CAHROM (2011)12rev3

1

Strasbourg 18 November 2011

AD HOC COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON ROMA ISSUES

(CAHROM)

__________

Replies received to questions raised by the Chair at the 1st CAHROM meeting

concerning future thematic priorities of the Committee

__________

Table of contents

Contributions received from 25 CAHROM experts and 1 CAHROM observer - Albania (received on 6 May)

- Bosnia and Herzegovina (received on 5 May)

- Bulgaria (received on 20 July)

- Croatia (received on 2 May)

- Estonia (received on 29 April)

- Finland (received on 9 May)

- Hungary (received on 9 May)

- Ireland (received on 18 November)

- Italy (received on 2 May)

- Latvia (received on 29 April)

- Lithuania (received on 29 April)

- Republic of Moldova (received on 5 May)

- Montenegro (received on 5 May)

- Netherlands (received on 8 November)

- Norway (received on 9 May)

- Portugal (received on 10 May)

- Romania (received on 29 April)

- Serbia (received on 2 May)

- Slovakia (received on 2 May)

- Spain (received on 29 April)

- Sweden (received on 3 May)

- Switzerland (received on 18 November)

- ldquoThe former Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniardquo (received on 7 June)

- Ukraine (received on 1 May)

- United Kingdom (received on 1 September)

Contributions received from CAHROM observers - Holy Sea (received on 8 November)

Replies to the question no1 Page 2 What are the specific thematic areas and types of policy measures about which

CAHROM members would like to get more knowledge and experience from other countries

Replies to the question no2 Page 9 Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic

areas and policy measures

Replies to the question no3 Page 17 Could CAHROM participants indicate if they are aware of forthcoming international or

regional events that will specifically address specific thematic areas (to avoid duplication)

Summary table of thematic priorities identified by CAHROM members Page 20

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

2

Replies to the question no1

What are the specific thematic areas and types of policy measures about which CAHROM members would

like to get more knowledge and experience from other countries

ALBANIA

The most interesting area is housing as implemented eg by the Spanish government The Spanish policy

for Roma seems to have been successful due to the role of local authorities which took responsibility for the

realisation of the objectives aimed at a improving the quality of life of Roma communities I would be

interested in receiving more information from the Spanish CAHROM member(s)

Albania considers important to gain experience from other countries which are more advanced and

experienced in the field of human and minority rights

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina for addressing Roma issues in

the field of employment housing and health care almost three years ago (in July 2008)

In our opinion it will be good to exchange experience and good practices from other countries that already

implement strategies or national plan of actions to get knowledge about

how is their national plans done (in terms of guidelines measures outputs and results)

how concretely are these countries carrying out the national plans (in terms of programmes

authorities monitoring activities and indicators) in the fields of employment housing health care

and education

There is an also interest to learn more from the other countries about how to increase the involvement of

inter alia local authorities and international organisations and institutions in taking action providing budget

and finding solutions for the social integration of Roma communities

BULGARIA

It would be useful for Bulgaria to obtain information about the practices of other countries in the field of

more effective participation of local authorities in implementation of measures and programmes for Roma

integration housing policy use of European funds implementation of anti-discrimination campaigns

social integration of marginalized communities among ethnic minorities a methodology for the

identification of concepts measures plans for addressing specific problems faced by Roma and best

practices

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education [see reply to question

2 below] However there are still specific issues which could be addressed involvement of non-Roma

parents further measures in promoting higher education linkage between education and labour market etc

In the area of housing there is an interest to learn more about spatial desegregation more integrated

approaches to interventions in Roma communities and greater involvementcooperation of local authorities

and local Roma organisations

Also involvement of local non-Roma NGOs in community development and integration is an area in which

Croatian experience is limited

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

3

ESTONIA

All relevant experiences of other countries inspire new ideas which can be developed further and adapted

to our specific conditions We would especially appreciate any information regarding the issues that Roma

face and corresponding best practices from those CAHROM members whose numbers of Roma are

comparable to their proportion in the Estonian population We are very interested in learning more about

mediator programmes and the ways in which they can be implemented

FINLAND

There are several thematic areas which Finland is interested in to get more knowledge and experience from

other countries in order to increase the mutual learning

There could be more detailed discussion and sharing of knowledge about the key issues and

contents of the national Roma Strategiesprogrammes or Action Plans Specifically the

implementation and the indicators for monitoring and evaluation of the Programmes and Plans are

of great interest for us

Sharing knowledge and experiences about the models and working methods of participative co-

operation structures for authorities and the Roma at national regional and local levels (like Roma

Councils Advisory Boards Local Bodies etc) could be an interesting and important theme as the

structures and fora for co-operation and dialogue between the Roma and the authorities are needed

all over Europe

Models for use of mediators in different fields (health education employment) is an important

theme and could be analyzed further

Early childhood services and education concerning Roma is an important issue which was on the

agenda of the fourth Roma Inclusion Platform meeting in Brussels last December and which needs

more elaboration

Education vocational training employment and entrepreneurship of the Roma as well as housing

questions are all important themes where sharing knowledge could bring added value

HUNGARY

How local decision-makers can be motivated and become more efficient in Roma integration

Most of the countries have their national strategies policies or legislation on Roma inclusion

adopted by the government or the parliament but very often they fail to bring visible changes to

the lives of Roma Regional and local authorities have a crucial role and responsibility in the

implementation of these strategies and measures Local and regional authorities are the best

positioned to and accountable for provide concrete responses to Roma needs However local

decision-makers often feel that serving some disadvantaged people may bring several problems

and conflicts to their area and might lead to decreased support and less votes It could be useful to

discuss how local decision-makers can be more involved and efficient in advocating for Roma

inclusion What are the barriers of being successful and how could we dissolve these barriers

Better use of national and international (European) funds The use of national and EU funds is

crucial in Roma inclusion Structural Funds in most Member States are regarded as the main EU

financial and policy instrument to design and implement policies aimed at enhancing social

cohesion and reducing inequalities within the EU Structural Funds are therefore considered as a

particularly relevant means of bridging the gap between the majority population and the Roma To

tackle the multidimensional challenges of Roma exclusion interventions should have an inter-

sectoral approach and the allocation of necessary resources which would require an integrated use

of Funds Despite the fact that Roma issues are increasingly present in the Operational

Programmes of several Member States there is widespread consensus that despite significant

achievements Structural Funds have not fulfilled their potential and several improvements are

needed in the next programming period What are the tools of better more effective use of funds

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

4

IRELAND

Ireland is happy with the proposed arrangements for the future working of the CAHROM and sees it as a

forum for exchange of experienceexpertise amongst member states Ireland is happy to be part of a team of

experts addressing thematic issues We would have particular interest in policy measures in the areas of

education healthcare housing employment and conflict resolution We would also be interested in

measures exploring access to EU funding for TravellerRoma issues

ITALY

In my opinion it is important to understand from other countries that already implemented strategies or Plan

of actions how is done their Plan (in terms of guidelines measures and outputs) and how concretely they

are carrying out the plan (in terms of programmes monitoring activities and indicators on a sectoral and

global base) We already know about good long term experiences as Spain but these clarifications can be

useful as sometimes they can be get just in the country language The experience of Finland for example is

interesting The Government adopted on 9 December a resolution on guidelines to promote Finlands policy

on Roma but this is the result of the useful proposal of the working group that is available in a Finnish

report An English version of the contents could be shared among CAHROM group and be useful for the

policy of the other countries

Regarding thematic areas it could be interesting to get more details regarding employment strategies for

development of enterprises and auto-employment with concrete examples regarding business plans

training marketing accounting issues) It could be useful to underline if and how cultural Roma traditions

can help in some regard (for ex If some country have experienced international Roma branding that can be

exported in terms of franchising in the tailor sector food musichellip In Italy we are reflecting on the

development of catering services with a common brand but we have also music groups In the framework

of the Dosta campaign we asked without success to SucarDrom to do a WEB site where to put all the not

famous Roma musicians with their songs and details on how to be contacted for job)

LATVIA

The main interest of the Republic of Latvia related with issues of Roma inclusion is good practice examples

and experience of other CAHROM members states in the field of education of the Roma A particular focus

is on the implementing of teachersrsquo assistants (mediators) of Roma background into mainstream education

process (inclusive classes) on a training programme for teachers to prepare and involve them in this

implementation process on developing and improving measures to impact the attitude and position of

Roma parents and their children towards opportunities and access to qualitative education

Latvia considers also important to look at the experience of other countries in the field of employment such

as the preparation of the mediators with Roma background and involving them into the labour market as

well as investigate the possibilities of developing or promoting Roma private entrepreneurship

LITHUANIA

Roma housing identification of the problem strategies solutions funding

Roma education integration of Roma children into education systems problem of low school

attendance

Roma employment integration of Roma into job market

We are interested in other countries experience in planning and implementing national Roma strategies -

are they prepared and coordinated by the Government or specific institutions (eg different ministries)

MOLDOVA

Moldova has gained experience in developing a legal frame and designing policies for Roma since early

2000s when a first decree on Roma culture was adopted by the Moldovan President in 2001 followed by

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

5

the adoption of a Plan of Action specifically dedicated to Roma issues in 2003 However there is still a lot

to learn on specific thematic areas and types of policies to be developed for the Roma communities eg

there is a need to learn more on how monitoring of education at all levels is done in some

countries especially as concerns the schooling of Romani children

how the data collection is done in some countries in terms of ethnicity especially when a

population census is carried out in those countries

it is important to learn from mechanisms applied in other member states concerning the process of

adoption of strategiespolicies (are they adopted on a yearly basis or for a specific period of time)

and the financing of these policies (are they covered financially and how does this work Is there

for instance a financial commitment ensured for each special chapters etc)

how is ensured the study of the national language when we are confronted with a traditional

Romani community etc

what are the methods envisaged for the involvementimplication of Roma in local and central

decision-making Is their participation considered at all If so how this works in practice

in some countries the Ministry of Internal Affairs plays a very important role in addressing Roma

issues How is this issue tackled by such a Ministry And what about other minorities are they

also dealt with by the same Ministry

another important issue is micro-credit business support There is also an interest to look into any

economic perspectives and community development issues

MONTENEGRO

Aiming to help a larger social integration of Roma population in Montenegrin society the priorities of our

activities and our interests are

the registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents

education (pre-school and primary education reducing drop-out stimulation for furtherhigher

education)

employment (active measures for employment measures to help Roma approaching the labour

market)

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands too many children of Roma background drop out from school - boys as well as girls

They drop out from primary school and most of them do not attend secondary school at all Girls especially

are taken out of school by their parents at the age of 12 to 13 years A lot of them marry soon after leaving

school Sometimes these marriages take place within the Netherlands although many occur outside of the

country with the parents of the bride being paid by a dowry The Dutch authorities fear that these girls

become involved in crime or prostitution in order to be able to pay back this dowry These girls simply

disappear from the local community and cannot be traced by the police or youth care The parents do not

want to reveal where their daughters are however we suspect that they know we very well their

whereabouts

In the Netherlands it is compulsory for children to go to school or follow some kind of education until their

18th

birthday Parents are responsible for their children going to school and the municipality has to enforce

the law in this matter In practice however it is difficult to enforce the law in such a way that all Roma

children attend school According to Dutch [and European (CoE)] values attending school is not only

compulsory but is also a basic human right enabling children to prepare themselves for living in the

community so that they can make a substantial contribution to society

As a consequence of the large drop out rate it is very difficult for Roma to enter the labour market Modern

labour markets demand good language skills and proof of professional education A lot of Roma

consequently end up being active in the grey and black paths of European society or end up in criminal

circles

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

6

My question is Do other experts and countries experience the same Is it possible to organise international

co-operation to bring a solution to this problem thereby protecting the children

NORWAY

Norway would like to receive information on good practices regarding

facilitating access for Roma to mainstream public services in particular public housing

targeted recruiting of Roma assistantsmediators

PORTUGAL

Portugal would like to know more about

Housing measures and experiences

Training for an active citizenship

ROMANIA

We are interested to have more information concerning the following policy measures

how to increase the involvement of local authorities in taking action and finding solutions for the

social integration of Roma communities in their area

tips to develop and implement integrated projects for Roma communities where it is necessary in

order to adopt a series of measures to integrate them socially

SERBIA

Thematic areas are primarily education housing employment and health Areas in which the Roma are the

most vulnerable and that have been set as goals of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 year Policy

measures are related to these and to other areas such as social security readmission culture and

involvement of Roma in work of institutional bodies that make strategic plans for the improvement of

Roma position Such experiences are very important because in practice it is often that inconsistencies

occur and the results are neither so great nor visible Important area is also normalization codification and

standardization of the Romani language that is language policy and further political participation of Roma

cultural and spiritual values of Roma

SLOVAKIA

Comprehensive approach to solve the problems of Roma communities in members countries

Housing Employment Education Health care

Development of National strategies or Action plans in member states

Romani Language ndash in Education and Culture as an important element for identity of the Roma

