Tag Archives: Integration

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Settlements

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Slovakia and Roma Settlements

The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities has approved another series of projects aimed at improving living conditions in municipalities included in the Atlas of Roma Communities. Thanks to the approved projects, social rental housing capacity for 1,193 people will be created, 8.15 kilometres of sewage will be built or reconstructed, and waste will be removed from an area of ​​almost 3,200 square meters.

This is a very small drop in a very large ocean.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia: Integration

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Croatia: Integration

Međimurje County invited citizens to vote online to support the story of the Međimurje Sports Network about Vjeran Balog from Parag, which has entered the competition for the best journalistic work on the topic of inclusion and tolerance in the community.

The story follows Vjeran Balog, a football coach dedicated to working with young people, who last week became the first Roma to hold a coaching diploma from the Croatian Football Federation (HNS). His example shows how motivation and focus can overcome great obstacles.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma, Municipalities, and Subsidies

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Roma, Municipalities, and Subsidies

Municipalities where Roma settlements are located receive several million euros from the state every year, which they should have spent on financing the support and integration of Roma. This is money that is primarily intended to improve living conditions in these settlements.

But in practice, this is far from the case. One such example is the municipality of Ribnica, which has been led since 2018 by Samo Pogorelc, recently one of the mayors who has been the loudest in demanding measures from the state in connection with the “Roma issue”. He became known to the wider public in June this year when he was attacked and injured by two members of the Roma community at a firefighter’s party. This was after he declared that he would not provide water to Roma who refuse to integrate.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma Multipurpose Centre

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Roma Multipurpose Centre

Šentjernej councillors unanimously supported the establishment of a temporary Multipurpose Roma Centre on Trdinova cesta, only Roma councillor Brajdič abstained. He is against this.

These centres are anyhow mostly alibis.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia and Roma

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Croatia and Roma

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and Minister of the Interior, Dr. sc. Davor Božinović, paid an official visit to Međimurje County. The topic of the meeting was community security, strengthening interdepartmental cooperation and the continuation of projects that contribute to better integration of the population, especially in Roma settlements.

As part of the visit, Minister Božinović visited Kuršanec Elementary School, where he met with Roma helpers in class.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Integration Programs

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Slovenia and Integration Programs

Slovenian municipalities will now have to report to the state on the use of money in which Roma live. 25 of them, received over nine million euros from the state budget for this purpose this year, the most ever. But there is no clear answer to the question of where the money ends up.

Data reveals that in previous years quite a few municipalities did not spend the money at all or spent it on something else instead of integrating Roma. This is precisely why they will now have to report to the state on the use of the money in detail on a special form.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Repressive Measures

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Repressive Measures

In the wake of the killing of a man by Roma in Slovenia, the government is planning new repressive measures. The current proposal will allow cutting social benefits to perpetrators of crimes and their families.

The Faculty of Social Work of the University of Ljubljana and the Association of Social Workers of Slovenia have described several measures from the so-called Šutar Act as unconstitutional and a departure from the principles of the welfare state. They called on the government to avoid collective punishment, stigmatization and repression of the poorest and most socially excluded groups.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Rifts in the Community

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Rifts in the Community

A talk with Haris Tahirović, journalist and president of the Roma association Anglunipe and president of the Roma Community Association, which is called Umbrella, about the situation of the Roma in Slovenia and we tried to answer the question of what was the cause of the tragic event in Novo mesto.

The 2007 Roma Community Act has caused considerable debate and opposition. One of the key complaints, explains Tahirović, is that it separates Roma into autochthonous and non-autochthonous, which many believe is discriminatory and causes additional divisions within an already marginalized community. Another problem is the uneven implementation of national strategies and measures. Some measures have been implemented only on paper, without any real impact on the lives of Roma.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Integration of Roma

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Integration of Roma

In response to the Novo Mesto tragedy, the Human Rights Ombudsman strongly condemned all violence. According to the Ombudsman, the state has failed to integrate the Roma. He warned that the right to security is one of the fundamental pillars of trust in the rule of law, and added that the incident reveals deeper social and systemic problems.

“The outbreaks of violence are a reflection of systemic shortcomings,” it is written on the Ombudsman’s website. They also recalled that the Ombudsman has been warning for many years about the lack of sustainable and inclusive measures, ghettoization, spatial and social segregation, and unequal opportunities that deepen differences, strengthen mistrust, and prevent coexistence.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma Employment

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Roma Employment

The Slovene Ministry of Labour launched the Roma Model programme in May this year, with the aim of increasing Roma employment. The programme is currently implemented only by the Kočevje Business Incubator. Nine Roma women have joined it. Employers’ experiences with them vary, but currently, according to the programme’s implementers, the biggest problem is low pay.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Bulgaria, Roma, and Schools

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Bulgaria, Roma, and Schools

Kristiana Koleva, who was the weightlifting coach of 15-year-old Krasi, who was stabbed and killed in a Sofia mall, was a special guest on “Darik’s Day” and shared what her calling is.

