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THARA FACTSHEET

Facts and Information about the Volkshilfe Österreich labour market initiative

“THARA e Romengo than” for Roma and Sinti in Vienna, Austria.

THARA e Romengo than (2014-2015)

www.volkshilfe.at/thara

https://www.facebook.com/roma.thara

An overview of programs offered:

Workshops for women/girls

seeking employment after maternity leave, years of child-raising or first

time employment for younger women. The two workshops, one in spring

and one scheduled for autumn, comprise six workshop days within a

period of three months. The trainers are bilingual

and as Thara team members accompany the

workshops, the dialogue between participants and

Thara is intensive.

Aside from input and work groups dealing with

issues such as competence assessment, career

and job orientation, presentation skills, and finding

and applying for work, the participants have the

opportunity to profit from individual counselling

based on what they have learned in the workshops.

Many of the participants of the first workshop, which is due to finish at the end of June, need

support in writing CVs and applications as well as language training and basic computer

skills. Participants so far have applauded the idea of having time for themselves and

receiving guidance and support in making important decisions for their futures.

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“Lehrlingscafés”

(a Lehrling is an apprentice)

In these informal settings, young people

leaving mandatory schooling are informed

about various paths towards vocational

training, apprenticeships or further

schooling. The first “Lehrlingscafé” (3. June

2014) was well received and many young

people came to the event. Further follow-up

activities will be geared towards the

attendees’ interests and may include excursions to companies or a career information office.

The main objective is to help the youths make the right decision for their further lives by

providing them with the information and guidance they need. Participants may also make

appointments for individual counselling. The second “Lehrlingscafé” is planned for the

autumn.

Thara Biznis Club

This group of entrepreneurs and business

people meet regularly and exchange

information or engage speakers on topics such

as tax and legal issues, financial aid, business

planning, advertising and other relevant topics.

The picture was taken at the Business Club

Breakfast on 7 March 2014 to which only

women were invited due to International

Women’s Day.

Mario Grnja of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce speaks to the

youths attending the first Lehrlingscafé.

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THARA Biznis website www.thara-biznis.at

This website, which was initiated in 2011, is still in use

although THARA’s recent Facebook presence (since

2013) www.facebook.com/roma.thara seems set to

become even more popular.

The idea was to create a website for the Roma

communities in Vienna which includes a “Yellow Pages”

section, relevant information on work-related issues

(often in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian,) information for entrepreneurs and business people and

postings of up-coming events and links to other websites of interest.

A popular feature of Thara’s

Facebook page is the new

group which features

employment opportunities.

Facebook is also used to

advertise and report about

activities. In this screenshot,

pictures of the latest womens’

workshop are seen.

Individual job, career and education counselling

Clients’ needs and goals are extremely varied and range from help writing a CV and an

application, to support finding jobs (often online.) In some cases, overcoming hurdles which

prevent them from finding work have to be tackled. Also, the ability of Thara team members

to contact other institutions with which clients may have problems is helpful. Clients also

appreciate the fact that the counselling sessions are lengthier and more intensive than

elsewhere. In many cases, language skills pose the greatest problem for clients. Counselling

is offered in German, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Romanes and English.

Awareness-raising workshops for multipliers

This workshop which has been developed over a period of several years and has been given

for a large number of participants includes information about Roma history, language and

culture(s), traditional family structures and the situation of Roma in Europe today. The

structure and content of the workshop has been adapted to accommodate the interests and

questions of the participants. The trainers are THARA team members. The fact that Romnja

themselves are trainers is considered to be the most important positive aspect of these

workshops.

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Thara “Infotainment” Events

Infotainment events are an example of how

Thara is constantly working to reach out to its

clientele: these events combine important

information (mostly relating to employment

topics) and social gatherings.

Guest speakers are professionals and often

bilingual. After their input session, the

audience can ask them questions and exchange contact data. Often, members of the

audience make appointments to see the speakers at a

later date.

After the input session, there is often a concert or some

other form of cultural offering put on by members of Roma

associations with which Thara works together closely.

Thara “Community Work”

One of the pillars of Thara’s success has been the fact

that some of the original Thara team dating back to 2005-06 are still working in the project.

