The Romanian LGBT community is challenged by stigma and discrimination in their own families, at their jobs, in the educational system and in their social life.
Research done by the National Council for Combatting Discrimination in 2013 shows that 60% of the Romanians wouldn’t accept a gay family member, 58% wouldn’t want to have a gay friend, 51% wouldn’t want to have a gay co-worker and 38% wouldn’t want a gay person to live in Romania at all. It’s for this reason that Semper Musica Associaton Romania developed the How I LOVE; How I WORK; How I LIVE; How I AM! project.
Through non-formal education sessions held in 4 high schools addressed to over 2,100 high school students, the project aimed to change the attitudes and perceptions of teenagers regarding the life of LGBT people in Romania. This coincided with the launch of a website called This Is Who I Am, portraying LGBTs in their daily circumstances. This shows that there are no real differences when it comes to how they love, live, work, their fears and expectations, but also the importance of having equal rights, regardless of sexual orientation.
Project results
- 100 workshops took place to fight LGBT stereotypes;
- 2,485 high school students in 4 different schools took part in the workshops;
- an educational website called This is who I Am was launched;
- A dedicated Facebook app was developed to give insights in LGBT stereotypes.
