Reducing Romaphobia and Conflict in France with the Contact Hypothesis

The assignment is to create an intervention to reduce conflict, prejudice & stereotyping that meets the 4 conditions of the contact hypothesis and explain it to the leaders of the two groups (French & Roma). Since the leaders are not familiar with the contact hypothesis, as part of your program you will have to teach the theory to them and explain how your program meets the required conditions.
Be as specific as possible about what changes you would implement and what activities you would create to reduce intergroup conflict. Be sure to explain the four conditions necessary for the contact hypothesis to work AND identify how your proposal will address each of those four conditions. For the purpose of this assignment, you can assume that leaders are motivated to end this conflict. You may also assume that the UN has funding to pay for things in your program (within reason). After reading your paper someone should understand the contact hypothesis and how your program is based on it.
This is a challenging assignment that will require you to think outside the realm of your personal experiences as you consider how to help these two groups reduce conflict. A good paper will introduce the problem clearly, teach the contact hypotheses completely, and describe a program that meets all of the conditions required in the contact hypothesis.
This exercise is adapted from a real conflict & racism faced by the Roma people throughout Europe. I have modified some of the facts to better suit this assignment. However, feel free to explore additional background information that might help you design your program.
Your paper should start with an introduction to the conflict and state the purpose of the paper (to introduce your program). Next you should explain the contact hypotheses thoroughly. Finally, you should describe you program and explain how it meets each of the conditions of the contact hypothesis.
Romaphobia (also called antigypsyism) refers to prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping of the Roma people. It is based on myths, stereotypes and imagined fears about these people. It occurs in countries throughout Europe, but for this assignment you will be focusing on France.
The following Background Information is quoted from the Discrimination and Intolerance page maintained by the Council of Europe. The page can be found here: https://www(dot)coe(dot)int/en/web/compass/discrimination-and-intolerance
"Discrimination against Roma people:
Romaphobia and Antigypsyism
The name Roma or Romani is a collective title for a very diverse ethnic group of people who self-identify as members of various sub-groups based for example on current or past geographical location, dialect, and occupation. There are approximately 10 million Roma in Europe. A few groups live as travellers with no permanent home, but the majority is now living under sedentary conditions: there are urbanised Roma groups as well as many living in more or less segregated neighbourhoods or sections of smaller towns or villages. Roma are present in virtually all European countries.
Discrimination against Roma is deep rooted and a common reality all over Europe. As the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights pointed out, there are alarming trends throughout Europe, strongly resembling Nazi ideology and reasoning in relation to Roma, such as fears for safety and public health. Rhetoric criminalising the whole Roma population is also very common throughout the member states.14
As Roma are more likely to be discriminated against, the Roma population is disproportionately vulnerable to armed conflicts, natural catastrophes or economic crises. In many countries, Roma have been victims of violent racist groups (in Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and so on), resulting in murders. Roma were caught in the crossfire of the armed conflicts in former Yugoslavia; Roma neighbourhoods and villages are often segregated and isolated.15 Many young Roma grow up in hostile social environments where the only support and recognition they have is in their own community or family. They are denied many basic rights such as education or health, or have limited access to them" (Council of Europe, Discrimination and Intolerance, retrieved October 25, 2022, from: https://www(dot)coe(dot)int/en/web/compass/discrimination-and-intolerance
The general stereotype of Roma people includes traits like criminality and deviance. Both the United Nations and the European Union have made efforts to reduce this kind of Racism.
This form of Romaphobia exists in France. Several years ago the French government evicted several thousand Roma who had migrated to France legally. In and around Paris, Roma often live in slums and substandard housing units. As recently as 2018, over 8,000 Romas were forcibly evicted from their homes by French authorities. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has criticized France for its actions against the Roma people.
In pursuing their goal of reducing conflict between these two groups (the French and the Romas), the UN has decided to create a program based on the four critical conditions of the contact hypothesis. They have subcontracted the job of creating the program to you