Tag Archives: Integration

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

On World Roma Day, the President of the Slovenian Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, organised a consultation in the presidential palace attended by members of the Council of the Roma Community and councillors from municipalities where Roma have the right to elect their representatives to the municipal council.

She bemoaned the lack of access to clean water, and the fact that the health and social services have let the Roma down in many communities.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma Integration

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Slovakia and Roma Integration

One year after the adoption of the first action plan of the Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation until 2030, it will be necessary to strengthen communication and monitoring of the completion of the tasks. Ján Hero, the representative of the Slovak government for Roma communities, admitted it. Former Roma plenipotentiary, current Member of the European Parliament Peter Pollák Sr. points out that even the perfect strategy and action plan cannot improve the situation of marginalized Roma if all those involved do not make increased efforts.

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

Ukraine and April 8th

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Ukraine and April 8th

A round table was held in Ukraine’s Commissioner’s Secretariat on the occasion of the International Roma Day. The discussion was attended by the management and representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman, Ukrainian state institutions, international and public organizations.

During the introductory speech, Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets noted that the issue of the status of national communities is one of the conditions for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, therefore this issue is extremely important for Ukraine as a whole and for the work of the Ombudsman’s Office. In particular, the protection of the rights of the Roma minority, which is one of the most vulnerable national communities.

Italy News Western Europe

Roma Camps in Rome

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Roma Camps in Rome

The Councilor for Social Policies Funari states that the goal is to achieve true inclusion and the right to citizenship of the Roma who live around Rome. For 69% of Romans, the minority “is a threat” (57% among Italians).

There are problems and they are undeniable: the real estate market, which concerns all Romans, and then the racism that continues to exist, and the further discrimination, caused by the institutions and for which we can only apologize.

Italy News Western Europe

Italy’s Roma Inclusion Plans

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Italy’s Roma Inclusion Plans

The new Italian national strategy for the inclusion of Roma and Sinti communities 2021-2030 has been presented in Rome.

The text responds to the recommendation of the Council of the European Union to address the socio-economic exclusion of Roma and Sinti in the EU and in the enlargement countries, “promoting equal access to education, employment, assistance health and housing, inviting Member States to design national Roma and Sinti integration strategies.” The new plan focuses on the enhancement of Roma culture and at the same time on the fight against anti-Gypsyism.

They’d better resolve the issue of the Roma camps …

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Hungary, the Church, Roma, and the EU

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Hungary, the Church, Roma, and the EU

The Christian Roma Vocational Colleges Network and the Roma Vocational Colleges Association will participate in a professional trip at the beginning of March to present themselves at an international conference in Brussels.

In Hungary, eleven Roma vocational colleges have been working for more than ten years on the higher education career path and institutional and social integration of young people of Roma origin and/or underprivileged.

The issue with this is the fact that education is segregated. That seems not to be obvious to the promoters of such colleges…

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic and Roma Integration

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Czech Republic and Roma Integration

An interview with Magdalena Karvayova, co-founder of the Awen Amenca association which focuses on equal access to quality education for Roma children.

There is a long way to go still

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovakia: Scathing Assessment

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Slovakia: Scathing Assessment

A really scathing assessment of the Slovak Republic Strategy for Roma education between 2016 and 2020. According to the official audit, 173 Mio Euros were spent, which in comparison to 500’000 Roma in the country is not exactly a lot.

The programs did not meet their own set goals. Worse, the programs did not have clearly specified goals. Thus, according to the article, “it was not possible to monitor the progress and adapt the activities or to inform the public about the development. Later, the indicators were modified, which lost continuity and made everything even more unclear. What did not change over time was the problem of data unavailability. They were missing during the entire period.”

Europe

Roma Integration in Western Balkans and Turkey

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Roma Integration in Western Balkans and Turkey

The European Commission is calling for applications for the award on Roma integration in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Italy News Western Europe

Italy and Roma Integration

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Italy and Roma Integration

According to the Council of Europe, Italy is not doing enough on the integration of Roma. Despite various parliamentary initiatives, a national legal framework has still not been adopted. Anti-Gypsyism persists at all levels of society and is insufficiently fought against. A negative portrayal of Roma and Sinti remains widespread, including on social media.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Lunik IX Children Choir

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Lunik IX Children Choir

Ondrej Ferko leads the Devjatkakare čhave choir, with almost 40 children from the Luník IX housing estate in Košice. They performed during the Pope’s visit to Slovakia and in the television competition Czechoslovakia has talent. “In three years, we have destroyed stereotypes for other educators, who thought that nothing could be done with these children. And we also destroyed the children’s self-doubt,” says Ferko.