SPAIN

We would be particularly interested in the following issues access of Roma population to public services

especially to social services participation and empowerment participation in public policy-making and

monitoring awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actions as well as education issues

SWEDEN

Policy measures within education employment health social services in general Our focus is on women

and childrenyoung Roma

More specifically some examples

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

7

models for cooperation within these areas at local level between municipalities Roma civil

society organisations

pre-school education models

support to students other than mediators to prevent early school drop-outs

support to students to continue to secondary school

models for cooperation between school and employment services

other ways to promote youth employment including cooperation with both Roma and non-Roma

civil society organisations

models for preventive health

examples from different countries regarding training of mediators

find ways of cooperating regarding mother tongue tuition

methods for follow-up and evaluate which are not based on quantitative methods

ways of trying to count the number of Roma in a country (without ethnically based statistics)

models for participationconsultation of Roma in education health etc

discuss how to increase cooperation with EU with coming EU Framework

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland would be interested in receiving information from other countries on the question of the

encampment sites for Travellers how to encourage local authorities to create such places how to educate

the local population of the needs of the Travellers how to finance those sites how to manage those sites

Switzerland would also be interested to know how other countries handle schooling (irregular given their

travel) for the children of the Travellers including the issue of the diploma of education adequate and

corresponding to their needs

Switzerland would also be interested in obtaining information on the systemsorganisation established in

other countries to allow the Travellers to be politically represented and able to participate in decisions that

concerns them

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

We would like to learn from other countries concerning

best practices in the field of housing

best practices in the field of employment

experiences with Roma health mediators

UKRAINE

In my opinion it would be interesting to get and discuss information about best practices in supporting

economic initiatives (supporting SMEs) in involving governments and in using various funds including

the structural funds It would be also interesting to obtain information about projects that provide housing

to Roma and to make a comparison between Western Europe on the one hand and Central and Eastern

Europe on the other hand

UNITED KINGDOM

We are interested in learning about any successful policies to address poor social outcomes among

traditional traveller groups like the UKs Gypsies and Travellers particularly in the context of the need to

cut public expenditure

We are particularly interested in the following areas

education

health

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

2

Replies to the question no1

What are the specific thematic areas and types of policy measures about which CAHROM members would

like to get more knowledge and experience from other countries

ALBANIA

The most interesting area is housing as implemented eg by the Spanish government The Spanish policy

for Roma seems to have been successful due to the role of local authorities which took responsibility for the

realisation of the objectives aimed at a improving the quality of life of Roma communities I would be

interested in receiving more information from the Spanish CAHROM member(s)

Albania considers important to gain experience from other countries which are more advanced and

experienced in the field of human and minority rights

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina for addressing Roma issues in

the field of employment housing and health care almost three years ago (in July 2008)

In our opinion it will be good to exchange experience and good practices from other countries that already

implement strategies or national plan of actions to get knowledge about

how is their national plans done (in terms of guidelines measures outputs and results)

how concretely are these countries carrying out the national plans (in terms of programmes

authorities monitoring activities and indicators) in the fields of employment housing health care

and education

There is an also interest to learn more from the other countries about how to increase the involvement of

inter alia local authorities and international organisations and institutions in taking action providing budget

and finding solutions for the social integration of Roma communities

BULGARIA

It would be useful for Bulgaria to obtain information about the practices of other countries in the field of

more effective participation of local authorities in implementation of measures and programmes for Roma

integration housing policy use of European funds implementation of anti-discrimination campaigns

social integration of marginalized communities among ethnic minorities a methodology for the

identification of concepts measures plans for addressing specific problems faced by Roma and best

practices

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education [see reply to question

2 below] However there are still specific issues which could be addressed involvement of non-Roma

parents further measures in promoting higher education linkage between education and labour market etc

In the area of housing there is an interest to learn more about spatial desegregation more integrated

approaches to interventions in Roma communities and greater involvementcooperation of local authorities

and local Roma organisations

Also involvement of local non-Roma NGOs in community development and integration is an area in which

Croatian experience is limited

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

3

ESTONIA

All relevant experiences of other countries inspire new ideas which can be developed further and adapted

to our specific conditions We would especially appreciate any information regarding the issues that Roma

face and corresponding best practices from those CAHROM members whose numbers of Roma are

comparable to their proportion in the Estonian population We are very interested in learning more about

mediator programmes and the ways in which they can be implemented

FINLAND

There are several thematic areas which Finland is interested in to get more knowledge and experience from

other countries in order to increase the mutual learning

There could be more detailed discussion and sharing of knowledge about the key issues and

contents of the national Roma Strategiesprogrammes or Action Plans Specifically the

implementation and the indicators for monitoring and evaluation of the Programmes and Plans are

of great interest for us

Sharing knowledge and experiences about the models and working methods of participative co-

operation structures for authorities and the Roma at national regional and local levels (like Roma

Councils Advisory Boards Local Bodies etc) could be an interesting and important theme as the

structures and fora for co-operation and dialogue between the Roma and the authorities are needed

all over Europe

Models for use of mediators in different fields (health education employment) is an important

theme and could be analyzed further

Early childhood services and education concerning Roma is an important issue which was on the

agenda of the fourth Roma Inclusion Platform meeting in Brussels last December and which needs

more elaboration

Education vocational training employment and entrepreneurship of the Roma as well as housing

questions are all important themes where sharing knowledge could bring added value

HUNGARY

How local decision-makers can be motivated and become more efficient in Roma integration

Most of the countries have their national strategies policies or legislation on Roma inclusion

adopted by the government or the parliament but very often they fail to bring visible changes to

the lives of Roma Regional and local authorities have a crucial role and responsibility in the

implementation of these strategies and measures Local and regional authorities are the best

positioned to and accountable for provide concrete responses to Roma needs However local

decision-makers often feel that serving some disadvantaged people may bring several problems

and conflicts to their area and might lead to decreased support and less votes It could be useful to

discuss how local decision-makers can be more involved and efficient in advocating for Roma

inclusion What are the barriers of being successful and how could we dissolve these barriers

Better use of national and international (European) funds The use of national and EU funds is

crucial in Roma inclusion Structural Funds in most Member States are regarded as the main EU

financial and policy instrument to design and implement policies aimed at enhancing social

cohesion and reducing inequalities within the EU Structural Funds are therefore considered as a

particularly relevant means of bridging the gap between the majority population and the Roma To

tackle the multidimensional challenges of Roma exclusion interventions should have an inter-

sectoral approach and the allocation of necessary resources which would require an integrated use

of Funds Despite the fact that Roma issues are increasingly present in the Operational

Programmes of several Member States there is widespread consensus that despite significant

achievements Structural Funds have not fulfilled their potential and several improvements are

needed in the next programming period What are the tools of better more effective use of funds

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

4

IRELAND

Ireland is happy with the proposed arrangements for the future working of the CAHROM and sees it as a

forum for exchange of experienceexpertise amongst member states Ireland is happy to be part of a team of

experts addressing thematic issues We would have particular interest in policy measures in the areas of

education healthcare housing employment and conflict resolution We would also be interested in

measures exploring access to EU funding for TravellerRoma issues

ITALY

In my opinion it is important to understand from other countries that already implemented strategies or Plan

of actions how is done their Plan (in terms of guidelines measures and outputs) and how concretely they

are carrying out the plan (in terms of programmes monitoring activities and indicators on a sectoral and

global base) We already know about good long term experiences as Spain but these clarifications can be

useful as sometimes they can be get just in the country language The experience of Finland for example is

interesting The Government adopted on 9 December a resolution on guidelines to promote Finlands policy

on Roma but this is the result of the useful proposal of the working group that is available in a Finnish

report An English version of the contents could be shared among CAHROM group and be useful for the

policy of the other countries

Regarding thematic areas it could be interesting to get more details regarding employment strategies for

development of enterprises and auto-employment with concrete examples regarding business plans

training marketing accounting issues) It could be useful to underline if and how cultural Roma traditions

can help in some regard (for ex If some country have experienced international Roma branding that can be

exported in terms of franchising in the tailor sector food musichellip In Italy we are reflecting on the

development of catering services with a common brand but we have also music groups In the framework

of the Dosta campaign we asked without success to SucarDrom to do a WEB site where to put all the not

famous Roma musicians with their songs and details on how to be contacted for job)

LATVIA

The main interest of the Republic of Latvia related with issues of Roma inclusion is good practice examples

and experience of other CAHROM members states in the field of education of the Roma A particular focus

is on the implementing of teachersrsquo assistants (mediators) of Roma background into mainstream education

process (inclusive classes) on a training programme for teachers to prepare and involve them in this

implementation process on developing and improving measures to impact the attitude and position of

Roma parents and their children towards opportunities and access to qualitative education

Latvia considers also important to look at the experience of other countries in the field of employment such

as the preparation of the mediators with Roma background and involving them into the labour market as

well as investigate the possibilities of developing or promoting Roma private entrepreneurship

LITHUANIA

Roma housing identification of the problem strategies solutions funding

Roma education integration of Roma children into education systems problem of low school

attendance

Roma employment integration of Roma into job market

We are interested in other countries experience in planning and implementing national Roma strategies -

are they prepared and coordinated by the Government or specific institutions (eg different ministries)

MOLDOVA

Moldova has gained experience in developing a legal frame and designing policies for Roma since early

2000s when a first decree on Roma culture was adopted by the Moldovan President in 2001 followed by

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

5

the adoption of a Plan of Action specifically dedicated to Roma issues in 2003 However there is still a lot

to learn on specific thematic areas and types of policies to be developed for the Roma communities eg

there is a need to learn more on how monitoring of education at all levels is done in some

countries especially as concerns the schooling of Romani children

how the data collection is done in some countries in terms of ethnicity especially when a

population census is carried out in those countries

it is important to learn from mechanisms applied in other member states concerning the process of

adoption of strategiespolicies (are they adopted on a yearly basis or for a specific period of time)

and the financing of these policies (are they covered financially and how does this work Is there

for instance a financial commitment ensured for each special chapters etc)

how is ensured the study of the national language when we are confronted with a traditional

Romani community etc

what are the methods envisaged for the involvementimplication of Roma in local and central

decision-making Is their participation considered at all If so how this works in practice

in some countries the Ministry of Internal Affairs plays a very important role in addressing Roma

issues How is this issue tackled by such a Ministry And what about other minorities are they

also dealt with by the same Ministry

another important issue is micro-credit business support There is also an interest to look into any

economic perspectives and community development issues

MONTENEGRO

Aiming to help a larger social integration of Roma population in Montenegrin society the priorities of our

activities and our interests are

the registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents

education (pre-school and primary education reducing drop-out stimulation for furtherhigher

education)

employment (active measures for employment measures to help Roma approaching the labour

market)

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands too many children of Roma background drop out from school - boys as well as girls

They drop out from primary school and most of them do not attend secondary school at all Girls especially

are taken out of school by their parents at the age of 12 to 13 years A lot of them marry soon after leaving

school Sometimes these marriages take place within the Netherlands although many occur outside of the

country with the parents of the bride being paid by a dowry The Dutch authorities fear that these girls

become involved in crime or prostitution in order to be able to pay back this dowry These girls simply

disappear from the local community and cannot be traced by the police or youth care The parents do not

want to reveal where their daughters are however we suspect that they know we very well their

whereabouts

In the Netherlands it is compulsory for children to go to school or follow some kind of education until their

18th

birthday Parents are responsible for their children going to school and the municipality has to enforce

the law in this matter In practice however it is difficult to enforce the law in such a way that all Roma

children attend school According to Dutch [and European (CoE)] values attending school is not only

compulsory but is also a basic human right enabling children to prepare themselves for living in the

community so that they can make a substantial contribution to society

As a consequence of the large drop out rate it is very difficult for Roma to enter the labour market Modern

labour markets demand good language skills and proof of professional education A lot of Roma

consequently end up being active in the grey and black paths of European society or end up in criminal

circles

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

6

My question is Do other experts and countries experience the same Is it possible to organise international

co-operation to bring a solution to this problem thereby protecting the children

NORWAY

Norway would like to receive information on good practices regarding

facilitating access for Roma to mainstream public services in particular public housing

targeted recruiting of Roma assistantsmediators

PORTUGAL

Portugal would like to know more about

Housing measures and experiences

Training for an active citizenship

ROMANIA

We are interested to have more information concerning the following policy measures

how to increase the involvement of local authorities in taking action and finding solutions for the

social integration of Roma communities in their area

tips to develop and implement integrated projects for Roma communities where it is necessary in

order to adopt a series of measures to integrate them socially

SERBIA

Thematic areas are primarily education housing employment and health Areas in which the Roma are the

most vulnerable and that have been set as goals of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 year Policy

measures are related to these and to other areas such as social security readmission culture and

involvement of Roma in work of institutional bodies that make strategic plans for the improvement of

Roma position Such experiences are very important because in practice it is often that inconsistencies

occur and the results are neither so great nor visible Important area is also normalization codification and

standardization of the Romani language that is language policy and further political participation of Roma

cultural and spiritual values of Roma

SLOVAKIA

Comprehensive approach to solve the problems of Roma communities in members countries

