INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassadors have been working to make inclusive education become a reality for all children, including Roma. Quality inclusive education benefits everybody and contributes to prosperous societies. 

The Inclusive Education Ambassadors Initiative is organised within the framework of the European Union and the Council of Europe Joint Project – Inclusive Schools: Making a Difference for Roma Children (INSCHOOL).
See the video below and learn more about the INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador initiative and the INSCHOOL project. 
 

 

Meet our inclusive education Ambassadors

 

Magdaléna Karvayová

Magdaléna Karvayová INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador from the Czech Republic, advocates for Roma educational desegregation nationally and internationally and is strongly involved in community organising on local level. In the video below, Lenka also shares her personal story and how quality inclusive education has impacted her life. In the video, Lenka also shares her personal story and how quality inclusive education has impacted her life.

 

János Orsos

For János, the most important is to have equal opportunity in education for all students, not to differentiate and segregate classes.
That is why he founded the Second Chance Secondary School, in the North-East of Hungary.  János devoted his work to fostering inclusion and countering prejudices to increase the opportunities of young people, including the Roma. 
 

 

Catalina Olteanu 

Catalina believes that, to reach inclusive quality education, it is important for teachers to accept children’s ethnicity, value cultural diversity and become allies for Roma children. She underlines that investing in Roma education is not just investing in Roma community; it is investing in society in general.

Learn more about Catalina’s dreams and what she is committed to in the video below.    
 

 

Mark Penfold

“Inclusive education is very simply where the school understands that children have different needs and it’s your job to meet those needs, not to tell the children that they have to find out their needs or that they haven’t got needs.”
Mark, INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador from the United Kingdom, is a former teacher with an extensive experience of teaching pupils who do not master the language of instruction, including Roma pupils. Mark is active in supporting other teachers on inclusive teaching practices internationally. 
Learn more about Mark and his work in the video.

 

Julius Mika

“Children shouldn’t be divided by ethnic minority, and they should get a chance to receive a high-quality education” 
Julius knows this from first-hand experience, as he was placed in a special school where the majority of the children were Roma. He is committed to making sure that other children receive education that he could not enjoy. In this video, he sheds the light on the consequences of segregation and the positive impact a quality inclusive education can have on social inclusion of all children, including the Roma. 

 

Bianco Coutinho

Bianca Coutinho, INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador from Portugal, is a recent graduate in International Relations. Having experienced prejudice and racism, she advocates for students from Roma communities in Portugal to continue their education. One day she hopes to open a school herself.  
Want to learn more about Bianca and her dreams? Watch the full video.

 

Ondrej Olah

"We want to learn, we can learn. Allow us to learn!” 
This is the statement of Ondrej Olah, INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador from the United Kingdom and the Slovak Republic. He was lucky to have support from teachers who believed in him and encouraged him to fulfil his potential, regardless of his ethnic or other origin. He underlines the importance of Teacher support in raising the self-esteem of pupils and their interest in education. 
See what Ondrej has to say about quality inclusive education in the video below. 

 

Manjola Veizi

Manjola Veizi, INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador, has been directly involved in litigation and community organisation activities on desegregation of Roma children. Manjola underlines that inclusive education is not just about increasing the number of Roma in schools, but also about ensuring that these children are learning. 
Want to learn more about Manjola and her work? Watch the full video below.  
 

 

Dóra Ónody-Molnár

“Roma and non-Roma children have to be in the same classroom, because we are building the same country and it is a fundamental thing to build a prosperous country”. 
Dóra Ónody-Molnár, INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador from Hungary and a committed journalist, writes about school segregation and equal opportunities for Roma children. Through her articles, Dora advocates against prejudice to minority communities and for inclusive pedagogy, regardless of the background.  
 

 

Israel Paródia

Israel Paródia, INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador from Portugal, is the first Roma medical student in Portugal to assume his ethnicity publicly! He is passionate about Roma inclusion and has become socially and politically active and vocal about inequality issues. Israel is a role model in segregated neighbourhoods where he promotes the benefits of education among young people and supports health literacy learning. 
See the video to learn about Israel’s work, dreams and issues close to him. 
 

 

Michal Sivák

“The world of each child concerns us, and they are not just another number in an excel table for us.”
Michal Sivák INSCHOOL Inclusive Education Ambassador from the Slovak Republic, is a teacher in a private elementary school for intellectually gifted children. Michal currently works extensively in promoting inclusive teaching practices. 
Want to hear more about Michal’s educational journey? Watch the full video