The Roma minority is one of the most disadvantaged groups in the Czech Republic. Roma children are often discriminated in terms of equal access to education, adults are limited to access the labour market, services or housing. It has been revealed that educated and active Roma individuals play an important role in tearing down the established stereotypes of the majority society. They also play a role as positive examples for their peers and younger generations. However, the participation of Roma in higher education is significantly lower than in the majority population and is much more depended on the social background and status of the family.

The aim of this program is to support selected Roma university students during their studies, as well as with their professional and personal development. The scholarship aims to help students to successfully finish their university studies and to enter to the labour market with the best possible CV.

The University scholarship program for Roma students has already been running for 5 years. During this period, The Open Society Foundation Prague has supported 20 students. The programme is based on long-term support, which is why the total number is not very high.

Students receive monthly scholarships based on their needs (the maximum is approximately 200 euros per month). 

Each student has the following obligations:

– 100 hours of volunteer work

– 100 hours of internship in a company/institution, etc.

– a language course of their choice

– to be in contact with their mentor

– to participate in 3 meetings a year for all the scholarship holders

Students are from different regions of the Czech Republic and they have various specializations – Psychology, Sociology, Pedagogy, Economics, Philosophy, Management…

We are proud that all of the current students have chosen to work with Roma children in their free time – mainly in their respective hometowns. For us this is the best output of the programme, because their examples are very powerful. We also encourage them to gain some experience abroad – via the Erasmus programme, there are also a summer school programs in the USA that are organised by Fulbright or internships in a range of European institutions.