Housing Employment Education Health care

Development of National strategies or Action plans in member states

Romani Language ndash in Education and Culture as an important element for identity of the Roma

SPAIN

We would be particularly interested in the following issues access of Roma population to public services

especially to social services participation and empowerment participation in public policy-making and

monitoring awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actions as well as education issues

SWEDEN

Policy measures within education employment health social services in general Our focus is on women

and childrenyoung Roma

More specifically some examples

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

7

models for cooperation within these areas at local level between municipalities Roma civil

society organisations

pre-school education models

support to students other than mediators to prevent early school drop-outs

support to students to continue to secondary school

models for cooperation between school and employment services

other ways to promote youth employment including cooperation with both Roma and non-Roma

civil society organisations

models for preventive health

examples from different countries regarding training of mediators

find ways of cooperating regarding mother tongue tuition

methods for follow-up and evaluate which are not based on quantitative methods

ways of trying to count the number of Roma in a country (without ethnically based statistics)

models for participationconsultation of Roma in education health etc

discuss how to increase cooperation with EU with coming EU Framework

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland would be interested in receiving information from other countries on the question of the

encampment sites for Travellers how to encourage local authorities to create such places how to educate

the local population of the needs of the Travellers how to finance those sites how to manage those sites

Switzerland would also be interested to know how other countries handle schooling (irregular given their

travel) for the children of the Travellers including the issue of the diploma of education adequate and

corresponding to their needs

Switzerland would also be interested in obtaining information on the systemsorganisation established in

other countries to allow the Travellers to be politically represented and able to participate in decisions that

concerns them

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

We would like to learn from other countries concerning

best practices in the field of housing

best practices in the field of employment

experiences with Roma health mediators

UKRAINE

In my opinion it would be interesting to get and discuss information about best practices in supporting

economic initiatives (supporting SMEs) in involving governments and in using various funds including

the structural funds It would be also interesting to obtain information about projects that provide housing

to Roma and to make a comparison between Western Europe on the one hand and Central and Eastern

Europe on the other hand

UNITED KINGDOM

We are interested in learning about any successful policies to address poor social outcomes among

traditional traveller groups like the UKs Gypsies and Travellers particularly in the context of the need to

cut public expenditure

We are particularly interested in the following areas

education

health

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

3

ESTONIA

All relevant experiences of other countries inspire new ideas which can be developed further and adapted

to our specific conditions We would especially appreciate any information regarding the issues that Roma

face and corresponding best practices from those CAHROM members whose numbers of Roma are

comparable to their proportion in the Estonian population We are very interested in learning more about

mediator programmes and the ways in which they can be implemented

FINLAND

There are several thematic areas which Finland is interested in to get more knowledge and experience from

other countries in order to increase the mutual learning

There could be more detailed discussion and sharing of knowledge about the key issues and

contents of the national Roma Strategiesprogrammes or Action Plans Specifically the

implementation and the indicators for monitoring and evaluation of the Programmes and Plans are

of great interest for us

Sharing knowledge and experiences about the models and working methods of participative co-

operation structures for authorities and the Roma at national regional and local levels (like Roma

Councils Advisory Boards Local Bodies etc) could be an interesting and important theme as the

structures and fora for co-operation and dialogue between the Roma and the authorities are needed

all over Europe

Models for use of mediators in different fields (health education employment) is an important

theme and could be analyzed further

Early childhood services and education concerning Roma is an important issue which was on the

agenda of the fourth Roma Inclusion Platform meeting in Brussels last December and which needs

more elaboration

Education vocational training employment and entrepreneurship of the Roma as well as housing

questions are all important themes where sharing knowledge could bring added value

HUNGARY

How local decision-makers can be motivated and become more efficient in Roma integration

Most of the countries have their national strategies policies or legislation on Roma inclusion

adopted by the government or the parliament but very often they fail to bring visible changes to

the lives of Roma Regional and local authorities have a crucial role and responsibility in the

implementation of these strategies and measures Local and regional authorities are the best

positioned to and accountable for provide concrete responses to Roma needs However local

decision-makers often feel that serving some disadvantaged people may bring several problems

and conflicts to their area and might lead to decreased support and less votes It could be useful to

discuss how local decision-makers can be more involved and efficient in advocating for Roma

inclusion What are the barriers of being successful and how could we dissolve these barriers

Better use of national and international (European) funds The use of national and EU funds is

crucial in Roma inclusion Structural Funds in most Member States are regarded as the main EU

financial and policy instrument to design and implement policies aimed at enhancing social

cohesion and reducing inequalities within the EU Structural Funds are therefore considered as a

particularly relevant means of bridging the gap between the majority population and the Roma To

tackle the multidimensional challenges of Roma exclusion interventions should have an inter-

sectoral approach and the allocation of necessary resources which would require an integrated use

of Funds Despite the fact that Roma issues are increasingly present in the Operational

Programmes of several Member States there is widespread consensus that despite significant

achievements Structural Funds have not fulfilled their potential and several improvements are

needed in the next programming period What are the tools of better more effective use of funds

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

4

IRELAND

Ireland is happy with the proposed arrangements for the future working of the CAHROM and sees it as a

forum for exchange of experienceexpertise amongst member states Ireland is happy to be part of a team of

experts addressing thematic issues We would have particular interest in policy measures in the areas of

education healthcare housing employment and conflict resolution We would also be interested in

measures exploring access to EU funding for TravellerRoma issues

ITALY

In my opinion it is important to understand from other countries that already implemented strategies or Plan

of actions how is done their Plan (in terms of guidelines measures and outputs) and how concretely they

are carrying out the plan (in terms of programmes monitoring activities and indicators on a sectoral and

global base) We already know about good long term experiences as Spain but these clarifications can be

useful as sometimes they can be get just in the country language The experience of Finland for example is

interesting The Government adopted on 9 December a resolution on guidelines to promote Finlands policy

on Roma but this is the result of the useful proposal of the working group that is available in a Finnish

report An English version of the contents could be shared among CAHROM group and be useful for the

policy of the other countries

Regarding thematic areas it could be interesting to get more details regarding employment strategies for

development of enterprises and auto-employment with concrete examples regarding business plans

training marketing accounting issues) It could be useful to underline if and how cultural Roma traditions

can help in some regard (for ex If some country have experienced international Roma branding that can be

exported in terms of franchising in the tailor sector food musichellip In Italy we are reflecting on the

development of catering services with a common brand but we have also music groups In the framework

of the Dosta campaign we asked without success to SucarDrom to do a WEB site where to put all the not

famous Roma musicians with their songs and details on how to be contacted for job)

LATVIA

The main interest of the Republic of Latvia related with issues of Roma inclusion is good practice examples

and experience of other CAHROM members states in the field of education of the Roma A particular focus

is on the implementing of teachersrsquo assistants (mediators) of Roma background into mainstream education

process (inclusive classes) on a training programme for teachers to prepare and involve them in this

implementation process on developing and improving measures to impact the attitude and position of

Roma parents and their children towards opportunities and access to qualitative education

Latvia considers also important to look at the experience of other countries in the field of employment such

as the preparation of the mediators with Roma background and involving them into the labour market as

well as investigate the possibilities of developing or promoting Roma private entrepreneurship

LITHUANIA

Roma housing identification of the problem strategies solutions funding

Roma education integration of Roma children into education systems problem of low school

attendance

Roma employment integration of Roma into job market

We are interested in other countries experience in planning and implementing national Roma strategies -

are they prepared and coordinated by the Government or specific institutions (eg different ministries)

MOLDOVA

Moldova has gained experience in developing a legal frame and designing policies for Roma since early

2000s when a first decree on Roma culture was adopted by the Moldovan President in 2001 followed by

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

5

the adoption of a Plan of Action specifically dedicated to Roma issues in 2003 However there is still a lot

to learn on specific thematic areas and types of policies to be developed for the Roma communities eg

there is a need to learn more on how monitoring of education at all levels is done in some

countries especially as concerns the schooling of Romani children

how the data collection is done in some countries in terms of ethnicity especially when a

population census is carried out in those countries

it is important to learn from mechanisms applied in other member states concerning the process of

adoption of strategiespolicies (are they adopted on a yearly basis or for a specific period of time)

and the financing of these policies (are they covered financially and how does this work Is there

for instance a financial commitment ensured for each special chapters etc)

how is ensured the study of the national language when we are confronted with a traditional

Romani community etc

what are the methods envisaged for the involvementimplication of Roma in local and central

decision-making Is their participation considered at all If so how this works in practice

in some countries the Ministry of Internal Affairs plays a very important role in addressing Roma

issues How is this issue tackled by such a Ministry And what about other minorities are they

also dealt with by the same Ministry

another important issue is micro-credit business support There is also an interest to look into any

economic perspectives and community development issues

MONTENEGRO

Aiming to help a larger social integration of Roma population in Montenegrin society the priorities of our

activities and our interests are

the registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents

education (pre-school and primary education reducing drop-out stimulation for furtherhigher

education)

employment (active measures for employment measures to help Roma approaching the labour

market)

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands too many children of Roma background drop out from school - boys as well as girls

They drop out from primary school and most of them do not attend secondary school at all Girls especially

are taken out of school by their parents at the age of 12 to 13 years A lot of them marry soon after leaving

school Sometimes these marriages take place within the Netherlands although many occur outside of the

country with the parents of the bride being paid by a dowry The Dutch authorities fear that these girls

become involved in crime or prostitution in order to be able to pay back this dowry These girls simply

disappear from the local community and cannot be traced by the police or youth care The parents do not

want to reveal where their daughters are however we suspect that they know we very well their

whereabouts

In the Netherlands it is compulsory for children to go to school or follow some kind of education until their

18th

birthday Parents are responsible for their children going to school and the municipality has to enforce

the law in this matter In practice however it is difficult to enforce the law in such a way that all Roma

children attend school According to Dutch [and European (CoE)] values attending school is not only

compulsory but is also a basic human right enabling children to prepare themselves for living in the

community so that they can make a substantial contribution to society

As a consequence of the large drop out rate it is very difficult for Roma to enter the labour market Modern

labour markets demand good language skills and proof of professional education A lot of Roma

consequently end up being active in the grey and black paths of European society or end up in criminal

circles

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

6

My question is Do other experts and countries experience the same Is it possible to organise international

co-operation to bring a solution to this problem thereby protecting the children

NORWAY

Norway would like to receive information on good practices regarding

facilitating access for Roma to mainstream public services in particular public housing

targeted recruiting of Roma assistantsmediators

PORTUGAL

Portugal would like to know more about

Housing measures and experiences

Training for an active citizenship

ROMANIA

We are interested to have more information concerning the following policy measures

how to increase the involvement of local authorities in taking action and finding solutions for the

social integration of Roma communities in their area

tips to develop and implement integrated projects for Roma communities where it is necessary in

order to adopt a series of measures to integrate them socially

SERBIA

Thematic areas are primarily education housing employment and health Areas in which the Roma are the

most vulnerable and that have been set as goals of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 year Policy

measures are related to these and to other areas such as social security readmission culture and

involvement of Roma in work of institutional bodies that make strategic plans for the improvement of

Roma position Such experiences are very important because in practice it is often that inconsistencies

occur and the results are neither so great nor visible Important area is also normalization codification and

standardization of the Romani language that is language policy and further political participation of Roma

cultural and spiritual values of Roma

SLOVAKIA

Comprehensive approach to solve the problems of Roma communities in members countries

Housing Employment Education Health care

Development of National strategies or Action plans in member states

Romani Language ndash in Education and Culture as an important element for identity of the Roma

SPAIN

We would be particularly interested in the following issues access of Roma population to public services

especially to social services participation and empowerment participation in public policy-making and

monitoring awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actions as well as education issues

SWEDEN

Policy measures within education employment health social services in general Our focus is on women

and childrenyoung Roma

More specifically some examples

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

7

models for cooperation within these areas at local level between municipalities Roma civil

society organisations

pre-school education models

support to students other than mediators to prevent early school drop-outs

support to students to continue to secondary school

models for cooperation between school and employment services

other ways to promote youth employment including cooperation with both Roma and non-Roma

civil society organisations

models for preventive health

examples from different countries regarding training of mediators

find ways of cooperating regarding mother tongue tuition

methods for follow-up and evaluate which are not based on quantitative methods

ways of trying to count the number of Roma in a country (without ethnically based statistics)

models for participationconsultation of Roma in education health etc

discuss how to increase cooperation with EU with coming EU Framework

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland would be interested in receiving information from other countries on the question of the

encampment sites for Travellers how to encourage local authorities to create such places how to educate

the local population of the needs of the Travellers how to finance those sites how to manage those sites

