07.09.20097 projects within Program for Rural Areas Development were consulted by PLATFORM project
Seven project proposals within the Program for Rural Areas Development (measure “Acquiring skills and raising public awareness for potential Local initiative groups in the rural areas” were consulted by PLATFORM project. These proposals are submitted by municipalities with high percentage Roma population. They include not only the activities required by Ministry of Agriculture but also activities for raising the awareness of local Roma communities. In addition Roma experts will be included as key experts in these projects.
Overall 157532 people live in the seven consulted municipalities; 25287 of them (more than 16 %) are Roma according to the census from 2001. The real number of Roma in the consulted municipalities exceed 40 000 according to expert estimations.
Measure “Acquiring skills and raising public awareness for potential Local initiative groups in the rural areas” aims at establishing and registering Local Initiative Groups (LIG) within the LEADER approach of the Program for Rural Areas Development. LIG is form of public-private partnership among municipal administration, local business and NGOs inm certain municipality (or group of municipalities). The registered LIGs will prepare own strategies for local development that will be backed up with 2 million euro by the Program for Rural Areas Development. These strategies should improve the quality of life in rural areas.
Within the previous call Ministry of Agriculture approved projects for establishing 70 LIGs. None of them contained activities for raising the awareness of local Roma communities and no expert from Roma origin was included as key expert in them. Having in mind the importance of Roma participation and NGO participation in LIG formation and preparing strategies for local development the Steering Committee of PLATFORM project decided to support 6 key municipalities within the present call for proposals.
As partner within PLATFORM project Center Amalipe took active part in motivating and consulting two municipalities; Amalipe experts will be included as key experts if the projects are approved by Ministry of Agriculture.
