Elizabeta Jonuz

Professor Elizabeta Jonuz serves at Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts within the Faculty of Diaconia, Health and Social Affairs, Department of Social Work. Her academic career spans over two decades with significant contributions to migration sociology and critical Roma studies. Previously holding lecturer positions at the University of Cologne (2010-2017), she maintains active research collaborations including the Research Center for Intercultural Studies (FiSt).

Her educational background includes a Dipl.-Soz.-Päd. (Grade: sehr gut) from Cologne University of Applied Sciences (2004) and a doctoral degree summa cum laude from the University of Cologne (2009) with dissertation Migration, Minderheit und Minderwertigkeit. Marginalisierungs- und Ethnisierungsprozesse am Beispiel der Roma. Additional training includes psychoanalytic-systemic counseling certification (2002-2004).

Jonuz's research examines systemic racism through multiple lenses: ethnicization processes in migration contexts, biographical narratives of marginalized communities, and institutional antiziganism in education and social work. Her work challenges essentialist representations of Roma communities while documenting structural barriers in educational systems. Recent scholarship increasingly integrates feminist perspectives through Romnja-centered analyses of empowerment strategies.

Her publications consistently address

• critical migration studies
• racism in educational institutions
• post-Holocaust memory politics
• decolonial approaches to social work
• intersectional identity formation
• policy interventions for minority inclusion

with particular attention to German and European contexts.

Significant honors include the Hans Böckler Foundation Scholarship (2005-2008) and appointment to the German Bundestag's Independent Commission on Antiziganism (2019-2021), where she co-authored the landmark Perspektivwechsel report. Current major projects include the Freudenberg Foundation study on Sinti and Roma women's educational pathways (since 2015) and the 2024-2025 initiative Nicht ohne uns über uns funded by Zukunft and Kultur und Medien.

Jonuz actively participates in national discourse through the Council for Migration (since 2018) and serves as Advisor to the Commissioner against Antiziganism (since 2023). Her advisory work focuses on developing anti-racist frameworks for social work education and institutional policy reform, particularly regarding Southeast European migration within EU frameworks.