Switzerland would also be interested to know how other countries handle schooling (irregular given their

travel) for the children of the Travellers including the issue of the diploma of education adequate and

corresponding to their needs

Switzerland would also be interested in obtaining information on the systemsorganisation established in

other countries to allow the Travellers to be politically represented and able to participate in decisions that

concerns them

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

We would like to learn from other countries concerning

best practices in the field of housing

best practices in the field of employment

experiences with Roma health mediators

UKRAINE

In my opinion it would be interesting to get and discuss information about best practices in supporting

economic initiatives (supporting SMEs) in involving governments and in using various funds including

the structural funds It would be also interesting to obtain information about projects that provide housing

to Roma and to make a comparison between Western Europe on the one hand and Central and Eastern

Europe on the other hand

UNITED KINGDOM

We are interested in learning about any successful policies to address poor social outcomes among

traditional traveller groups like the UKs Gypsies and Travellers particularly in the context of the need to

cut public expenditure

We are particularly interested in the following areas

education

health

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

4

IRELAND

Ireland is happy with the proposed arrangements for the future working of the CAHROM and sees it as a

forum for exchange of experienceexpertise amongst member states Ireland is happy to be part of a team of

experts addressing thematic issues We would have particular interest in policy measures in the areas of

education healthcare housing employment and conflict resolution We would also be interested in

measures exploring access to EU funding for TravellerRoma issues

ITALY

In my opinion it is important to understand from other countries that already implemented strategies or Plan

of actions how is done their Plan (in terms of guidelines measures and outputs) and how concretely they

are carrying out the plan (in terms of programmes monitoring activities and indicators on a sectoral and

global base) We already know about good long term experiences as Spain but these clarifications can be

useful as sometimes they can be get just in the country language The experience of Finland for example is

interesting The Government adopted on 9 December a resolution on guidelines to promote Finlands policy

on Roma but this is the result of the useful proposal of the working group that is available in a Finnish

report An English version of the contents could be shared among CAHROM group and be useful for the

policy of the other countries

Regarding thematic areas it could be interesting to get more details regarding employment strategies for

development of enterprises and auto-employment with concrete examples regarding business plans

training marketing accounting issues) It could be useful to underline if and how cultural Roma traditions

can help in some regard (for ex If some country have experienced international Roma branding that can be

exported in terms of franchising in the tailor sector food musichellip In Italy we are reflecting on the

development of catering services with a common brand but we have also music groups In the framework

of the Dosta campaign we asked without success to SucarDrom to do a WEB site where to put all the not

famous Roma musicians with their songs and details on how to be contacted for job)

LATVIA

The main interest of the Republic of Latvia related with issues of Roma inclusion is good practice examples

and experience of other CAHROM members states in the field of education of the Roma A particular focus

is on the implementing of teachersrsquo assistants (mediators) of Roma background into mainstream education

process (inclusive classes) on a training programme for teachers to prepare and involve them in this

implementation process on developing and improving measures to impact the attitude and position of

Roma parents and their children towards opportunities and access to qualitative education

Latvia considers also important to look at the experience of other countries in the field of employment such

as the preparation of the mediators with Roma background and involving them into the labour market as

well as investigate the possibilities of developing or promoting Roma private entrepreneurship

LITHUANIA

Roma housing identification of the problem strategies solutions funding

Roma education integration of Roma children into education systems problem of low school

attendance

Roma employment integration of Roma into job market

We are interested in other countries experience in planning and implementing national Roma strategies -

are they prepared and coordinated by the Government or specific institutions (eg different ministries)

MOLDOVA

Moldova has gained experience in developing a legal frame and designing policies for Roma since early

2000s when a first decree on Roma culture was adopted by the Moldovan President in 2001 followed by

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

5

the adoption of a Plan of Action specifically dedicated to Roma issues in 2003 However there is still a lot

to learn on specific thematic areas and types of policies to be developed for the Roma communities eg

there is a need to learn more on how monitoring of education at all levels is done in some

countries especially as concerns the schooling of Romani children

how the data collection is done in some countries in terms of ethnicity especially when a

population census is carried out in those countries

it is important to learn from mechanisms applied in other member states concerning the process of

adoption of strategiespolicies (are they adopted on a yearly basis or for a specific period of time)

and the financing of these policies (are they covered financially and how does this work Is there

for instance a financial commitment ensured for each special chapters etc)

how is ensured the study of the national language when we are confronted with a traditional

Romani community etc

what are the methods envisaged for the involvementimplication of Roma in local and central

decision-making Is their participation considered at all If so how this works in practice

in some countries the Ministry of Internal Affairs plays a very important role in addressing Roma

issues How is this issue tackled by such a Ministry And what about other minorities are they

also dealt with by the same Ministry

another important issue is micro-credit business support There is also an interest to look into any

economic perspectives and community development issues

MONTENEGRO

Aiming to help a larger social integration of Roma population in Montenegrin society the priorities of our

activities and our interests are

the registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents

education (pre-school and primary education reducing drop-out stimulation for furtherhigher

education)

employment (active measures for employment measures to help Roma approaching the labour

market)

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands too many children of Roma background drop out from school - boys as well as girls

They drop out from primary school and most of them do not attend secondary school at all Girls especially

are taken out of school by their parents at the age of 12 to 13 years A lot of them marry soon after leaving

school Sometimes these marriages take place within the Netherlands although many occur outside of the

country with the parents of the bride being paid by a dowry The Dutch authorities fear that these girls

become involved in crime or prostitution in order to be able to pay back this dowry These girls simply

disappear from the local community and cannot be traced by the police or youth care The parents do not

want to reveal where their daughters are however we suspect that they know we very well their

whereabouts

In the Netherlands it is compulsory for children to go to school or follow some kind of education until their

18th

birthday Parents are responsible for their children going to school and the municipality has to enforce

the law in this matter In practice however it is difficult to enforce the law in such a way that all Roma

children attend school According to Dutch [and European (CoE)] values attending school is not only

compulsory but is also a basic human right enabling children to prepare themselves for living in the

community so that they can make a substantial contribution to society

As a consequence of the large drop out rate it is very difficult for Roma to enter the labour market Modern

labour markets demand good language skills and proof of professional education A lot of Roma

consequently end up being active in the grey and black paths of European society or end up in criminal

circles

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

6

My question is Do other experts and countries experience the same Is it possible to organise international

co-operation to bring a solution to this problem thereby protecting the children

NORWAY

Norway would like to receive information on good practices regarding

facilitating access for Roma to mainstream public services in particular public housing

targeted recruiting of Roma assistantsmediators

PORTUGAL

Portugal would like to know more about

Housing measures and experiences

Training for an active citizenship

ROMANIA

We are interested to have more information concerning the following policy measures

how to increase the involvement of local authorities in taking action and finding solutions for the

social integration of Roma communities in their area

tips to develop and implement integrated projects for Roma communities where it is necessary in

order to adopt a series of measures to integrate them socially

SERBIA

Thematic areas are primarily education housing employment and health Areas in which the Roma are the

most vulnerable and that have been set as goals of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 year Policy

measures are related to these and to other areas such as social security readmission culture and

involvement of Roma in work of institutional bodies that make strategic plans for the improvement of

Roma position Such experiences are very important because in practice it is often that inconsistencies

occur and the results are neither so great nor visible Important area is also normalization codification and

standardization of the Romani language that is language policy and further political participation of Roma

cultural and spiritual values of Roma

SLOVAKIA

Comprehensive approach to solve the problems of Roma communities in members countries

Housing Employment Education Health care

Development of National strategies or Action plans in member states

Romani Language ndash in Education and Culture as an important element for identity of the Roma

SPAIN

We would be particularly interested in the following issues access of Roma population to public services

especially to social services participation and empowerment participation in public policy-making and

monitoring awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actions as well as education issues

SWEDEN

Policy measures within education employment health social services in general Our focus is on women

and childrenyoung Roma

More specifically some examples

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

7

models for cooperation within these areas at local level between municipalities Roma civil

society organisations

pre-school education models

support to students other than mediators to prevent early school drop-outs

support to students to continue to secondary school

models for cooperation between school and employment services

other ways to promote youth employment including cooperation with both Roma and non-Roma

civil society organisations

models for preventive health

examples from different countries regarding training of mediators

find ways of cooperating regarding mother tongue tuition

methods for follow-up and evaluate which are not based on quantitative methods

ways of trying to count the number of Roma in a country (without ethnically based statistics)

models for participationconsultation of Roma in education health etc

discuss how to increase cooperation with EU with coming EU Framework

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland would be interested in receiving information from other countries on the question of the

encampment sites for Travellers how to encourage local authorities to create such places how to educate

the local population of the needs of the Travellers how to finance those sites how to manage those sites

Switzerland would also be interested to know how other countries handle schooling (irregular given their

travel) for the children of the Travellers including the issue of the diploma of education adequate and

corresponding to their needs

Switzerland would also be interested in obtaining information on the systemsorganisation established in

other countries to allow the Travellers to be politically represented and able to participate in decisions that

concerns them

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

We would like to learn from other countries concerning

best practices in the field of housing

best practices in the field of employment

experiences with Roma health mediators

UKRAINE

In my opinion it would be interesting to get and discuss information about best practices in supporting

economic initiatives (supporting SMEs) in involving governments and in using various funds including

the structural funds It would be also interesting to obtain information about projects that provide housing

to Roma and to make a comparison between Western Europe on the one hand and Central and Eastern

Europe on the other hand

UNITED KINGDOM

We are interested in learning about any successful policies to address poor social outcomes among

traditional traveller groups like the UKs Gypsies and Travellers particularly in the context of the need to

cut public expenditure

We are particularly interested in the following areas

education

health

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

5

the adoption of a Plan of Action specifically dedicated to Roma issues in 2003 However there is still a lot

to learn on specific thematic areas and types of policies to be developed for the Roma communities eg

there is a need to learn more on how monitoring of education at all levels is done in some

countries especially as concerns the schooling of Romani children

how the data collection is done in some countries in terms of ethnicity especially when a

population census is carried out in those countries

it is important to learn from mechanisms applied in other member states concerning the process of

adoption of strategiespolicies (are they adopted on a yearly basis or for a specific period of time)

and the financing of these policies (are they covered financially and how does this work Is there

for instance a financial commitment ensured for each special chapters etc)

how is ensured the study of the national language when we are confronted with a traditional

Romani community etc

what are the methods envisaged for the involvementimplication of Roma in local and central

decision-making Is their participation considered at all If so how this works in practice

in some countries the Ministry of Internal Affairs plays a very important role in addressing Roma

issues How is this issue tackled by such a Ministry And what about other minorities are they

also dealt with by the same Ministry

another important issue is micro-credit business support There is also an interest to look into any

economic perspectives and community development issues

MONTENEGRO

Aiming to help a larger social integration of Roma population in Montenegrin society the priorities of our

activities and our interests are

the registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents

education (pre-school and primary education reducing drop-out stimulation for furtherhigher

education)

employment (active measures for employment measures to help Roma approaching the labour

market)

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands too many children of Roma background drop out from school - boys as well as girls

They drop out from primary school and most of them do not attend secondary school at all Girls especially

are taken out of school by their parents at the age of 12 to 13 years A lot of them marry soon after leaving

school Sometimes these marriages take place within the Netherlands although many occur outside of the

country with the parents of the bride being paid by a dowry The Dutch authorities fear that these girls

become involved in crime or prostitution in order to be able to pay back this dowry These girls simply

disappear from the local community and cannot be traced by the police or youth care The parents do not

want to reveal where their daughters are however we suspect that they know we very well their

whereabouts

In the Netherlands it is compulsory for children to go to school or follow some kind of education until their

18th

birthday Parents are responsible for their children going to school and the municipality has to enforce

the law in this matter In practice however it is difficult to enforce the law in such a way that all Roma

children attend school According to Dutch [and European (CoE)] values attending school is not only

compulsory but is also a basic human right enabling children to prepare themselves for living in the

community so that they can make a substantial contribution to society

As a consequence of the large drop out rate it is very difficult for Roma to enter the labour market Modern

labour markets demand good language skills and proof of professional education A lot of Roma

consequently end up being active in the grey and black paths of European society or end up in criminal

circles

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

6

My question is Do other experts and countries experience the same Is it possible to organise international

co-operation to bring a solution to this problem thereby protecting the children

NORWAY

Norway would like to receive information on good practices regarding

facilitating access for Roma to mainstream public services in particular public housing

targeted recruiting of Roma assistantsmediators

PORTUGAL

Portugal would like to know more about

Housing measures and experiences

Training for an active citizenship

ROMANIA

We are interested to have more information concerning the following policy measures

how to increase the involvement of local authorities in taking action and finding solutions for the

social integration of Roma communities in their area

tips to develop and implement integrated projects for Roma communities where it is necessary in

order to adopt a series of measures to integrate them socially

SERBIA

Thematic areas are primarily education housing employment and health Areas in which the Roma are the

most vulnerable and that have been set as goals of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 year Policy

measures are related to these and to other areas such as social security readmission culture and

involvement of Roma in work of institutional bodies that make strategic plans for the improvement of

Roma position Such experiences are very important because in practice it is often that inconsistencies

occur and the results are neither so great nor visible Important area is also normalization codification and

standardization of the Romani language that is language policy and further political participation of Roma

cultural and spiritual values of Roma

SLOVAKIA

Comprehensive approach to solve the problems of Roma communities in members countries

