'Welcoming Culture in Universities- Awareness of Gypsy Roma Traveller’s culture'

The project is funded by the QR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FUND 2019-20 and Coventry University Centre for Dance Research.

“Welcoming Culture in Universities- Awareness of Gypsy Roma Traveller’s culture” is new research activity working to bring together GRT and non-GRT academics and artists in partnership with policymakers, particularly to better understand local, regional or national challenges. The project will link to policy concerns regarding GRT students in HE and will enable the research team (Cisneros) to further existing research that is examining GRT in HE activities - e.g. scaling up the preliminary report, working on developing a network and host a symposium and an exhibition on the CU campus. The findings will directly feed into a follow up to the GRT in HE report that was drafted with Baroness Whitaker from Westminster.

Through a one-day symposium/workshop and an art exhibition the research team will draw upon its institutional expertise given the networks which already exist - e.g. work with NGOs, other UK universities and collaboration with local academics and artists. The project will provide more evidence in relation to the challenges facing young people before they can begin to access FE or HE and the art exhibition will explore themes around exclusion.

The goal of the project is for policy makers to engage with the research, with an end goal to influence political outputs.

Baronness Whitaker and Gill Brown (From House of Lords) engaging with my project and considering barriers faced by GRT in accessing Higher Education.