There are several Roma settlements in Skopje: Shuto Orizari is one of the biggest in South East Europe with a population of about 25,000 people. Topaana has a population of around 5,000 and there are concentrated Roma populations in Gorche Petrov, Zlokukjani and Singelik.

Roma in these settlements face the challenges of poverty and unemployment that are, at least in part, the symptoms of discrimination and prejudice. Roma experience difficulties accessing their rights, while many remain unaware of them.

Many young Roma experience low educational achievement and/or no qualifications, mostly due to a low level of engagement with the education system. They face isolation, rarely venturing outside of their traditional neighbourhoods. Many young Roma have limited aspirations partly because of social and political passivity; as a consequence they have relatively little information about the opportunities for personal and social development. There is a lack of positive role models. Many lack social competences. There are also early marriages that affect many of the young people.

This situation is aggravated by inadequate access to and/or knowledge of health services, their rights, and public or social resources.

In order to support their families financially, many young Roma engage in the same type of work as the rest of their immediate family: working at the clothes market, collecting recycling materials, and so on.

Sumnal was established in 2004 and is based in Topaana, Skopje. Their work with young Roma people is one of their priorities. Sumnal’s work is in the fields of education, advocacy, generating access to health education and services, prevention of domestic violence, and promoting children's rights. The organisation is one of the founding members of the National Youth Council.

The Roma Youth Information Club (RYIC) was a project implemented by the Association for Roma Community Development SUMNAL. It was conducted between 2010 and 2011 in Skopje. It was initiated and co-ordinated by Elez Bislim, who was took part in the first edition of ENTER! Long-Term Training Course of the Council of Europe.

The RYIC targeted Roma young people aged between 13 and 18. Its aim was to improve the competences of young Roma to gain access to rights and to develop their capacity to access social resources.

This was achieved through providing advice and information, counselling, peer education, guidance about employment and health services, and opportunities for personal and social development. The project also provided access to leisure-time activities. There were practical workshops addressing the needs of the local young Roma. These included continuing education, finding employment, and accessing social / human rights. Experts from the institutions were involved in the delivery of workshops, while others provided consultations relating to their personal and organisational experience.

The project as a whole established links between Sumnal and the local employment services and social services. It was also able to establish a wide range of partnerships, consultations and co-operative relationships with a variety of institutions and organisations at both local and national levels. These included: the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Centre for Social Work, the Ministry of Education and the Employment Agency.

Around 300 Roma young people took part in the project. Evidence of the increased competences of this group was established by many of them achieving better access to services and social rights. They were also engaged in learning about their rights, and the work and responsibilities of the state institutions. In the summer of 2013 a camp was organised for young Roma, focusing on human rights education.

Based on the experience and the outcomes from the original RYIC, Sumnal lobbied the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy for support, and, as a result, premises for a Roma Youth Information Club were opened in the Topaana settlement. The Club provides information about public services and available social and economic opportunities that are intended to foster the integration of Roma into mainstream society. Information on the implementation of the activities related to the National Strategy for Roma and Decade of Roma Action Plans is also available.

Roma young people from four different settlements of Skopje participated in the project. Roma youth participation in this project was a priority because it was based on peer education. The core group of young people involved would be the ones to inform their peers and raise awareness within their neighbourhoods about rights and access to services. The project would work with up to 100 other young Roma, between the ages of 13 and 18, in a series of workshops.

Six Roma young people were initially supported in their participation by being trained. They were trained to be the co-ordinators and implementers of the project. They worked alongside representatives from the organisation Sumnal. They participated in meetings with social service organisations and with the institutions collaborating with the project. This created opportunities for the core team of young Roma to learn more about these institutions and organisations, as well as the aims and scope of the work they were taking on. Co-operation with the authorities was crucial in facilitating effective access to social rights and public services for Roma young people. This was an important factor in enabling the means to participation for themselves and for other young Roma in the community. They learned how to complete application forms in order to assist their peers or other Roma from the settlements; this included applications for scholarships, forms to access social services, and so on.

The team of young Roma designed and implemented six workshops on different social rights, including education, employment, access to health, and social issues. They were also responsible for the selection of the experts to be invited to speak at the workshops. Roma young people working as peer educators were effective in motivating others to participate. It was also noted that these young Roma became positive role models for their peers.

The main thrust of the project was the dissemination of rights information and details of how to access a variety of public services. The dissemination of information was a key step in participation, not just for the young people but also for the whole Roma community. This action opened doors for Roma people to play a more active role in their own localities. The Roma young people who were central to this process demonstrated their capacities and potential to play an active role in the integration process.

Consciousness of equality of rights and access to rights and leisure services has been and continues to be enhanced. Knowledge of leisure-time activities in the wider society can draw young Roma to look beyond their traditional settlements and so enhance their social inclusion and competences.

Another aspect of the participation of the young people was that it heightened the visibility of young Roma and Roma youth issues. The project was able to engage with Roma Youth Day, which raised the levels of general awareness of the situation of Roma and their culture. The process also managed to increase visibility of Roma youth issues among the larger Roma community.

The RYIC continues to provide activities. Some of the young Roma who were active participants are now volunteers in the project, a clear demonstration of its sustainability. They are now providing support activities, guidance and advice, and helping to organise educational activities.

The outcomes of the project are numerous: six trained young Roma as peer educators; the successful running of six workshops by the young people; the young Roma population from the various settlements taking part in leisure-time activities outside of the settlements; a decrease in the level of unemployment among the young Roma; ongoing provision of information and counselling for young Roma and other Roma on accessing services. In addition, fifty people received scholarships from the Roma Education Fund and the Ministry of Education; 10 families were consulted about receiving documentation and social welfare support; 15 people received vocational training and support with finding work; 23 people enrolled on a job application writing course; 10 young people between 13 and 19 received immunisations; approximately 300 people increased their competences through this project.