Gypsy film gets European airing

11:20am Sunday 27th July 2008

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Students from Monkton School have been showing off their film-making talents on a recent trip to the European Parliament in Brussels.

Hosted by Plaid MEP Jill Evans, the visit was made possible by the Priory Project, which provides education and support for secondary school-aged gypsy children.

An informative DVD in which the young people share their views and experiences, was made with support from the Welsh Assembly Government and Save the Children, which also helped fund the visit to Brussels.

The party was led by project leader Bev Stephens and headteacher William Rees. Children heard from Belgian MEP, Els de Groen; Caroline Mooney of the Welsh Assembly and Livia Jaroka, the first Romany gypsy MEP to be elected.

Presentations were made by Caroline Mooney, of the Assembly’s social inclusion department, and Ant Edwards, of Save The Children. Priory Project pupil, Kirby Jones, also spoke to the MEPs about the work being done in Pembrokeshire.

Jill Evans MEP said: “I learned a lot from meeting these young people. They were impressive advocates for the gypsy traveller community and presented first hand evidence of their experiences and the challenges they face.

“The European Union now has a Roma Inclusion Strategy, but there is still a lot of discrimination.

“These young people were very interested in the work of the European Parliament. It is refreshing to see young people from Wales taking the lead with a groundbreaking project like this.”

She added: "I have asked for a copy of the DVD and will show it to my colleagues. This project has my wholehearted support.”