This has given the team members the opportunity to build up a reputation of reliability and

trustworthiness of Thara in the Roma communities over time. The fact that the team is made

up of Romnja and non-Romnja also contributes to its success. “Community work” is a

concept which was developed by Thara and consists mainly of various activities which

connect Thara to the target group. This can include communication, either personal or

through media, participation in events at which many Roma gather, social and informal

contacts but also cultivating contacts to the various communities from which Thara draws its

clientele. The basic idea driving the concept of “Community work” is that projects need to be

seen to be a part of the lives of the target group it is working for.

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THARA: General and background information

What Is THARA?

THARA is an initiative of Volkshilfe Österreich, an Austrian NGO. THARA’s main goal is to

promote and facilitate the integration of Roma and Sinti into the Austrian labour market.

Since 2005, there have been several THARA projects with a focus on labour market

integration. THARA has been active continuously since 2005. (See history)

Aside from counselling and advisory services, THARA has also realized a range of measures

such as intensive workshops for job-seekers and information events for its clientele. Thara

has engaged in “Community Work” (a networking and outreach program) and has been

active in informing mainstream, majority society players about the current situation of Roma,

their history and culture(s). These workshops have been instrumental in combating prejudice

and discrimination.

THARA has always been and still is a bi-cultural initiative, with Roma and non-Roma team

members working together to achieve the projects’ goals. An important factor in the success

of THARA to date has been this intensive and extremely productive intercultural work.

Who can take part in THARA’s programs?

All of THARA’s offers are open and free of charge for Roma and Sinti living in Austria,

regardless of their origin, religious or national background and regardless of which Romany

group they belong to.

In the last nine years, a total of over 1,300 participants have taken part in a wide range of

educational, advisory and informative activities.

What are THARA’s goals?

Roma and Sinti are Europe’s largest minority and have been discriminated, persecuted and

marginalized for centuries. It is against this backdrop that Volkshilfe Österreich took on the

responsibility for THARA and it has continuously worked to promote the understanding that

Roma and Sinti are an integral component of European society. THARA’s main aim is to

promote and facilitate the integration of Roma and Sinti into the labour market and to make a

stand against the discrimination and persecution of Roma and Sinti in Europe.

What are THARA’s most significant achievements?

The THARA projects have realized programs which are unique in Austria and innovative

even within Europe in that they take the ethnic and cultural diversity of the participants into

consideration while at the same time promoting and facilitating their career-orientation and

entry into the labour market. In this sense, THARA’s approach is unique and innovative as its

bi-cultural team members work together intensively to seek an ever deeper understanding of

the needs and goals of its clientele while at the same time connecting with labour market

experts and other policy makers. It is this role as a “connecting” bridge between stakeholders

which has contributed to THARA’s reputation as a reliable, innovative and effective initiative

both in majority society and among the various Romany communities.

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How is THARA financed?

The Volkshilfe Österreich project is financed by the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs

and Consumer Protection. In the current project, THARA e Romengo than, the

“Lehrlingscafés” are also financed by “Vielfalter”, an initiative of Western Union in

cooperation with the Intercultural Centre and supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry of

Education and Women's Affairs.

THARA history –a brief overview

2013 Thara Roma Biznis

Focus on entrepreneurship and

Thara “Biznis” Prize

2012 Thara Novi Vidici

Online-Business and Employment

Website www.thara-biznis.at

Start of “Infotainment” events

2011 Thara Romani Butji

Start of entrepreneurship and

awareness-raising workshops

Publication: Roma in the Working World

2010 Thara Beratung & Dialog

International conference “Romani Butji – Success Stories and Perspectives

of Roma and Sinti in the European Labour Market”

2007 - 2010 Thara Amarotrajo & Thara Roma in Transition

Focus on job-orientation courses for youths

2005 - 2007 Equal nEw_C_baselines / Initiative Thara House

Career-counselling, computer courses and networking in Roma communities

in Vienna, Trans-national conference with partners

Contact information:

Verena Fabris, project manager

verena.fabris@volkshilfe.at

Tel.: +43-676-83 402 220