Hungary: The Council of Roma Integration held its statutory meeting in April, 2007
On the occasion of the statutory meeting of the Council of Roma Integration on 3 April 2007, Peter Kiss, Minister for Social Affairs and Labour handed over the credentials to the Council members. The Minister presented the National Action Plan of the 'Decade of Roma Inclusion' Programme and he also put forward a proposal concerning the scholarship programme for Roma students for the academic year 2007/2008. The members adopted the work schedule for 2007 and agreed to hold the next session on 5 June, 2007. The Council of Roma Integration led by Peter Kiss, replaces two, earlier existing bodies, namely the inter-ministerial committee on Roma issues, as well as the Roma Council. The mandate of the Council of Roma Integration includes expressing opinions on current issues, consultation rights, and the preparation of decision-making. The Council is composed of high - ranking government officials (e.g. Secretaries of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Head of Department for National and Ethnic Minorities at the Prime Minister's Office) the President of the Roma National Self-government and representatives of the Roma community. The prevailing Minority Ombusdman and the Head of the Equal Treatment Authority are invited to all sessions of the Council. Hungary: Selection of minority news, March-May, 2007
Joint conference of the Roma Education Fund and the Hungarian government - April, 2007
The Roma Education Fund in cooperation with the Hungarian Government organised a conference on 2 April where Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany expressed the government's commitment towards the elimination of the disadvantaged situation of the Roma. The Prime Minister pointed out that the first step in order to put to end the discrimination of the Roma must be made in the area of education. As an illustration of the government efforts in this key area, the Prime Minister referred to the recent amendment of the Act on Public Education which bans segregation, in other words, the separation of Roma children from their non-Roma fellows. Furthermore, the geographical dictricts of schools have been re-designed so that no schools can receive exclusively or mostly disadvantaged students from the next academic year. The conference dealt with the following topics: how to find balance between the effectiveness of educational reforms and equal opportunities; good practices concerning the reduction of the number of Roma children sent to special schools; legislation in favour of the integration of the Roma. The Roma Education Fund launched a new series titled 'The improvement of Roma education'. It aims to examine the education reforms in the participating countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion. Hungary: Selection of minority news, March-May, 2007 The
National Action Plan of the 'Decade of Roma Inclusion' Program is currently under discussion in the Hungarian Parliament
On 29 May the Parliament held a general debate on the National Strategy of the 'Decade of Roma Inclusion' Programme and it will likely adopt a resolution on this matter during its spring session. The draft resolution states that on the basis of the National Strategy an Action Plan by the governmental shall be elaborated by 31 August 2007 at the latest. Hungary will take over the Presidency of the Decade of Roma Inclusion from Bulgaria between July 2007 and June 2008. The next meeting of the International Steering Committee of the Decade of Roma Inclusion to be organised by the Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will take place in Sofia on 12-13 June. This will be the 10th meeting of the International Steering Committee of the Decade of Roma Inclusion. Hungary: Selection of minority news, March-May, 2007
The Roma: Movement Without Direction TOL Premium
Peter Vermeersch's new study finds that Romani politics remain stuck in neutral years after the collapse of totalitarianism in Central Europe. by Robert A. Saunders http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=222&NrSection=2&NrArticle=18769
Co-existence with Roma bad - most Czechs in poll
Most, 79 percent, of Czechs consider the co-existence of the Romany and non-Romany populations bad, according to a poll conducted by the polling institute CVVM in May and released today. The opposite view is held by only 16 percent of them. Czechs also believe that Roma opportunities are somewhat limited in social areas in comparison with non-Roma. The situation in employment is considered the biggest problem as 62 percent of Czechs believe that Roma face worse conditions in this field. More at: http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_339
Over 450 Places For Young Roma To Academic Education
BUCHAREST - Romania's Ministry of Education assigned in 2007 some 454 places for ethnic Roma admission to academic education units throughout 48 state universities. Professor Gheorghe Sarau said it is the first time to take into account the Education Department in the Languages of National Minorities and the Parliament Relation, as well as the proposals of governmental and non-governmental organizations (RomaniTIN Iasi, Amare Rromentza, Iasi Prefecture, Oradea Prefecture etc.), of some inspectors for ethnic Roma educational problems. University "Babes-Bolyai" in Cluj-Napoca was assigned the bulk of the places or 60, University in Bucharest 40, University "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" in Iasi 27 and University in Craiova, "Petru Maior" in Targu Mures, and Universitatea de Vest in Timisoara some 25 places each. DIVERS - http://www.divers.ro/
"Refugees United" website
A website created by a Danish NGO called Refugees United enables refugees to connect with relatives, friends and loved ones in their countries of origin or in other countries through the Internet. It is a search engine designed to streamline and simplify the process of locating family members torn apart in their escape. Through the strength of the search engine, it is possible to seek via anything from country to county, last name to last known location, while the engine progressively and intelligently narrows the search, enabling virtually all with just a minimal knowledge of their origin to locate anyone matching their criteria: The power rests in the hands of the seekers and the sought. One can register without having to give all one's personal details, a nickname is enough; allowing for anonymity. Read more on http://www.refunite.org/
Systemic Policies, Effective Use of EU Funds Emphasized at 10th ISC Meeting Bulgarian Prime Minister Stanishev Calls for EU Roma Policy
