Devblog: On Roma

Devblog on the Ethnic Group Roma

Here is a compilation of Devblog articles that address the ethnic group Roma. Several of the articles are outputs of projects in Bulgaria and Norway that received funding from the EEA and Norway Grants, and that I wyas involved in as a representative of Norwegian partners, namely the NGO CBNRM Networking and the consulting firm Supras Limited.

Earlier versions of some of the articles have been published elsewhere. Most of the articles are in English, with a couple in Norwegian. The address a number of issues, including: advocacy, appropriation of cultural property, capacity development, human rights, development cooperation, ethnic groups, evaluation, health, inclusion, minorities, monitoring, Roma (largely from Bulgaria and Romania).

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(12)  EEA and Norway Grants: donor country partners
URL: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/eea-and-norway-grants-donor-country-partners
Date: 11 November 2022.
About: The role of Norwegian donor country partners in the EEA and Norway Grants, and the relationships between Norwegian donor country partners. 

(11)  Poland and Norway: transparency and trust
URL: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/poland-and-norway-transparency-and-trust
Date: 9 March 2021.
About: On transparency and trust in a partnership between a Norwegian and a Polish NGO that discussed a possible joint project proposal to be submitted to the EEA and Norway Grants. 

(10)  Kristiansand: Roma og utviklingshjelp
URL: https://devblog.no/no/article/kristiansand-roma-og-utviklingshjelp
Dato: 12. februar 2021.
Om: (i) Denne artikkelen handler om Roma tiggere i Kristiansand, (ii) En artikkel med tittelen "Sanitærbrakka vil ikke fungere" ble trykket i Fædrelandsvennen, 25. april 2012, (iii) Teksten ble delvis endret, mens tittelen "Roma, Kristiansand og utviklingshjelp" ble endret, (iv) Teksten i denne artikkelen er den opprinnelige (med noen få endringer), mens tittelen er laget for denne artikkelen.

(9)  Bulgaria: Roma in the penitentiary system
URL: https://devblog.no/en/article/bulgaria-roma-penitentiary-system
Date: 15 September 2020.
About: (i) This article presents aspects of a project that I implemented together with a Roma NGO in Sofia, Bulgaria, (ii) The project received funding from the EEA and Norway Grants.

(8)  EEA and Norway Grants: my project portfolio
URL: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/eea-and-norway-grants-my-project-portfolio
Date: 30 November 2018.
About: Presentation of all projects with funding from the EEA and Norway Grants that I have worked on. 

(7)  Romfolk: på an igjen
URL: https://devblog.no/no/article/romfolk-pa-igjen
Dato: 26. august 2018
Om: Artikkelen ble skrevet i april 2017 som en kommentar til en pågående debatt i Fædrelandsvennen om Roma tiggere. Den ble ikke sendt inn.

(6)  EEA and Norway Grants and evaluation
URL: https://devblog.no/en/article/eea-and-norway-grants-and-evaluation
Date: 27 June 2018.
About: This article is a longer version of a comment contributed to EEA and Norway Grants' Facebook page on 18 June 2018. It is relevant in this context because a number of projects that were financed by this grant scheme and that I have worked on addressed Roma.

(5)  Appropriation of indigenous cultural property
URL: https://devblog.no/en/article/appropriation-indigenous-cultural-property
Date: 31 March 2018.
About: This article is relevant in this context because the same thing happens with Roma cultural traits in the area of music.

(4)  Roma and health awareness 2
URL: https://devblog.no/en/article/roma-and-health-awareness-2
Date: 24 September 2016.
About: (i) This article presents aspects of a project I implemented with Medical University Plovdiv that focused on providing public health information to Roma, (ii) The article is slightly revised from the original, published on LinkedIn Pulse on 24 September 2016, at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/health-awareness-training-among-roma-bulgaria-lars-soeftestad, (iii) The project was discussed in the article "Agder og internasjonalisering" (https://devblog.no/no/article/agder-og-internasjonalisering), published in the regional daily newspaper "Fædrelandsvennen" on 24 September 2016, (iv) Cf. image and article no. 3.

(3)  Roma and health awareness 1
URL: https://devblog.no/en/article/roma-and-health-awareness-1
Date: 16 September 2016.
About: This article presents aspects of a project I implemented together with Medical University Plovdiv that focused on providing public health information to Roma (cf. image and article no. 4).

(2)  Train or be trained vs eat or be eaten
URL: https://devblog.no/en/article/train-or-be-trained-vs-eat-or-be-eaten
Date: 28 August 2016.
Notes: (i) This article is adapted from a comment published on my Facebook page on 27 August 2016, (ii) It addresses training I was involved in as part of a project implemented by Medical University Plovdiv. One of my tasks was to give training to medical staff at the university on Roma culture, values, and social organization.

(1)  Ethnographic film and advocacy
URL: https://devblog.no/en/article/ethnographic-film-and-advocacy
Date: 31 July 2016.
About: (i) This article presents a film project I was involved in that addressed Roma in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Lars T. Soeftestad

Notes
^1/  Image credit: Supras Limited. About: Overhead chart, from training given to staff at Medical University Plovdiv (Pamporovo, 8-10 August 2016; see nos. 3 & 4 above).
^2/  Relevant Devblog articles: "Devblog: on Roma" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/devblog-roma  |  "Bulgaria: Roma in the penitentiary system" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/bulgaria-roma-penitentiary-system  |  "EEA and Norway Grants and evaluation" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/eea-and-norway-grants-and-evaluation  |  "Roma and health awareness 2" at: https://devblog.no/en/article/roma-and-health-awareness-2  |  "Roma and health awareness 1" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/roma-and-health-awareness-1  |  "Train or be trained vs eat or be eaten" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/train-or-be-trained-vs-eat-or-be-eaten  |  "Ethnographic film and advocacy" at: https://devblog.no/en/article/ethnographic-film-and-advocacy  | 
^3/  Further relevant Devblog articles: "EEA and Norway Grants: Evaluation of own projects" (to appear)  |  "EEA and Norway Grants: donor country partners" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/eea-and-norway-grants-donor-country-partners  |  "Poland and Norway: transparency and trust" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/poland-and-norway-transparency-and-trust  |  "EEA and Norway Grants: my project portfolio" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/eea-and-norway-grants-my-project-portfolio  |  "Minorities, human rights, and political activism" at: https://devblog.no/en/article/minorities-human-rights-and-political-activism |  "Anthropology and development cooperation" at: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/anthropology-and-development-cooperation
^4/  Permalink: https://devblog.no/en/article/devblog-roma
^5/  This article was published 18 March 2021. It was revised 21 February 2023.