Housing Employment Education Health care

Development of National strategies or Action plans in member states

Romani Language ndash in Education and Culture as an important element for identity of the Roma

SPAIN

We would be particularly interested in the following issues access of Roma population to public services

especially to social services participation and empowerment participation in public policy-making and

monitoring awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actions as well as education issues

SWEDEN

Policy measures within education employment health social services in general Our focus is on women

and childrenyoung Roma

More specifically some examples

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

7

models for cooperation within these areas at local level between municipalities Roma civil

society organisations

pre-school education models

support to students other than mediators to prevent early school drop-outs

support to students to continue to secondary school

models for cooperation between school and employment services

other ways to promote youth employment including cooperation with both Roma and non-Roma

civil society organisations

models for preventive health

examples from different countries regarding training of mediators

find ways of cooperating regarding mother tongue tuition

methods for follow-up and evaluate which are not based on quantitative methods

ways of trying to count the number of Roma in a country (without ethnically based statistics)

models for participationconsultation of Roma in education health etc

discuss how to increase cooperation with EU with coming EU Framework

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland would be interested in receiving information from other countries on the question of the

encampment sites for Travellers how to encourage local authorities to create such places how to educate

the local population of the needs of the Travellers how to finance those sites how to manage those sites

Switzerland would also be interested to know how other countries handle schooling (irregular given their

travel) for the children of the Travellers including the issue of the diploma of education adequate and

corresponding to their needs

Switzerland would also be interested in obtaining information on the systemsorganisation established in

other countries to allow the Travellers to be politically represented and able to participate in decisions that

concerns them

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

We would like to learn from other countries concerning

best practices in the field of housing

best practices in the field of employment

experiences with Roma health mediators

UKRAINE

In my opinion it would be interesting to get and discuss information about best practices in supporting

economic initiatives (supporting SMEs) in involving governments and in using various funds including

the structural funds It would be also interesting to obtain information about projects that provide housing

to Roma and to make a comparison between Western Europe on the one hand and Central and Eastern

Europe on the other hand

UNITED KINGDOM

We are interested in learning about any successful policies to address poor social outcomes among

traditional traveller groups like the UKs Gypsies and Travellers particularly in the context of the need to

cut public expenditure

We are particularly interested in the following areas

education

health

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

6

My question is Do other experts and countries experience the same Is it possible to organise international

co-operation to bring a solution to this problem thereby protecting the children

NORWAY

Norway would like to receive information on good practices regarding

facilitating access for Roma to mainstream public services in particular public housing

targeted recruiting of Roma assistantsmediators

PORTUGAL

Portugal would like to know more about

Housing measures and experiences

Training for an active citizenship

ROMANIA

We are interested to have more information concerning the following policy measures

how to increase the involvement of local authorities in taking action and finding solutions for the

social integration of Roma communities in their area

tips to develop and implement integrated projects for Roma communities where it is necessary in

order to adopt a series of measures to integrate them socially

SERBIA

Thematic areas are primarily education housing employment and health Areas in which the Roma are the

most vulnerable and that have been set as goals of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 year Policy

measures are related to these and to other areas such as social security readmission culture and

involvement of Roma in work of institutional bodies that make strategic plans for the improvement of

Roma position Such experiences are very important because in practice it is often that inconsistencies

occur and the results are neither so great nor visible Important area is also normalization codification and

standardization of the Romani language that is language policy and further political participation of Roma

cultural and spiritual values of Roma

SLOVAKIA

Comprehensive approach to solve the problems of Roma communities in members countries

Housing Employment Education Health care

Development of National strategies or Action plans in member states

Romani Language ndash in Education and Culture as an important element for identity of the Roma

SPAIN

We would be particularly interested in the following issues access of Roma population to public services

especially to social services participation and empowerment participation in public policy-making and

monitoring awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actions as well as education issues

SWEDEN

Policy measures within education employment health social services in general Our focus is on women

and childrenyoung Roma

More specifically some examples

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

7

models for cooperation within these areas at local level between municipalities Roma civil

society organisations

pre-school education models

support to students other than mediators to prevent early school drop-outs

support to students to continue to secondary school

models for cooperation between school and employment services

other ways to promote youth employment including cooperation with both Roma and non-Roma

civil society organisations

models for preventive health

examples from different countries regarding training of mediators

find ways of cooperating regarding mother tongue tuition

methods for follow-up and evaluate which are not based on quantitative methods

ways of trying to count the number of Roma in a country (without ethnically based statistics)

models for participationconsultation of Roma in education health etc

discuss how to increase cooperation with EU with coming EU Framework

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland would be interested in receiving information from other countries on the question of the

encampment sites for Travellers how to encourage local authorities to create such places how to educate

the local population of the needs of the Travellers how to finance those sites how to manage those sites

Switzerland would also be interested to know how other countries handle schooling (irregular given their

travel) for the children of the Travellers including the issue of the diploma of education adequate and

corresponding to their needs

Switzerland would also be interested in obtaining information on the systemsorganisation established in

other countries to allow the Travellers to be politically represented and able to participate in decisions that

concerns them

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

We would like to learn from other countries concerning

best practices in the field of housing

best practices in the field of employment

experiences with Roma health mediators

UKRAINE

In my opinion it would be interesting to get and discuss information about best practices in supporting

economic initiatives (supporting SMEs) in involving governments and in using various funds including

the structural funds It would be also interesting to obtain information about projects that provide housing

to Roma and to make a comparison between Western Europe on the one hand and Central and Eastern

Europe on the other hand

UNITED KINGDOM

We are interested in learning about any successful policies to address poor social outcomes among

traditional traveller groups like the UKs Gypsies and Travellers particularly in the context of the need to

cut public expenditure

We are particularly interested in the following areas

education

health

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

7

models for cooperation within these areas at local level between municipalities Roma civil

society organisations

pre-school education models

support to students other than mediators to prevent early school drop-outs

support to students to continue to secondary school

models for cooperation between school and employment services

other ways to promote youth employment including cooperation with both Roma and non-Roma

civil society organisations

models for preventive health

examples from different countries regarding training of mediators

find ways of cooperating regarding mother tongue tuition

methods for follow-up and evaluate which are not based on quantitative methods

ways of trying to count the number of Roma in a country (without ethnically based statistics)

models for participationconsultation of Roma in education health etc

discuss how to increase cooperation with EU with coming EU Framework

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland would be interested in receiving information from other countries on the question of the

encampment sites for Travellers how to encourage local authorities to create such places how to educate

the local population of the needs of the Travellers how to finance those sites how to manage those sites

Switzerland would also be interested to know how other countries handle schooling (irregular given their

travel) for the children of the Travellers including the issue of the diploma of education adequate and

corresponding to their needs

Switzerland would also be interested in obtaining information on the systemsorganisation established in

other countries to allow the Travellers to be politically represented and able to participate in decisions that

concerns them

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

We would like to learn from other countries concerning

best practices in the field of housing

best practices in the field of employment

experiences with Roma health mediators

UKRAINE

In my opinion it would be interesting to get and discuss information about best practices in supporting

economic initiatives (supporting SMEs) in involving governments and in using various funds including

the structural funds It would be also interesting to obtain information about projects that provide housing

to Roma and to make a comparison between Western Europe on the one hand and Central and Eastern

Europe on the other hand

UNITED KINGDOM

We are interested in learning about any successful policies to address poor social outcomes among

traditional traveller groups like the UKs Gypsies and Travellers particularly in the context of the need to

cut public expenditure

We are particularly interested in the following areas

education

health

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

8

access to employment

provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining

good community relations

access to financial products and services

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

9

Replies to the question no2

Do member states have experiencegood practices to offer regarding specific thematic areas and policy

measures

ALBANIA

Albania has made some progress in terms of measures undertaken to improve the living conditions of Roma

but has not reached yet the stage to provide any specific experience in a particular area

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Bosnia and Herzegovina has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in the fields of

employment housing health care and education

For example Bosnia and Herzegovina could show good practices and improvement in the field of housing

of Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2009 2010 and 2011)

BULGARIA

Bulgaria could share best practices in the field of employment - programmes and measures of the labour

market model of labour mediators job fairs in areas populated by Roma projects under Operational

Programme ldquoHuman Resources Developmentrdquo in employment sphere development and implementation of

strategic documents for the integration of Roma in society on a partner principle and with the active

participation of the Roma community model of health mediators work with and within the community on

prevention of tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc

CROATIA

Croatia has invested significant efforts to improve the position of Roma in education undertaking

numerous measures aiming at increasing coverage of Roma children involved in education from preschool

to the university level and decreasing drop-out rate Croatian language acquisition quality assurance

relations between schools and parents

In the area of housing Croatia could offer lessons learned in the process of legalisation of houses in Roma

settlements along with the reconstruction of infrastructure which are being translated into strategic and

policy measures

ESTONIA

The Roma are represented in the Estonian population in relatively small numbers ndash there are only ca 800

Roma (004 of the Estonian population) and we therefore do not have a separate strategy addressing the

integration of Roma (we have a general issue-based Integration Programme) However we are paying close

attention to the situation of Estonian Roma and are making efforts in including Roma as all other national

minorities in our society by securing access to education and social guarantees and supporting the

development of ethnic culture The ministries and agencies involved cooperate closely in these efforts

FINLAND

Administrative structures for Roma issues in order to enhance participation of the Roma and

dialogue between the Roma and the authorities Regional Advisory Boards on Romani Affairs and

Local Roma Working Groups in municipalities

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

10

Education the National Board of Education is implementing a vast project in order to develop the

basic education of the Roma children The municipalities who commit to the development project

are granted special state subsidy for the development activities At the moment about 30

municipalities have started in the project and the activities are estimated to cover 80 per cent of

Roma children in school age The project seems to produce promising results and also more

general activation of Roma parents

Use of Roma TeachersacuteSchool Assistants (in the Finnish vocational education system there is

Vocational Qualification for School AssistantsSpecial Needs Assistants as well as for Romani

Culture mediators)

Educationvocational training models for adult Roma

Promising models for Roma mediators in integrated social services (coaching and guidance

counselling) supporting the Roma empowerment and access to the secondary education and to the

labour market

Housing in Finland the living conditions of the Roma were significantly improved by housing-

related social policy decisions in the seventies (1975-1981) through temporary special legislation

A special statute obliged the municipalities to improve the living conditions of the Roma in their

area and a special state financial system was created to subsidise this However there are still

several problem areas in the housing and the study of the housing situation of the Roma will be

carried out in the near future

HUNGARY

A Hungarian Educational Integration Programme was introduced to guarantee equal opportunities based on

three pillars legal basis for equal opportunities in education reviewing methodology of pedagogy and

resources allocated to implement the previously mentioned goals This comprehensive programme now

involves 1800 institutions 300000 children and pupils and approximately 13000 teachers and has a

budget of about 40 million dollars (equivalent of 7 billion forints) In addition there are the following

initiatives also related to this programme a wage supplement for teachers as financial recompense for their

work other financial incentives linked to kindergarten and school attendance

For strengthening equal opportunities in education additional programmes were initiated for example the

so-called lsquoUacutetravaloacutersquo (For the road) scholarship programme funded from an annual budget of roughly 11

million dollars (2 billion forints) which benefits directly about 20000 students and 10000 teachers

Programmes drawing upon important financial resources were set up co-financed by the European Union

with a view to fighting segregation facilitating access to kindergarten care decreasing the number of

persons qualifying for handicap status granting access to quality education decreasing school drop-outs

improving the educational situation of students with special needs

Hungary has launched a complex development programme for the 33 most disadvantaged micro-regions in

2008 by putting in place 1000 projects with the budget of 97 billion forints (cca 545 million dollars) with

the aim of remedying deficiencies in their social and economical infrastructure and improving the quality of

local services

Equal Opportunity Funding Policy The Hungarian Government has developed the so-called Equal

Opportunity Funding Policy (EOFP) in 2007 which were introduced first in the field of public education

and urban-rehabilitation The main goal of the EOFP was to introduce a new Equal Opportunity Plan for

allocation of EU funds The Equal Opportunity Plan was an obligatory part of all tender proposals in the

field of public education and urban-rehabilitation submitted by municipalities schools etc

The main purpose of the Equal Opportunity Plan

o The introduction of Equal Opportunity Plan contributes to equal access to EU funds by

Roma In the allocation of sources with considering horizontally the principle of equal

opportunity the equal access to EU and national funds of people living in extreme

poverty ndash among them a great number of Roma ndash could be ensured

o Professional planning sources provided to enhance equal opportunities and inclusion

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

11

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

It could be useful to present a follow up of FSE FESR or national projects after the accounting report For

Italy the fund for social inclusion of Roma (2007-2008) offered at the end of April a final report of the

results of the projects

LATVIA

Project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo was developed by NGO ldquoCentre for Education

