%T How governmental policies in the areas of education and digitalisation affect the Roma community in Northeastern Bulgaria?
%D 2022
%L theses_frw3929
%A P. Tsonev
%X This study investigates the effects of governmental policy in the areas of education and digitalisation on the Roma community in Northeastern Bulgaria. This was a mixed method study, employing in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a specifically designed questionnaire. However, the main conclusions were drawn by juxtaposing qualitative data provided by the interviews and quantitative data obtained through the surveys. The study showcased that members of Bulgarian society support the need for integration and inclusion of the Roma community into mainstream society. Education proved to be the main tool identified to ease this process. However, the Bulgarian educational system was found to be unfit to support the needs of marginalised communities. Several measures are proposed in order to deal with this issue. Moreover, the process of digitalisation in Bulgaria has been shown to be lagging behind, despite the increasing number of initiatives. Lastly, this study indicated that the Bulgarian society tends to recognise and value the skills of members of the Roma community. Nonetheless, there is a lack of governmental effort to foster the economic and social prospects of these skills.