The Fundación Secretariado Gitano is a Spanish non-profit social organization that works for the inclusion and promotion of the Roma community and culture at both the state and European level. The mission of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano is the integral promotion of the Roma community, from the attention to cultural diversity. Understanding cultural diversity, as an opportunity for coexistence and interaction between different cultures. This implies, on the one hand, the recognition and promotion of the gypsy culture and, on the other hand, the opening to other cultures that enable the creation of common and shared cultural spaces.
History
Its history dates back to the 1960s, associated with the origins of the Secretariado Nacional Gitano and local Secretariats, linked to the Catholic Church, specifically to the Episcopal Commission on Emigration, which promotes them through successive dioceses. But it was in 1983 when the Asociación Secretariado General Gitano was created, which later became the Fundación Secretariado General Gitano. In 2004, it changed its name to Fundación Secretariado Gitano.
Aims
It is oriented to the access of the gypsy people to the rights, services and social resources in equal conditions with the rest of the citizens. To do this, it carries out all kinds of actions aimed at improving the living conditions of Roma people and at promoting the recognition, support and development of their cultural identity. The FSG's work areas are Employment, Social Inclusion, Education, Health, Equal Treatment and Gender, Youth, Housing, Culture and International Cooperation. It has inclusion programs such as access to employmentand promotion of education. In addition, a work of awareness and social advocacy to improve the social image of gypsies and gypsies, with a whole series of awareness campaigns. It is chaired by the Léonese priest Pedro Puente Fernández, with a degree in Social Work and who has held different positions in the Episcopal Conference. Fernández is President of ACCEM and Founding Member of the FSG. He has received the Golden Cross of the Civil Order of Solidarity granted by Queen Doña Sofía as well as was appointed Prelate of Honor by the Pope in 2003.
Acknowledgments
In 2016, the Promociona program of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano received the National Education Award from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. The Promociona program seeks to promote the school success of Roma youth, for which it provides educational support and guidance to Roma students and their families. On January 1, 2018, the appointment of Sara Giménez, Roma lawyer and head of the Department of Equality and Fight against discrimination of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, as representative of Spain before the European Committee against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe, so that she became the first Roma to represent Spain before this Commission. Throughout its history - like its president and founder, Pedro Puente - the Fundación Secretariado Gitano has received recognition for its work from different bodies and institutions.
