Project The Making

A Gypsy’s Wish was launched on the 23 January 2004 at the Ipswich UGC cinema. Here are some of the main areas that were integral to making this drama:

Facilitation Training

To help with audience interaction in the film, a facilitating skills course was run by the very experienced Chris Sharpe. This gave two Romany Travellers – Silvie Parker and Pam Allum – the skills to host very exciting discussions after each showing of A Gypsy’s Wish.

Risks

As this is the first time such a Project has been attempted, the risks of running it were fairly high. The initial funding arrangements were on a small scale as no one was really sure how far such a venture could be taken. A scoping exercise was undertaken with the Romany community where it came to light that they wished to be very heavily involved in the Project.

As the Planning Group was unsure about the outcomes, it focused on developing a high level of trust and support with the Romany community. This meant that the Project went in the right direction for the Traveller community, and stayed close to its initial aims. The results of the scoping exercise also meant the Planning Group were able to secure funding for the production of a video, along with a programme of seminars.

Timeline

  • Sept 2002 3 short films released by Dan Allum, including one on Gypsy life
  • Spring 2003 Start of Project planning group meetings
  • Oct 2003 Two pilot sessions.
  • Jan 2004 Project launched by the Leader of Suffolk County Council and Pete Mercer, Secretary General of East Anglia Gypsy Council
  • Feb 2005 Final seminar out of 10, reaching over 450 people including 150 Travellers
  • Feb 2005 Evaluation session responding to national feedback – need for sharing, Learning and agreement to develop website

    • Trust

    A major factor in making this Project successful was working through the fact that many Travellers find it hard to trust those from outside their culture.

    The Project planning group deliberately allocated time during the initial 6 months:

  • For a scoping exercise; and
  • To build up a level of trust between the Romany and local government representatives which would allow the Project to achieve its aims

    • From this it emerged that Travellers, especially those from the older generation, feel that every time they have tried to mix or have allowed people outside their community a glimpse into their way of life they have either been taken advantage of or their trust has been abused in some way. It was also realised that Travellers are sceptical about working with the media.

    As the Planning Group was unsure about the outcomes, it focused on developing a high level of trust and support with the Romany community. This meant that the Project went in the right direction for the Traveller community, and stayed close to its initial aims. The results of the scoping exercise also meant the Planning Group were able to secure funding for the production of a video, along with a programme of seminars.

    Funding

    Many different organisations came together to help facilitate this worthwhile scheme. Funding for the Project was broken down as follows:

  • Prosper Scheme £15,453
  • Suffolk County Council £6,000
  • Children’ Fund & SCC £3,300
  • SCC for website £3,000

    • Consultation

    The initial stage of the Project was an intensive scoping exercise carried out by Dan Allum, Silvie Parker and Pam Allum. About 50 interviews with young Romany Travellers took place, the results of which led to the Project becoming focussed on themes that were of interest to the community. Importantly, it also helped to define possible sources of funding by realizing what direction the Project should take.

    Flexibility

    A main aim of the Project was to be flexible and build on the new relationships. One way to do this was to make sure the Romany community was able to feedback at every stage and have their suggestions noted.