At the beginning, Milan Dulina, director of the Ľ Elementary School, also joined the work. Together with choirmaster Ferko, they explain, among other things, how they work with promising singers and also how artistic training has changed the results of children at school.

Ferko added “Roma children are not born knowing how to sing well, it takes a lot of hard work”.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Republic: Roma Integration

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Czech Republic: Roma Integration

Last week, the Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs, Lucie Fuková, met with the Deputy Prime Minister for Digitization and the Minister for Regional Development, Ivan Bartoš. They discussed the functioning of the Agency for Social Inclusion and the solution to the social exclusion of Roma not only in economically disadvantaged regions.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Minorities

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Slovenia and Minorities

On January 13, the inter-municipal Roma association Romano Vozo organized a round table entitled Ethnic minorities in Slovenia, their cooperation and integration. This covered Roma, Serbs, Albanians, Bosnians. Regarding Roma, though, the usual views and statements were made: Jožek Horvat Muc, president of the Association of Roma of Slovenia. First of all, he explained that the Roma live in different regions, where they are accepted and organized in different ways depending on the economic, social and social situation of the region.

“Conditions regarding integration, cooperation, political participation and employment are the best in Prekmurje, and the worst in SE Slovenia. Part of the blame also lies with the Roma, who are not sufficiently organized, do not want to integrate into society, cooperate, take care of the development of the Roma community, and part of their worse situation is also the fact that they live in Roma settlements.

Part of the blame???

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Work

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Slovakia, Roma, and Work

There is a shortage of workers in Slovakia, while there are people who urgently need regular work, according to an article published last week by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The integration of Roma would solve part of the problems of the Slovak labour market as there are around 500,000 Roma in Slovakia.

According to the statistics of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, in 2021 only 33% of Roma in Slovakia had a paid job, while 60% of young Roma between the ages of 16 and 24 were not looking for work, were not in education, or were part of any training program . “Humanly it is a drama, economically it is a burden for Slovakia,” writes the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in an article entitled Roma – a recognized workforce in Europe.

In Slovakia, as in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, there is a shortage of labour force, which will probably ease in the coming months due to the current negative economic development, but this problem is structural.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovak EDUMA Prizes

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Slovak EDUMA Prizes

The Slovak NGO EDUMA awarded prizes to schools, companies and projects. Among them, Lear Corporation Seating Slovakia, p. r. o., was lauded for the strategic support of activities focused on the importance of diversity in the workplace and also for creating opportunities and environments that help the integration of Roma into the company’s work process.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Poland and Roma Integration

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Poland and Roma Integration

As part of the Program of social and civic integration of the Roma in Poland for 2021-2030 adopted by Resolution No. 190/2020 of the Council of Ministers of December 21, 2020, the Ministry of the Interior and Administration is starting the procedure related to submitting applications for the implementation of tasks in 2023 year.

According to the “Information on the procedure for granting subsidies from the Social and Civic Integration Program of the Roma in Poland for 2021-2030 for tasks in the fields of: Education, Housing, Innovative Integration Projects in 2023” prepared by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, the deadline for submitting applications to voivodes is November 15, 2022.

Europe

EU and Roma

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EU and Roma

The EU Parliament passed a resolution acknowledging the plight of Roma in many European countries and the need for more action and changes in many European countries. The resolution also called on member states to ensure that EU funds earmarked to support Roma settlement communities are used effectively and to further integrate Roma populations into their societies. This latter point is not a moot one, as initiatives such as the Roma decade have shown that throwing money at the issue doesn’t really change the fundamental issues.

The resolution was adopted with 486 votes in favour, 109 against and 38 abstentions. It would be interesting to understand the rationale of those who voted against it and from which countries and parties they are.

News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Poland

Austria: A Bishop for Integration

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Austria: A Bishop for Integration

An Austrian Bishop took part to the memorial of Austrian Rroma murdered in Poland. Just missing the fact that the Austrians were actively involved. His other words about integration, stopping prejudice, are the right ones, and not often heard from the Church.

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