Traveller Economy Sectoral Partnership
Pavee Feens Hawken [Traveller Men Working]
The Pavee Point EU funded EQUAL
Project Pavee Feens Hawken [Traveller Men Working] is due to end in
June 2005. The pilots which were run in Galway, facilitated by Charlie
Currie, Clondalkin facilitated by Helen Miller, and Pavee Point,
facilitated by Patrick Nevin have all come to a close. There
were overall 31 participants over the time span of the project with a
waiting list of more than half that again.
The projects aim is to develop a demonstration model for the engagement of Traveller Men which could be used by organisations in their work with Travellers.
A range of activities was organised in the three locations, depending on local need. There was also a core element which was agreed between the pilots
The men were involved group
meetings and individual sessions to identify potential self-employment
opportunities. All participants who accessed the FAS SAFEPASS training
were successful in the test and achieved passes which are essential in
order to obtain employment on building sites. Teleporter and driving
lessons, assistance to gain a D licence and driving theory tests have
been identified as useful skills. In Galway participants took
a computer course and in Pavee Point IT training was provided as a
method of enhancing literacy skills
A 12 session course in
Horticulture/ Garden maintenance was completed in both Clondalkin and
Pavee Point pilots which, was followed by basics DIY skills course.
FETAC certification was obtained for the Horticulture module and all
who submitted modules for assessment were successful.
As well as enterprise-related subjects the men have also been engaged in discussion on Traveller issues, attending ITM legal unit consultation workshops in Galway and Dublin, and the launch of the legal unit at the ITM AGM. Three-way meetings between the pilot participants were an essential part of the exchange of learning and networking opportunities fro the men.
During 2003 and 2004 4 Project Development Workshops were held. Two were in Galway, one in Clondalkin to support the work of the pilots in these areas and a major event was held in Croke Park in March 2004. The purpose of these workshops is to facilitate the exchange of information and learning and support relationships and networking between Travellers, Traveller organisations and key agencies and service providers both locally and nationally. To this end there have been three newsletters circulated with news updates of the project. Inn addition part of the project plan is to produce a video to document the activities of and disseminate the learning from the project, JDM productions from Galway were commissioned to work with the pilots. Filming took place over the duration of the project with the final video to be ready for distribution in 2005.
The Transnational Partners for
the project are UNISAT with projects from 7 regions of France who are
all involved with Traveller, Gypsy or Roma issues. Meetings
in both France and Ireland were held throughout the project and major
study visits to each country with the participation of Travellers were
organised. The group from Ireland which included participants all three
pilot areas as well as Development Partnership members and core staff
of Pavee Point, travelled initially to Toulouse in June 2004, to take
part in a seminar, and also to visit Traveller sites in the
region. This visit took place over a number of days and
meetings between French and Irish Travellers were facilitated by the
presence of an interpreter Simon Murphy who accompanied the group.
Later in the year, a smaller group travelled to Paris to give feedback
from the earlier visit and to view a DVD which had been mad in
Toulouse. The group had an opportunity to meet the French
development Partnership and also representatives from the French
Ministry for Social Action, the Council of Europe and the National
Consultative Commission for Travellers in France, amongst others. There
was also at this meeting a very moving address by Olga Spade a
Traveller woman who is involved in market trading in France whom we had
met when she visited Dublin. Inspired by the success of these
visits, our partners visited in February 2005 with a large group which
included 8 French Travellers who were hosted in Dublin by Pavee Point
and Clondalkin Travellers Development Group.
One of the key actions of the Transnational Cooperation Agreement was to develop the idea of a logo or quality mark which would be used to guarantee and identify Traveller goods and/or services. The debate that this concept generated was the underpinning debate during two residential workshops on the subject of ‘Identity’ which were held in the Glencree Centre for Reconciliation to which all participants were invited. These residentials were very successful and there was agreement that much important and thought provoking discussion had taken place. An important piece of research about work practice and organisation in Ireland and France was commissioned by the Transnational Partnership and is due to be launched in April 2005
The Development Partners of the Project are:
Pavee Point, Exchange House, Clondalkin Travellers Development Group
& Galway Travellers Support Group in partnership with FAS, the
National Training Agency, IBEC the Irish Business and Employers
Confederation, the Irish Trade Union Trust and the Finglas Cabra
Partnership
Each of the members of the DP plays an active role in the support and development of the project and will be responsible for the dissemination of the learning which will come from it.
For any further information about the project please contact:
Elizabeth Davidson, Project Coordinator, te@pavee.iol.ie
EQUAL Project
The Project will run until June 2005. For further information contact: Elizabeth Davidson
Contact us:
Project Coordinator te@pavee.iol.ie