Sofia, June 12, 2007-Moving from sporadic to integrated Roma inclusion policies, as well as making efficient use of European Union funds, are necessary conditions for the continued success of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, agreed the representatives of the nine Decade countries, Roma civil society, and international organizations at the tenth international meeting of the Decade's Steering Committee today in Sofia. "The EU must develop a European-wide Roma policy," stressed Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, whose country is currently concluding its one-year term as president of the Roma Decade. EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Hübner echoed his call in a video message [5:57, MPG - 55M]: "The Roma issue is not just a national issue and thus requires a common European response." Open Society Institute (OSI) chairman George Soros emphasized the importance of maximizing the use of available EU funds in both EU member states and accession candidates. A draft OSI report presented at the meeting analyzes best practices in Roma projects funded by the EU and concludes from 47 examples that it is critical for Roma NGOs to cooperate with local governments on projects that are multidimensional and part of a broad policy framework. "Local governments must be capable of putting in quality applications for Structural Funds, and the Roma community needs to be involved every step of the way," said Soros. "National governments and the European Commission need to help local governments to make the most of the funds available to them." Roma civil society presented the first-ever monitoring report of the Decade initiative, DecadeWatch. An analysis and ranking of government inputs toward institutional arrangements and the four Decade priority areas of education, health, employment, and housing, the report found that while all countries have made progress since the Decade's launch in 2005, governments must take the next step and scale up from pilot projects to strategic, integrated national policies that filter down to the municipal level. Measuring progress on the Decade's objectives will also require systematic nationwide data collection on Roma, without which results are impossible to determine. The current limited data collection in most countries cannot be related to the entire population. "The non-Roma community must understand that Roma inclusion is in everyone's economic interest," said Shigeo Katsu, World Bank Vice-President for Europe and Central Asia. "As populations age and decline in Central and Eastern Europe, a well-educated and trained Roma population is the only way to ensure productivity and continued economic growth." Open Society Istitute-Sofia / The World Bank
Czech government approves anti-discrimination bill
By Prague Daily Monitor/CTK Prague, June 11 (CTK) - The Czech government approved the anti-discrimination bill, Minister Dzamila Stehlikova (Greens) who is in charge of the agenda on human rights and minorities confirmed to CTK during a cabinet meeting today. The Czech Republic still lacks the anti-discrimination law for which the country faces EU sanctions since the legislation should have been adopted with the Czech EU entry in 2004 and at the latest by the end of last year. Stehlikova said she believes that the country needed legal protection against discrimination even if Brussels would not demand it. She said that the Czech Republic faces four administrative proceedings due to the non-existence of the law. If the case gets to the European court, the Czechs may be fined tens of millions of crowns, she added. The anti-discrimination law is to guarantee equal treatment and equal access to education, work, health care, welfare and housing and prevent discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, physical disability, language, religion, political conviction, property, marital status as well as membership in political parties and trade unions. If the bill is passed in the parliament and singed into law by the president, it is to take effect as from January 2008. The senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) have prepared their own draft. Representatives of Czech NGOs criticised the government-proposed bill, saying it did not include a number of issues. Stehlikova defended the bill. She said that it enables to impose high fines because of discrimination. The government also wants the ombudsman to supervise the anti-discrimination law's observance. But Czech Ombudsman Otakar Motejl said he believes that a special institution should be formed to monitor cases of discrimination. The previous Czech governments also prepared the anti-discrimination bill. The latest draft was vetoed by the Senate last year and the Chamber of Deputies then did not vote on the legislation again before the last June general election. The current bill is based on the previous drafts.
Satirical TV programme sparks controversy among Finnish Roma
The Finnish Roma Forum has asked the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) to suspend broadcasts of the summer comedy series Manne-TV. In an appeal sent to the YLE, the series, which aired its first programme on 2 June, is denounced as demeaning to the Roma population. The organisation claims that it is racist, that it underscores prejudices, and that it could undermine the results of years of work to change attitudes. YLE Programme Director Harri Virtanen stands behind the show, most of whose producers and actors are Roma themselves. He says that Manne-TV will not be cancelled, adding "The target of the series is the population at large and its prejudices. If someone watching the series thinks 'is that how I think?', or 'do I have attitudes like that?', then we will be fairly close to the aim of the series". Read more on http://www.hs.fi/english/print/1135227991966
Comment: Roma: education is the only answer
A massive investment in education is the only way that the huge Roma minority in Romania can emerge from grinding poverty and marginalisation, says Rupert-Wolfe Murray. http://euobserver.com/9/24299/?rk=1
START bulletin n. 2 on Roma integration in Bulgaria
The second issue of the bulletin START of C.E.G.A. Foundation is now available. The bulletin START aims to give objective and analytical information for the processes connected with Roma integration in Bulgarian society to stakeholders abroad. This edition looks at the nationalist phenomenon in Bulgaria, Roma and media in Bulgaria, the price of non-integration of Roma, and active citizenship of Roma. Read more on http://www.cega.bg/files/start_2eng.pdf
Call for applications: Training the Trainer - Developing youth capacity to promote intercultural dialogue
The 'Train The Trainer' programme aims to develop participants' skills in training development and delivery in order to generate optimum learning outcomes and improved performance. This fifth edition will focus on developing youth capacity to promote intercultural dialogue and will take place from 24 to 31 August 2007 in Oradea, Romania. It is aimed at youth workers and starting Trainers who aim to develop their skills and knowledge in designing, implementing and evaluating intercultural activities; with previous experience in intercultural activities and concept of intercultural learning; and with at least one year work experience in NGO field. The deadline for applications is 24 June 2007. Read more on http://train-the-trainer.ro/ttt-program