Initiativesrdquo in the framework of the State Programme ldquoRoma in Latviardquo 2007-2009 (in coordination with

the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) The underlying idea of the project is to elaborate a

programme aimed at the professional preparation of teaching assistants of Roma background and to

facilitate their inclusion into school and pre-school educational institutions attended by children of Roma

background The task of the teaching assistants of Roma background is to assist children of Roma

background to integrate into mainstream educational institutions Teaching assistants of Roma background

help to create the link between the school family and society

The direct target groups of the project are the teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background and Roma children

and indirect target group ndash Roma families who have children of pre-school and school age as well as other

teachers and children involved into the educational process in classes where there are children of Roma

background 20 teaching assistants of Roma background have been prepared for work at school The

consultations were provided to the teacherrsquos assistants also after preparatory courses in order to insure their

gradual inclusion into school activities

The results of special project ldquoTeachersrsquo Assistants of Roma Backgroundrdquo have been highly evaluated by

the headmasters of schools teachers parents and children involved in a project As the evaluation of the

project clearly showed that teachersrsquo assistants of Roma background foster the educational achievements of

Roma children and help to change the attitude of Roma parents about the necessity to include their children

into educational processes at schools The number of Roma children attending special classes of pre-school

and secondary school educational institutions has increased

In school years 20072008 ndash 20082009 eight teacherrsquos assistants of Roma background were working at

schools In 20092010 ndash eight teacherrsquos assistants out of which two were getting salary from municipality

budget

In 2010 the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia prepared amendments to the

Cabinet Regulation No 461 of 18 May 2010 bdquoRegulations Regarding the Classification of Occupations the

Basic Tasks Appropriate to the Occupation and the Basic Qualification Requirements and the Procedures

for the Use and Updating of the Classification of Occupationsrdquo which will allow municipalities to provide

their pre-schools and elementary schools with a teachersrsquo assistant

In addition many others activities had been implemented aimed to improve the situation of Roma in

education area For example the competition ldquoThe best teacher ndash Lāču Mānušrdquo was launched The most

active teachers were awarded for contribution in Roma children integration and education As well as

within years 2007 and 2008 30 teachers working with Roma children attended four-day educational

seminars The aim of the seminars was to prepare teachers working in inclusive classes which also Roma

children attend In year 2008 within the State Program bdquoRoma in Latviardquo seven seminars bdquoThe work of

teacher in a class with Roma childrenrdquo were conducted for teachers in Latvia who teach in classes with

Roma children There were 113 participants from 40 Latvian towns and cities which represented about 16

pre-school educational institutions and 55 schools from Latvia

LITHUANIA

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

12

Good practice and experience in communication and cooperation with human rights NGOs encouraging

Roma socialisation

MOLDOVA

Moldova has a good experience in organising cultural activities such as

the Ethno-Festival organised during the 3rd

week of September every year to promote ethnic

diversity in the country (Roma are present alongside other nationalethnic minorities to present

their cuisine way of living dressing etc)

the Festival for children with participation of nationalethnic minorities

Another good practice includes the Ethnic Minorities Council (representing minority NGOs including

Roma) which has a consultative status with the Bureau for Inter-ethnic Relations

MONTENEGRO

During the Conference on 8 November 2007 the Government of Montenegro adopted the ldquoStrategy for

Improvement of the Position of RAE Population in Montenegro 2008-2012rdquo The Strategy represents a set

of concrete measures and activities in the following four-year period of legal political economic social

urban and communal educational cultural and informative health and any other necessary character as

well as their holders time limits and financial expenses Beside fundamental aims and purposes that are

desired to achieve by the implementation of this document the Strategy defines the scopes priority tasks

the methods of realisation the duration of the Strategy the mechanisms of evaluation etc The priority

scopes are the creation of RAE population database recognizing legal status of RAE population (the

registration and solving the problems concerning identification documents) education the protection of

culture and tradition employment and employment rights health and health protection social and children

protection the improvement of the housing conditions and the participation in public and political life

Gender equality is particularly emphasized in each field

NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands there are about 50 municipalities where people with a Roma background live Several

of these Roma families have to deal with so-called multiproblems These are a combination of problems

including financial difficulties debt psychiatric problems children not going to school parents who are

regularly absent because they are in jail the absence of the male member of the family who is travelling

around the Netherlands or Europe too many people living in the home according to local legislation

children who are not registered with the municipality or absent children who are elsewhere in Europe etc

About twelve of these municipalities developed a so-called integral or holistic approach to deal with these

multiproblems in Roma families We would like to present and explain this often misunderstood approach

to CAHROM members This Dutch approach can be characterized by the offering of opportunities to

people of Roma background who are willing to use them and enforce Dutch law and rules where

necessary In this way we do not differentiate between Dutch or other citizens and citizens of Roma

background Human rights also apply to Roma Roma will also have to recognize that other Roma people

have those rights for example the right to education

NORWAY

Norway would be glad to share information within the CAHROM on the following initiatives

Experiences with the working out and following up of the Plan of Action for Roma

The Roma Adult Education Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The Roma Advisory Centre established by the Municipality of Oslo

The project ldquoRomaniTater from child ndash to adultrdquo ndash competence building and anti-racism initiative

in primary school

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

13

PORTUGAL

See two good practices below

Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators

In October 2009 ACIDI launched a Pilot Project for Municipal Mediators This project was developed

after the positive analysis of the conduct of mediators in multicultural contexts

Its main objective is to create a Roma municipal mediator in order to include him in local municipalities

and in its Roma inclusion related services so that they can establish a close relation with local services and

organisations and local Roma communities The programme was addressed to all Portuguese

Municipalities that having significant Roma population were interested in building bridges to a

constructive dialogue

The mediators must be Roma residents in the intervention area of the municipality or in adjacent

municipalities and are selected by the local government authorities Therefore under this project the

ACIDI conceived and coordinated a set of training sessions for mediators in two major areas ndash Laws and

Public Institutions FunctioningInstitutional Rules and Mediation and Communication

ACIDI participates with 75 of the salaries and the municipalities with the remaining 25 A partnership

between all actors involved was established in which the High Commission would be the promoter the

local municipalities would be the interlocutor and the civil society institutions associations Private

Institutions for Social Solidarity (Instituiccedilotildees Particulares de Solidariedade Social ndash IPSS) and others the

fund managers with whom the mediatorrsquos working contract were celebrated This project is financially

supported by the European Social Fund under the National Strategic Reference Framework (Quadro de

Referecircncia Estrateacutegico Nacional ndash QREN) - Portugal 20072013 through the Operational Program Human

Potential (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano ndash POPH)

The project started on October 1st 2009 ending its first year on September 30

th 2010 Currently on its

second year the programme is expected to last until September 30th 2011 replicating from the financial

point of view last years model ie the ACIDI supports 75 of the of the mediatorsrsquo salaries and the

municipalities the remaining 25

The mediators work in the filed is based on the Intervention Plan which is prepared by both the mediator

and his technical coordinator The specific intervention to take place is determined by the actual local

context and the verified needs in coordination with the Roma Population and the local institutions more

capable of solving the various requests

The project has an external evaluation team from the Centre for Territorial Studies (Centro de Estudos

Territoriais ndash CET ISCTE)

In this year on 8th

April Acidi launched new proposals for the municipalities The selected candidates will

start the project on the 1st October At the same time the first phase municipalities will begin projectrsquos third

year

The Choices Programme

The Choices Programme is a nationwide governmental programme under the direct administration of the

Presidency of the Council of Ministers and coordinated by the High Commission for Immigration and

Intercultural Dialogue It aims to promote the social integration and equal opportunities of children and

young people between the ages of 6 and 24 coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds many of

which are immigrant descendants and members of ethnic minorities (Roma Communities included)

Currently in its 4th

generation (2010-2013) the Choices Programme involves about 1003 local partners 780

technicians and intends to cover 97000 children and youth by the end of 2012

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

14

The Programme supports 130 local projects - 76 of which targeting Roma Communities and in 2010 we

had 3 684 Roma children participating in the Programme - reflecting the needs felt at the local level to

promote the integration of these young people It supports projects managed by local partnerships involving

schools local authorities Non-profit Organizations and the Commissions for the Protection of Children and

Youngsters

At this stage there are 130 projects in progress with the possibility of developing other 10 extra pilot

projects in order to strengthen the support for the mobilization of local communities to create social

inclusion projects of children and youngsters coming from disadvantaged social backgrounds Therefore

the areas of educational inclusion and non formal education vocational training and employability civic

and community participation and digital inclusion were established as priority areas of intervention of the

Choices Programme

It should also be mentioned the strong commitment to the mobilization and empowerment of communities

taken by the Choices Programme which created the figure of ldquoCommunity facilitatorrdquo ie one young

boygirl drawn from a community that is integrated in one of the technical teams of the Choices projects

who has the profile of a positive leader and constitutes de per se a reference model and contributes by its

close links with the area involved for the mobilization of children youth and community in general

The work done by Programme Choices has been internationally acknowledged receiving recognition as a

best practice in several occasions in 2003 it received the European Union Award on Criminality

Prevention in 2007 it was referred as a good practice in the European Union ldquoHandbook for Integrationrdquo

it was equally considered a good practice in the first ldquoInternational Report on Criminality Prevention and

Community Safetyrdquo produced by the Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) with headquarters in

Canada

ROMANIA

Romania has a good experience and good practices on policy measures the social integration of Roma

communities considering that

we have a National Strategy on Roma since 2001 on different areas of intervention (education

health occupation housing etc)

the Roma community is represented in Parliament

we have local experts social arbitrators school and health mediators for Roma

the National Agency for Roma subordinated to the Prime Minister was founded

a secretary of state within the Ministry of Labour has been appointed to deal with Roma issues

SERBIA

Of course member states have such experience and knowledge in connection to these areas especially

member countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion There are differences in the organisation and

execution but exactly according to these examples and experiences one can create a standard form that

must be respected and normally variations are possible depending on the country and specific problems

with Roma in each country

SLOVAKIA

Yes it is very important for getting inspiration when working for Roma communities in CoE members

states

SPAIN

We believe that we could share best practices for instance in the following areas

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

15

Housing with interesting projects that have been put in practice or are currently working in

several municipalities or regions

Employment

Health

Apart from that we believe that in Spain we have an interesting and rich experience in creating links and a

close partnership between the public administrations and the Roma NGOs nowadays especially within the

State Council of the Roma community which had an intense involvement in the drafting of the National

Action Plan for the development of the Roma

SWEDEN

Work on human rights education

Work on fighting discrimination

White paper on historical violations and mistreatment against Roma

Work of the Delegation for Roma issues with support to local level

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland could provide information for example on global concepts which were set up by some cantons

on sites for Travellers and which cover issues of anchoring in the town and country planning policy

maintenance and management of the rest areas awareness programme of the local population

Switzerland could also present an Internet exhibition currently developed by the foundation of the

Confederation the future of Swiss Travellers The exhibition is designed to inform the sedentary

population on the history and culture of Travellers and on the other hand to provide information to the

Travellers themselves for example on education or available rest areas

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

The best practices which can be learned from us

Pre-school education

Project for vocational training

Roma Information Centres

UKRAINE

[no answer to that question]

UNITED KINGDOM

We have established a ministerial working group to look at ways to tackle the issues referred to in our

answer to question 1 but this work is ongoing and so we are not yet in a position to offer any solutions

HOLY SEA (observer)

The Catholic Church through its specific programmes and organisations wishes to show its own concern

for the Roma with a view to promoting positive integration processes that necessarily involve training in

its multiple forms and participation in the labour market Integration also poses a challenge to the

majority population that of knowledge of the culture the history and the values of the Roma For this

reason there is an emerging need to give a coherent structure to the social and pastoral support measures

for the Roma while avoiding any kind of official certification or absorption There is also a need to

overcome fears and prejudices and to eradicate exclusion through educational measures pursued via

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

16

synergy between the institutions of the Church and the State with the co-operation and active

participation of Roma themselves

Numerous initiatives taken by local Catholic Churches can be identified as good practices fostering

means of co-operation with the Roma A few of these initiatives are listed below

1 In the field of integration and social and cultural advancement

1) The Diocese of Vicenza (Italy) through the work of the diocesan charitable organisation Caritas cares

for the Roma and Sinti on an ongoing basis via

- a special committee Nomads and the Christian community composed of both Gypsies and gadje - a

Roma and Sinti desk functioning as a social secretariat

- access to micro-credit facilities

- a legal advice service for Roma irregular migrants and support services during school hours for children

from the poorest households

On the initiative of the local church a Guide for local authorities has been prepared which

proposes a number of integrationsocial inclusion policies for tackling the problems

encountered by Roma

2) The diocese of Dublin (Ireland) has launched an initiative Travelling Towards Inclusion (A Call to

Intercultural Dialogue in Parish Life) focusing on interaction between local settled and Traveller

parishioners Its overall objective is to support facilitate and promote dialogue mutual understanding

recognition and respect solidarity and the sharing of faith equal access to services and resources and

lastly participation in parish life and ministries

The Travellers own parish in Dublin - the Parish of the Travelling People - also devotes much of its work

to issues of social justice including difficulties with accommodation medical care education and

employment In responding to these problems the diocese co-operates with various Traveller organisations

governmental bodies and state and local agencies while maintaining a particularly close working

relationship with the Dublin Dioceses Social Care Agency Crosscare

3) The Fundiaciograven Secretariado Gitano based in Madrid (Spain)

