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Centers for Community Development have to be created in all 10 municipalities in the area recommends the Area Operational Team of the Strategy, said the Docent L. Popova, Vice-District Governor.

Strategy for the Integration of Roma in the region of Veliko Tarnovo was accepted at a meeting of the Regional Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Affairs on the 28^th of March, 2013.

The Regional Strategy was drafted in response to the objectives of the National strategy of the Roma Integration, Bulgaria (2012-2020). The Regional Planning District took into account the objectives that target the Bulgarian citizens of Roma origin and other citizens in vulnerable social situations, and living in similar situations as the Roma population.

The strategy was executed by the Regional Operations Team during the time period of a little more than two months. The team is composed by representatives of the ten municipalities in the field of the different territorial entities such as: RIO, RZI, RDSP, NGOs and others. Center Amalie is one of the active members of the Council and participated in the entire process of preparing the strategic document.

The strategic objective of the document is to establish the conditions for equal integration for Roma people and Bulgarian citizens in vulnerable situations from other ethnic groups in the public and economic sectors; by providing equal opportunities and equal access to goods and services, rights advocacy, and participation in all public areas and improving the quality of life while respecting the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

In the opinion of experts and Non-Governmental Organizations, it is estimated that in the territory live around 22,000 Roma people of which are permanent emigrants from abroad due to economic reasons. The six main priorities in the strategic document are: Education, Healthcare, Housing, Employment, The Right of Law and Non-Discrimination, and Culture and Media. Because of the clearly formulated specific objectives and activities of the main priorities in the document, it will allow it to become operational and functional.

In parallel with the signing up of the document, the municipalities were preparing their municipal plans for integration. Part of the municipal plans have already been approved by the municipal councils, while the other part are to be considered in the Committee of the Municipal Council.

By priority, under Healthcare, as a result of their findings, the Regional Operational strategy Development Team concluded that in the territory of the district there are no health mediators, said Vice Governor L. Popova. They played an important role in improving access to quality healthcare for vulnerable groups, and could also help in improving the health culture, improving immunization coverage, and more. The Healthcare priority focuses on ensuring to provide access to health services, improving health care for infants and pre-school children, reducing child death mortality rate, and improving prevention activities among the Roma population, etc. Through preventive measurements against Roma children dropping out of school, by increasing the number of Roma people with secondary and higher education, it will allow the objectives under the priority of Education to be met successfully. To improve the living conditions and improving the quality of the living environment, the Operational Team available the municipalities, offers the designing and building the technical infrastructure, reconstruction social infrastructure for the purposes of education, culture, and as well for the  regulation of Roma neighborhoods, as a large numbers of people live in the non-regulated areas. It is expected that by providing education, training and pre-training of the Roma people it will give them greater opportunities for their employment, and the creation of Green Workplaces; by subsidizing jobs in environmental fields to create quality jobs and protecting the environment. This part in the regional strategy was well endorsed by the Director of the Regional Inspectorates – Veliko Tarnovo, Elena Grigorova.

During the meeting the team came up with a recommendation for the municipalities of the region: to establish community development centers based on the model of those in Pavlikeni and Veliko Tarnovo. Under the priority of The Rights of Law and Non-Discrimination the set objectives will be met by improving the mechanisms for cooperation, dialogue and mediation between the public sector, civil society organizations, and Roma working for the integration of Roma. Also, through the promotion of tolerant interethnic relations in all forms; to promote equality between women and men and to ensure the preconditions for the successful realization and the new social role of Roma women, and other minority groups. Under the priority of Culture and Media of the regional strategy the objectives will be implemented by the inclusion of Roma customs in municipal and district cultural calendars, through the support of the Children's Festival "Open heart" and other means. The present people at the meeting made several recommendations under the priority of Housing, which will be included in the document.

On behalf of Center Amalie, Momchil Baev pointed out that the regional strategy reflects the needs of the targeted groups which will be included on the working document. He also highlighted the importance of adopting good local action plans to the strategy, which will give the opportunity to the municipalities to apply for projects and programs during the new programming period; which will target a portion of the funds under the Operational Programs to the National Roma Integration Strategy. Mr. Baev thanked the Regional Council for the cooperation on ethnic and integration issues and the municipalities for the fruitful collaboration on the local plans and the Regional Integration Strategy and pointed out the importance of these institutions, and the civil sector to work together for the sake of the common goal.