BARVALO: Budgeting, Awareness, Responsibility for Valuable Opportunities

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The BARVALO: Budgeting, Awareness, Responsibility for Valuable Opportunities project strengthens the financial literacy of adult members of the Roma community and works to reduce their economic vulnerability and long-term dependence on social benefits. It starts from the recognition that low levels of basic literacy, distrust of institutions and the spatial isolation of settlements make it hard for adult learners to access existing adult education provision, which is why the project brings learning directly into the community – through mentors who are themselves members of it.

The main objective is to develop and deliver a financial literacy programme adapted to adult learners, covering personal and household budget management, saving on a low income, access to financial services, responsible borrowing, and recognising financial fraud and predatory lending. The programme draws on methods close to the way learning happens in the community – storytelling, personal narratives, visual and audio materials, and practical everyday situations.

The project provides for the training of 20 mentors (five from each partner country) who will deliver the programme in the settlements, the development of an online MOOC platform and open educational resources (OER) adapted to users with low digital literacy, and the production of a methodological handbook for mentors. The content will be available in seven languages – Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian and English, and two Romani dialects (Romani chib and Boyash). Piloting in four countries will reach at least 100 adult learners, and the project results will be translated into recommendations for including financial literacy in education and social policies.