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Professional Fellows from Europe in United States

12068645_852199188211823_8671911631801316222_oThe second delegation with a total of 18 fellows from Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia will visit the U.S. from September 29–November 13, 2015 to participate in joint trainings, round-table discussions, site visits, and will have interactions with U.S. leaders. A tailored internship with mentoring, multicultural events, and participation in volunteer activities as well as in the Professional Fellows Congress in Washington, D.C. also included in the 6-week professional fellows program. Participants will prepare a 6-9 month individual and group Action Plan for follow on activities. They have various opportunities to experience the American family life and the diversity in the U.S. through staying with American host families during their internship in Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Detroit, Michigan; and the rural areas of New Hampshire and Vermont, and Charleston, West Virginia.

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Anett Csordas – fellow from Hungary

AnettphotoMs Csordás is working as a voluntary director of her own association, called “Lépjünk, hogy léphessenek!” Non-profit Association. The association supports children, affected by celebral palsy and their families in the first place. It organizes courses and trainings for parents in several places throughout the country, in order to create self-helping communities, close to their residence that can do advocacy activities to help in the formation of an appropriate supply system not just in their region but in the whole country. Last year as a result of their successful community work a new surgery method could be brought to Hungary in a very short time that was only available in the United States. In addition the association cooperates with other organisations in order to help in the creation of a better health care system to make their life easier for those families who have to nurse their handicapped children at home because of the lack of the adequate institutional care. Moreover because of a bigger part of these families live under the bare necessities. What makes the association special is that it was founded and operated by affected parents in the country. The association organized several actions and demonstrations to put these problems into focus.

599201Ms Csordás was among the organizers of Rehab Critical Mass which was held in Hungary at the first time in 2014. This movement represents the social equality of disabled and handicapped people and attracts attention to their difficult situation.

Ms Csordás graduated as a Hungarian Cultural Manager(1995) and Director of Education( 1999) in Juhász Gyula Teacher Training College at Szeged. In 2000 she earned the title of Director of Drama Playing at The Hungarian Drama and Theatre in Education Association and in 2004 she earned the degree as a Specialist in drama playing at the University of Theatre and Film Arts.

Until 2005 Ms Csordás had been working on the field of drama pedagogy and Director of a Basic Art School, however, with the birth of her handicapped son she turned her interest towards social and handicapped issues. Experienced the difficult life of a family, raising a disabled child, encouraged her with several others with the same status, to found her association to make this situation better.

Chicago

Chicago

This is her first opportunity to visit the United States with this exchange program. Ms Csordás would like to get known succesfull organisations dealing with the situation of handicapped people. Gain experience in community organisation and learn how to achieve goals and aims that an organizations has planned itself before.

As an actual plan she is designing to found an inclusive school in Hungary and a rehabilitaion center where people afftected by celebral palsy in any age from 0 to 99, can receive supplies and support even if their financial status would not let them take part in it.

Ms Csordás is a mother of a special boy and a 21 year old girl who is attending to university. In her free time she likes visiting theatre and travelling or leading her own cooking school. Anett will have her internship at Access Living Chicago

Zuzana Balazova – fellow from Slovakia

zuzana_balazovaZuzana Balazova received her master’s degree in social work at the University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra in 2006. She is currently a PhD. candidate at the University of St. Elisabeth in Bratislava.

In 2001 – 2003 she started to work as teacher in primary school in Skalica. She was first Romani teacher in the town. She was teaching German language and History. In 2006 she was participated in political leadership program of National Democratic Institute. With other program graduates she founded the Roma Public Policy Institute (RPPI), which promotes policy solutions in such critical areas as education and housing issues.  As a member of the New Roma Generation NGO she participated in drafting proposals of state minority policies (2006). In 2007-2008 she worked for Milan Šimečka Foundation who was at the time monitoring how the Slovak government was fulfilling its program of Roma integration. In 2009, Zuzana started working with People in Need Slovakia on the project concerned with employment of Roma from social marginalized settlements. In 2011 – 2015, she cooperated with Centre for the research of ethnicity and culture (CVEK) an independet research institute dealing with the minority issues and human rights in Slovakia.

View_from_tower_of_church_st_michal_during_skalica_days

Skalica, Slovakia

Particularly, she was involved as Junior Research Fellow on projects concerned with inclusive education of Romani children, housing policy in Romani marginalized settlements and introducing affirmative action targeting Roma high-school and university students. In 2014 she was doing a research about secondary schools based near Romani marginalized settlements. Currently, she is working as social worker in primary school and she is implementing an inclusive education program. This program started in September 2014 and will end in June 2015.

In 2014 Zuzana founded with other friends non-profit organization called Roma advocacy and research centre (RAVS) in Skalica. She is chairwoman of RAVS and most of the projects issues are focused on the work in Roma community. The main aim of RAVS activities is to improve quolity of life in Romani settlements and to engage Roma from this settlements in the public life in the town. Therefore, Ms. Balazova could benefit from the GLC training later on, she can use all learned skills in the work in RAVS.

Ms. Balazova would like to work with Romani communities, especially with youth and women. She would like to educate next Romani generation how to exclude from poverty and to became equal partner for majority in Slovak society. She wants to be positive role model for youth and she likes help. She has very strong empathy, organizational skills and flexible mind.

She has been in United States as Roma delegate from Slovakia in ACYPL program in 2012.

In her free time, Ms. Balazova loves to learn and read books, walking around with her dog and spending time with her family. Zuzana will have her internship at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (Chicago)