—took hold in formal and informal educational institutions in Russia and Hungary. She shows that over centuries “Gypsies” came to be associated with criminality, lack of education, and backwardness. The second notion, of proud, empowered, and educated “Roma,” is a more recent development. By identifying five historical phases—pre-modern, early-modern, early and “ripe” communism, and neomodern nation-building—the book captures crucial legacies that deepen social divisions and normalize the constructed group images. The analysis of the state-managed Roma identity project in the brief korenizatsija program for the integration of non-Russian nationalities into the Soviet civil service in the 1920s is particularly revealing, while the critique of contemporary endeavors is a valuable resource for policy makers and civic activists alike. The top-down view is complemented with the bottom-up attention to everyday Roma voices. Personal stories reveal how identities operate in daily life, as Dunajeva brings out hidden narratives and subaltern discourse. Her handling of fieldwork and self-reflexivity is a model of sensitive research with vulnerable groups.

Thirty years after the collapse of Communism, and at a time of radically diverse kinds of identity politics, including anti-migrant, anti-Roma, anti-Muslim and anti-establishment movements, this book analyses how Roma identity is expressed in contemporary Europe. From backgrounds ranging from political theory, postcolonial, cultural and gender studies to art history, feminist critique and anthropology, the contributors reflect on the extent to which a politics of identity regarding historically disadvantaged, racialized minorities such as the Roma can still be legitimately articulated. In part, the contributors argue, the answer lies in a movement beyond classic identity politics and any opposition between essentialism and constructivism.

Considering research, practice, and policies on opening pathways to overcome educational disparities, this book offers new quantitative and qualitative evidence to introduce a multi-level theory on how youth navigate across the cultural worlds of their families, schools, peers, and community programs to access academic opportunities.