Ana Ivasiuc

Dr. Ana Ivasiuc is a social anthropologist with over 15 years of experience and expertise in Roma-related social inclusion projects and policies. She obtained her PhD in 2014 with an in-depth anthropological research that explored how conflicts during the implementation of a World Bank funded project in Roma communities in Romania revealed the social mobility strategies of Roma in parallel or even counter to projects and policies designed for their benefit. Between 2008 and 2014, she coordinated the research department in the Roma NGO Impreuna Agency in Romania, coordinating and producing evaluation reports on Roma-related projects in Eastern Europe, in particular in the areas of education, early childhood development, youth education and employment, social protection, labour participation, and the prevention of interethnic conflict. Dr. Ivasiuc’s anthropological training and research experience brings a fresh and much needed perspective on the conflicting rationalities at play during the implementation of projects for Roma. Her understanding of the work, constraints, and rationalities of non-governmental organisations, on the one hand, and of the agency and resistance of Roma communities in the face of their discrimination, on the other hand, brings an anthropological angle uniquely apt to pinpoint why and how Roma-related projects fall short in bringing about social change.