“We tell them how to be decent people, to study, to get up early, not to be on those phones. But do you know what I think? That the state is also very guilty of this. And the family. Believe me, these children have a lot of bread in them and they are good people, but we have to work with them. This is not only done by the coaches in the gym. We are like a father, like a mother to them. But the state also has to work.”

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia: Multicultural Centre

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Croatia: Multicultural Centre

The contract for building a new multicultural centre in the Sitnice settlement in Mursko Središće was signed. With the construction of the Roma Multicultural Centre, the Sitnice settlement will receive a long-awaited space that will be used for work with children, education, culture and various social activities of the Roma community, which will significantly contribute to improving the quality of life and integration.

We’re not sur this is the best help for integration.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Memorandum on Integration

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Memorandum on Integration

Mutual cooperation in implementing public policies for Roma inclusion, mutual transfer of knowledge with an emphasis on good practices, positive responses and effective methods of their implementation are the subject of a memorandum concluded by the Office of the Government of the Slovak Republic and the Interest Association of Municipalities Spolužitie and Jekhetane Roma and Slovakia. Its details were announced at a press conference in the municipality of Bystrany on Tuesday by the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities Alexander Daško and the Chairman of the Association Slavomír Badžo.

Let’s see what this brings.

Albania News Eastern Europe

Albania: Integration

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Albania: Integration

The 6th Ministerial meeting on Roma integration within the Berlin Process as a commitment to fight discrimination and improve access to basic services was held in Tirana Albania.

The meeting endorsed the Poznań Declaration, a historic agreement that commits governments to take concrete measures to include Roma in four key areas: employment opportunities, access to education, housing conditions and anti-discrimination measures.

The Albanian Minister of Health and Social Services, Prof. Evis Sala, welcomed the meeting as an important step towards Roma inclusion. “In the last five years, as Albania has progressed towards the European family, there have been visible improvements in the situation of the Roma and Egyptian minorities in areas such as education, employment, housing, healthcare, social protection, civil registration and access to justice, based on best international standards and practices,” said Sala.

The EU Ambassador to Albania, Silvio Gonzato, stressed the fundamental importance of Roma inclusion.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and the “Roma Problem”

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Slovenia and the “Roma Problem”

State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior Helga Dobrin met with representatives of the Regional Civil Initiative of Southeast Slovenia. The main topic of the discussions was the Roma issue and ensuring security in local communities in southeast Slovenia.

She said that the police will ensure an increased patrol presence as long as necessary but that it is only is only a short-term measure, the long-term goal being Roma integration.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovak Action Plan

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Slovak Action Plan

The SaS opposition party draws attention to the allegedly inefficient use of public funds within the government’s action plan to address the issue of excluded Roma communities. According to SaS MP Vladimír Ledecký, the document is expected to cost more than a billion euros, with 60 million of them going to planting trees around Roma settlements.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia: Regional Coordinators

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Czechia: Regional Coordinators

A working meeting of regional coordinators for Roma affairs, Roma advisors, field workers, representatives of local governments and state administration took place in Pardubice on September 18 and 19. The aim of the two-day event was to deepen cooperation between institutions and methodologically support the implementation of integration measures. The main focus was on the prevention of anti-Gypsyism in public administration and intergroup relations. The event was co-organized by the Pardubice Region, the Department of Human Rights and Protection of Minorities of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Integration Picnic

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Integration Picnic

The “Breaking Stereotypes” Integration Picnic will take place this Friday (September 26) in Suwałki, Poland.

The event aims to build bridges between cultures and generations and to break down stereotypes. During the picnic, participants will have the opportunity to sample traditional Roma dishes prepared during culinary workshops, participate in educational activities exploring the history, culture, and language of the Roma, and have fun together during activities and integration competitions.

Unfortunately, all pictures here are stereotypical …

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Roma Road Show

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Roma Road Show

Successful Roma projects were presented at the Roma Road Show conference in the Chamber of Deputies. Representatives of organizations showed that community involvement is the key to positive changes.

The Roma Road Show conference was initiated by the Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková and took place on Tuesday in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The aim was to present inspiring community projects and open a debate with politicians and public administration representatives about their benefits. According to Fuková, improving the situation of Roma is a benefit for the whole society.

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