2 In the field of education and schooling

It is worth noting the work carried out by a number of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of

Apostolic Life Particular mention should be made of the Salesian Society of Don Bosco and the Jesuit

Companions of Jesus The following initiatives can be cited

The School of the Nativity in the Czech Republic the School of Love educational project for

trainingeducation of adult Roma in Hungary the co-operation with the Cartuja socio-cultural

association for adults in Granada Spain the Scampia project of the Centro Hurtado in Naples Italy

and the Don Bosco Educational Centre at Bardejov Slovakia

3 In the field of public awareness-raising

Mention should be made of the experience of the Community of SantEgidio active within Roma

communities in many countries of Europe which launched a social and cultural awareness-raising

campaign to stem the spread of stereotypes and fears concerning Gypsies through public meetings and

publications a campaign which also relied on the valuable work done by cultural mediators

There are also many members of the clergy consecrated men and women who share the Roma way of

life living in caravans on campsites or in specifically Roma neighbourhoods such as Lunik IX in Košice

Slovakia (Pastoral Care Centre run by the Society of Don Bosco in co-operation with the Daughters of

Mary Help of Christians)

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

17

Replies to the question no3

Could CAHROM participants (national members international organisations observers) indicate if they

are aware of forthcoming international or regional events that will specifically address specific thematic

areas (to avoid duplication)

ALBANIA

I am aware of all Roma-relevant activities since I am a member of the Roma Decade which provides a

calendar of Roma-related activities in Europe This calendar avoids duplication of activities

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

We are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future but we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members of any such events that could be of interest for others and to exchange

the experience and good practices with regards to the Roma

BULGARIA

A High-Level Event on the contribution of EU funds to Roma integration took place on 21st and 22

nd of

June 2011 in Sofia followed by regional events in Veliko Tarnovo and Burgas These events are a

continuation of the Roma Summit in 2008 in Brussels and similar events in Hungary and Romania

(Remark at the time of the preparation of the replies it was a future event)

CROATIA

[no answer to that question]

ESTONIA

While we are currently not aware of any forthcoming events in the near future we welcome the idea of

notifying other CAHROM members via e-mail of any such events that could be of interest for others

FINLAND

[no answer to that question]

HUNGARY

Other member states have already listed what we are aware of

IRELAND

[no answer to that question]

ITALY

EU-ROMA events (one scheduled in Prague on 11-12 May according to the Fundacion Gitanos)

EQUINET events (on 30-31May in Copenhagen there will be a round table where the training course for

journalists organised in the framework of the Dosta Campaign in Italy will be presented by the

Associazione Giornalisti di Perugia)

LATVIA

There are no any projects or events are planned to address the issue of Roma inclusion at the

nationalregional level in this period of time

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

18

LITUANIA

No we are not aware

MOLDOVA

No information just a possible future activity (to be confirmed) ie a visit of a Moldovan delegation to

Slovenia to learn from their experience in terms of Roma policies

MONTENEGRO

Montenegro is not able to give any information about a calendar of meetings on social inclusion of Roma

NETHERLANDS

I am not able to answer this question at this moment However I am in favour of efficiency and avoiding

duplication

NORWAY

No information

PORTUGAL

Acidi organised a national workshop about Roma associations

ROMANIA

Apart from EPSCO on 19th

of May we have no such information

SERBIA

I would propose to make consultation with the Decade of Roma and the International Steering Committee

but that the Council of Europe and the European Union determine which sectors and organizations are

working on defining policies towards Roma The construction of European Roma platform is in progress It

is necessary to build cooperation with serious European and national Roma organisations

SLOVAKIA

Such information would be useful for effective work at international and national levels

The European Commission is organising a High Level Event on EU Funds contributing to Roma Inclusion

in Slovakia on 23-25 May 2011 The event will consist of 3 main parts

National conference in Bratislava ndash 23 May

Field visit in Eastern-Slovakia ndash 24 May

Regional conference in Kosice ndash 25 May

SPAIN

There is a conference on desegregation in schools organised by the Decade on 27-28May

SWEDEN

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

19

SWITZERLAND

[no answer to that question]

ldquoTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIArdquo

[no answer to that question]

UKRAINE

Among the massive international and regional events I would like to mention the 70th

anniversary of the

Baby Yar tragedy [massacre of Jews Roma and Soviet prisoners of war during Nazi occupation]

parliamentary elections (2012) population census (2012) and preparations for the UEFA EURO 2012

UNITED KINGDOM

We are not aware of any such events

HOLY SEA (observer)

[no answer to that question]

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

20

SUMMARY TABLE OF THEMATIC PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED BY CAHROM MEMBERS

prepared by the Secretariat

Key to the table

Albania = country seeking expertise in the respective thematic policy area

Finland = country willing to offer expertise in the respective thematic policy area

(Austria)= country that has not replied to the questionnaire but provided relevant information through other previous

MG-S-ROMCAHROM documents

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

ROMA POLICIES

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria FinlandFinland HungaryHungary ItalyItaly Lithuania Moldova Montenegro Norway RomaniaRomania Slovakia Spain Sweden

Methodology in terms of elaboration and implementation of comprehensive national Roma strategiesaction plans (guidelines measures outputs duration integrated projectshellip)

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Italy Lithuania Moldova Romania Slovakia

Finland Montenegro Spain

Indicators monitoring and evaluation of national Roma strategiesaction plans

Bosnia and Herzegovina Finland Italy Sweden

Montenegro

Coordination role of national Roma strategies (Ministry Office for minorities Municipalityhellip)

Lithuania Moldova

Norway Romania

National financing of Roma strategiesaction planssocial integration

Bosnia and Herzegovina Moldova

Finland

Better and more effective use of national and European funds (and cooperation with the EU on Roma strategies)

Bulgaria Sweden Ukraine

Hungary Italy (Spain)

(ROMA) MEDIATORS Bulgaria Estonia FinlandFinland LatviaLatvia Norway Portugal Romania Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Roma mediatorsassistantsfacilitators (role recruitment training) in general and in all thematic areas

Estonia Finland Latvia Norway Sweden

Portugal

School mediatorsassistants more specifically Finland Latvia Romania

Health mediators more specifically ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Bulgaria Romania

Employment mediators more specifically Latvia Bulgaria

EDUCATION

CroatiaCroatia Estonia FinlandFinland Hungary Latvia Lithuania Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Portugal Serbia Slovakia Spain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo United Kingdom

Access to education in general Serbia Slovakia Spain United Kingdom

Estonia Finland Hungary

School attendance (including monitoring school attendance and measures addressed to Roma parents)

Latvia Lithuania Moldova

Croatia Finland Hungary

Combatingreducing drop-outs Lithuania Montenegro Netherlands Sweden

Croatia Hungary

Teachersrsquo training Latvia Latvia

Early childhood services and pre-schoolprimary education Finland Montenegro Sweden

Latvia Norway ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Measures supporting secondary and higher education of Roma Croatia Montenegro Sweden

Finland Hungary

School desegregation (including equal opportunity policies and involvementacceptance of Roma kids by non Roma parents)

Croatia Hungary

Vocational training and other measures linking education and labour market including Roma adult education and non formal

Croatia Finland

Finland Norway

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

21

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

education Sweden Portugal ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

EMPLOYMENT (Austria) Bulgaria FinlandFinland Italy Latvia Lithuania Moldova Montenegro (Romania) Slovakia Spain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine United Kingdom

Integration of Roma into the labour market (including job fairs) Latvia Lithuania Montenegro Slovakia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo United Kingdom

Bulgaria Finland (Romania) Spain

Branding Roma traditions and culture in the employment sector (food music craftshellip)

Italy (Romania)

Entrepreneurship and self-employment (business plan training marketing accounting)

Finland Italy Latvia

Micro-credits and business support in particular for SMEs Moldova Ukraine

Roma youth employment Sweden (Austria)

HEALTH amp SOCIAL Bulgaria Estonia Finland Hungary Serbia SpainSpain Slovakia Spain Sweden United Kingdom

Improving access to healthcare Serbia Slovakia United Kingdom

Spain

Policy measures guaranteeing social security and access to financial products and public services (including counselling)

Serbia Spain United Kingdom

Estonia Finland Hungary

Preventive health (including tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc) Sweden Bulgaria

HOUSING

Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria CroatiaCroatia Finland (France) Hungary (Ireland) Lithuania Norway Portugal Serbia Slovakia Spain ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine United Kingdom

Housing integrated policy and housing measures in general Albania Bulgaria Croatia Lithuania Portugal Serbia Slovakia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine

Bosnia and Herzegovina Finland Spain

Legalizationreconstruction of houses in Roma settlements Croatia

Access to public housing Norway

Spatial desegregation (including equal opportunity policies) Croatia Hungary

Provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining good community relations

United Kingdom (France) (Ireland)

CULTURE amp LANGUAGE

Croatia Estonia Finland (France) (Ireland) MoldovaMoldova Serbia Slovakia Sweden United Kingdom

Normalisation codification standardisation of Romani language Serbia

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

22

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

Defence of Roma cultural and spiritual values Serbia Estonia Finland Moldova

Preservation of the Romani language as part of the Roma identity Moldova Slovakia Sweden

Teaching of the Romani language at school Croatia

PARTICIPATION amp EMPOWERMENT GENDER

EQUALITY

Bulgaria (Croatia) Finland MoldovaMoldova Montenegro Norway Portugal Romania (Russian Federation) Serbia(Serbia) SpainSpain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine

Participatory structures that enable dialogue and cooperation between Roma and authorities at all levels (Councils Boards Agencies Roma InformationAdvisory Centres)

(Russian Federation) Sweden Ukraine

(Croatia) Finland Moldova Norway Romania Spain ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Participation and empowerment of Roma in decision-making and monitoring at all levels

Moldova Serbia

Bulgaria Spain

Political participationrepresentation in parliament Spain (Croatia) Romania (Serbia) (ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo)

Promoting gender equality and youth equal opportunities Sweden Montenegro Portugal

CO-OPERATION WITHINVOLVEMENT OF

LOCAL amp REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia FinlandFinland Hungary Netherlands Portugal Romania Spain SwedenSweden

Involvement and commitment from local and regional authorities for Roma integration

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungary Romania Sweden

Finland Netherlands

Co-operation between local and regional authorities and local Roma organisations (including through municipal mediators)

Croatia Finland

Portugal Spain Sweden

INVOLVEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY amp CO-

OPERATION WITH HUMAN RIGHTS NGOs

Croatia Lithuania Sweden

Involvement of and cooperation with human rights organisations And involvement of non-Roma NGOs in Roma community development and integration

Croatia Sweden

Lithuania

ID DOCUMENTS CITIZENSHIP

Montenegro Portugal Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Registration and ID documents (including for returnees) Montenegro Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Active citizenship Portugal

DATA COLLECTION

Moldova Montenegro Sweden

Ethnic data collection in the context of population census Moldova Sweden

Creation of RAE population database Montenegro

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

23

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AWARENESS-RAISING amp

HUMANMINORITY RIGHTS

Albania Bulgaria Estonia Hungary Moldova Norway Spain Sweden

Awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actionscampaigns Bulgaria Hungary Spain

Norway Sweden

Roma policy dealt separately or together with other national minoritiesrsquopolicy

Moldova

White paper on historical violations against Roma Sweden

Human Rights and Minoritiesrsquo Protection and Education Albania Estonia Sweden

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

20

SUMMARY TABLE OF THEMATIC PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED BY CAHROM MEMBERS

prepared by the Secretariat

Key to the table

Albania = country seeking expertise in the respective thematic policy area

Finland = country willing to offer expertise in the respective thematic policy area

(Austria)= country that has not replied to the questionnaire but provided relevant information through other previous

MG-S-ROMCAHROM documents

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

ROMA POLICIES

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria FinlandFinland HungaryHungary ItalyItaly Lithuania Moldova Montenegro Norway RomaniaRomania Slovakia Spain Sweden

Methodology in terms of elaboration and implementation of comprehensive national Roma strategiesaction plans (guidelines measures outputs duration integrated projectshellip)

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Italy Lithuania Moldova Romania Slovakia

Finland Montenegro Spain

Indicators monitoring and evaluation of national Roma strategiesaction plans

Bosnia and Herzegovina Finland Italy Sweden

Montenegro

Coordination role of national Roma strategies (Ministry Office for minorities Municipalityhellip)

Lithuania Moldova

Norway Romania

National financing of Roma strategiesaction planssocial integration

Bosnia and Herzegovina Moldova

Finland

Better and more effective use of national and European funds (and cooperation with the EU on Roma strategies)

Bulgaria Sweden Ukraine

Hungary Italy (Spain)

(ROMA) MEDIATORS Bulgaria Estonia FinlandFinland LatviaLatvia Norway Portugal Romania Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Roma mediatorsassistantsfacilitators (role recruitment training) in general and in all thematic areas

Estonia Finland Latvia Norway Sweden

Portugal

School mediatorsassistants more specifically Finland Latvia Romania

Health mediators more specifically ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Bulgaria Romania

Employment mediators more specifically Latvia Bulgaria

EDUCATION

CroatiaCroatia Estonia FinlandFinland Hungary Latvia Lithuania Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Portugal Serbia Slovakia Spain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo United Kingdom

Access to education in general Serbia Slovakia Spain United Kingdom

Estonia Finland Hungary

School attendance (including monitoring school attendance and measures addressed to Roma parents)

Latvia Lithuania Moldova

Croatia Finland Hungary

Combatingreducing drop-outs Lithuania Montenegro Netherlands Sweden

Croatia Hungary

Teachersrsquo training Latvia Latvia

Early childhood services and pre-schoolprimary education Finland Montenegro Sweden

Latvia Norway ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Measures supporting secondary and higher education of Roma Croatia Montenegro Sweden

Finland Hungary

School desegregation (including equal opportunity policies and involvementacceptance of Roma kids by non Roma parents)

Croatia Hungary

Vocational training and other measures linking education and labour market including Roma adult education and non formal

Croatia Finland

Finland Norway

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

21

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

education Sweden Portugal ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

EMPLOYMENT (Austria) Bulgaria FinlandFinland Italy Latvia Lithuania Moldova Montenegro (Romania) Slovakia Spain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine United Kingdom

Integration of Roma into the labour market (including job fairs) Latvia Lithuania Montenegro Slovakia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo United Kingdom

Bulgaria Finland (Romania) Spain

Branding Roma traditions and culture in the employment sector (food music craftshellip)

Italy (Romania)

Entrepreneurship and self-employment (business plan training marketing accounting)

Finland Italy Latvia

Micro-credits and business support in particular for SMEs Moldova Ukraine

Roma youth employment Sweden (Austria)

HEALTH amp SOCIAL Bulgaria Estonia Finland Hungary Serbia SpainSpain Slovakia Spain Sweden United Kingdom

Improving access to healthcare Serbia Slovakia United Kingdom

Spain

Policy measures guaranteeing social security and access to financial products and public services (including counselling)

Serbia Spain United Kingdom

Estonia Finland Hungary

Preventive health (including tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc) Sweden Bulgaria

HOUSING

Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria CroatiaCroatia Finland (France) Hungary (Ireland) Lithuania Norway Portugal Serbia Slovakia Spain ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine United Kingdom

Housing integrated policy and housing measures in general Albania Bulgaria Croatia Lithuania Portugal Serbia Slovakia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine

Bosnia and Herzegovina Finland Spain

Legalizationreconstruction of houses in Roma settlements Croatia

Access to public housing Norway

Spatial desegregation (including equal opportunity policies) Croatia Hungary

Provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining good community relations

United Kingdom (France) (Ireland)

CULTURE amp LANGUAGE

Croatia Estonia Finland (France) (Ireland) MoldovaMoldova Serbia Slovakia Sweden United Kingdom

Normalisation codification standardisation of Romani language Serbia

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

22

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

Defence of Roma cultural and spiritual values Serbia Estonia Finland Moldova

Preservation of the Romani language as part of the Roma identity Moldova Slovakia Sweden

Teaching of the Romani language at school Croatia

PARTICIPATION amp EMPOWERMENT GENDER

EQUALITY

Bulgaria (Croatia) Finland MoldovaMoldova Montenegro Norway Portugal Romania (Russian Federation) Serbia(Serbia) SpainSpain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine

Participatory structures that enable dialogue and cooperation between Roma and authorities at all levels (Councils Boards Agencies Roma InformationAdvisory Centres)

(Russian Federation) Sweden Ukraine

(Croatia) Finland Moldova Norway Romania Spain ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Participation and empowerment of Roma in decision-making and monitoring at all levels

Moldova Serbia

Bulgaria Spain

Political participationrepresentation in parliament Spain (Croatia) Romania (Serbia) (ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo)

Promoting gender equality and youth equal opportunities Sweden Montenegro Portugal

CO-OPERATION WITHINVOLVEMENT OF

LOCAL amp REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia FinlandFinland Hungary Netherlands Portugal Romania Spain SwedenSweden

Involvement and commitment from local and regional authorities for Roma integration

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungary Romania Sweden

Finland Netherlands

Co-operation between local and regional authorities and local Roma organisations (including through municipal mediators)

Croatia Finland

Portugal Spain Sweden

INVOLVEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY amp CO-

OPERATION WITH HUMAN RIGHTS NGOs

Croatia Lithuania Sweden

Involvement of and cooperation with human rights organisations And involvement of non-Roma NGOs in Roma community development and integration

Croatia Sweden

Lithuania

ID DOCUMENTS CITIZENSHIP

Montenegro Portugal Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Registration and ID documents (including for returnees) Montenegro Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Active citizenship Portugal

DATA COLLECTION

Moldova Montenegro Sweden

Ethnic data collection in the context of population census Moldova Sweden

Creation of RAE population database Montenegro

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

23

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AWARENESS-RAISING amp

HUMANMINORITY RIGHTS

Albania Bulgaria Estonia Hungary Moldova Norway Spain Sweden

Awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actionscampaigns Bulgaria Hungary Spain

Norway Sweden

Roma policy dealt separately or together with other national minoritiesrsquopolicy

Moldova

White paper on historical violations against Roma Sweden

Human Rights and Minoritiesrsquo Protection and Education Albania Estonia Sweden

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

21

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

education Sweden Portugal ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

EMPLOYMENT (Austria) Bulgaria FinlandFinland Italy Latvia Lithuania Moldova Montenegro (Romania) Slovakia Spain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine United Kingdom

Integration of Roma into the labour market (including job fairs) Latvia Lithuania Montenegro Slovakia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo United Kingdom

Bulgaria Finland (Romania) Spain

Branding Roma traditions and culture in the employment sector (food music craftshellip)

Italy (Romania)

Entrepreneurship and self-employment (business plan training marketing accounting)

Finland Italy Latvia

Micro-credits and business support in particular for SMEs Moldova Ukraine

Roma youth employment Sweden (Austria)

HEALTH amp SOCIAL Bulgaria Estonia Finland Hungary Serbia SpainSpain Slovakia Spain Sweden United Kingdom

Improving access to healthcare Serbia Slovakia United Kingdom

Spain

Policy measures guaranteeing social security and access to financial products and public services (including counselling)

Serbia Spain United Kingdom

Estonia Finland Hungary

Preventive health (including tuberculosis HIV AIDS etc) Sweden Bulgaria

HOUSING

Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria CroatiaCroatia Finland (France) Hungary (Ireland) Lithuania Norway Portugal Serbia Slovakia Spain ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine United Kingdom

Housing integrated policy and housing measures in general Albania Bulgaria Croatia Lithuania Portugal Serbia Slovakia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine

Bosnia and Herzegovina Finland Spain

Legalizationreconstruction of houses in Roma settlements Croatia

Access to public housing Norway

Spatial desegregation (including equal opportunity policies) Croatia Hungary

Provision of traveller sites while respecting the rights of settled communities and maintaining good community relations

United Kingdom (France) (Ireland)

CULTURE amp LANGUAGE

Croatia Estonia Finland (France) (Ireland) MoldovaMoldova Serbia Slovakia Sweden United Kingdom

Normalisation codification standardisation of Romani language Serbia

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

22

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

Defence of Roma cultural and spiritual values Serbia Estonia Finland Moldova

Preservation of the Romani language as part of the Roma identity Moldova Slovakia Sweden

Teaching of the Romani language at school Croatia

PARTICIPATION amp EMPOWERMENT GENDER

EQUALITY

Bulgaria (Croatia) Finland MoldovaMoldova Montenegro Norway Portugal Romania (Russian Federation) Serbia(Serbia) SpainSpain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine

Participatory structures that enable dialogue and cooperation between Roma and authorities at all levels (Councils Boards Agencies Roma InformationAdvisory Centres)

(Russian Federation) Sweden Ukraine

(Croatia) Finland Moldova Norway Romania Spain ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Participation and empowerment of Roma in decision-making and monitoring at all levels

Moldova Serbia

Bulgaria Spain

Political participationrepresentation in parliament Spain (Croatia) Romania (Serbia) (ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo)

Promoting gender equality and youth equal opportunities Sweden Montenegro Portugal

CO-OPERATION WITHINVOLVEMENT OF

LOCAL amp REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia FinlandFinland Hungary Netherlands Portugal Romania Spain SwedenSweden

Involvement and commitment from local and regional authorities for Roma integration

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungary Romania Sweden

Finland Netherlands

Co-operation between local and regional authorities and local Roma organisations (including through municipal mediators)

Croatia Finland

Portugal Spain Sweden

INVOLVEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY amp CO-

OPERATION WITH HUMAN RIGHTS NGOs

Croatia Lithuania Sweden

Involvement of and cooperation with human rights organisations And involvement of non-Roma NGOs in Roma community development and integration

Croatia Sweden

Lithuania

ID DOCUMENTS CITIZENSHIP

Montenegro Portugal Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Registration and ID documents (including for returnees) Montenegro Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Active citizenship Portugal

DATA COLLECTION

Moldova Montenegro Sweden

Ethnic data collection in the context of population census Moldova Sweden

Creation of RAE population database Montenegro

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

23

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AWARENESS-RAISING amp

HUMANMINORITY RIGHTS

Albania Bulgaria Estonia Hungary Moldova Norway Spain Sweden

Awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actionscampaigns Bulgaria Hungary Spain

Norway Sweden

Roma policy dealt separately or together with other national minoritiesrsquopolicy

Moldova

White paper on historical violations against Roma Sweden

Human Rights and Minoritiesrsquo Protection and Education Albania Estonia Sweden

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

22

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

Defence of Roma cultural and spiritual values Serbia Estonia Finland Moldova

Preservation of the Romani language as part of the Roma identity Moldova Slovakia Sweden

Teaching of the Romani language at school Croatia

PARTICIPATION amp EMPOWERMENT GENDER

EQUALITY

Bulgaria (Croatia) Finland MoldovaMoldova Montenegro Norway Portugal Romania (Russian Federation) Serbia(Serbia) SpainSpain Sweden ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo Ukraine

Participatory structures that enable dialogue and cooperation between Roma and authorities at all levels (Councils Boards Agencies Roma InformationAdvisory Centres)

(Russian Federation) Sweden Ukraine

(Croatia) Finland Moldova Norway Romania Spain ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Participation and empowerment of Roma in decision-making and monitoring at all levels

Moldova Serbia

Bulgaria Spain

Political participationrepresentation in parliament Spain (Croatia) Romania (Serbia) (ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo)

Promoting gender equality and youth equal opportunities Sweden Montenegro Portugal

CO-OPERATION WITHINVOLVEMENT OF

LOCAL amp REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia FinlandFinland Hungary Netherlands Portugal Romania Spain SwedenSweden

Involvement and commitment from local and regional authorities for Roma integration

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungary Romania Sweden

Finland Netherlands

Co-operation between local and regional authorities and local Roma organisations (including through municipal mediators)

Croatia Finland

Portugal Spain Sweden

INVOLVEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY amp CO-

OPERATION WITH HUMAN RIGHTS NGOs

Croatia Lithuania Sweden

Involvement of and cooperation with human rights organisations And involvement of non-Roma NGOs in Roma community development and integration

Croatia Sweden

Lithuania

ID DOCUMENTS CITIZENSHIP

Montenegro Portugal Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Registration and ID documents (including for returnees) Montenegro Serbia ldquothe FYR of Macedoniardquo

Active citizenship Portugal

DATA COLLECTION

Moldova Montenegro Sweden

Ethnic data collection in the context of population census Moldova Sweden

Creation of RAE population database Montenegro

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

23

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AWARENESS-RAISING amp

HUMANMINORITY RIGHTS

Albania Bulgaria Estonia Hungary Moldova Norway Spain Sweden

Awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actionscampaigns Bulgaria Hungary Spain

Norway Sweden

Roma policy dealt separately or together with other national minoritiesrsquopolicy

Moldova

White paper on historical violations against Roma Sweden

Human Rights and Minoritiesrsquo Protection and Education Albania Estonia Sweden

CAHROM (2011)12rev3

23

Main thematic area More specific thematic issues Countries willing to learn more from these areas

Countries which could provide some expertise

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AWARENESS-RAISING amp

HUMANMINORITY RIGHTS

Albania Bulgaria Estonia Hungary Moldova Norway Spain Sweden

Awareness-raising and anti-discrimination actionscampaigns Bulgaria Hungary Spain

Norway Sweden

Roma policy dealt separately or together with other national minoritiesrsquopolicy

Moldova

White paper on historical violations against Roma Sweden

Human Rights and Minoritiesrsquo Protection and Education Albania Estonia Sweden