23.12.2009Projects for establishing Local Initiative Groups with active Roma participation of 6 municipalities were approved
The Ministry of Agriculture approved six out of 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”) consulted by PLATFORM project. The two projects consulted by Center Amalipe experts were among them. These proposals were submitted by municipalities with high percentage of Roma. They included not only the activities required by Ministry of Agriculture but also activities for raising the awareness of local Roma communities. In addition Roma experts were appointed as key experts in these projects.
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 in 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.
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 consult 6 key municipalities in preparing project proposals within the call announced by Ministry of Agriculture in July. This was done in order to facilitate Roma participation. Projects of 7 municipalities were consulted..
The project “Platform for Project Generation “Structural Funds as Mean for Equal Integration of Roma”” (PLATFORM) is coordinated by a Consortium with leading organization Open Society Institute – Sofia and partners Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance “Amalipe”, the National Association of Roma in Public Administration and Resource Center for Decentralization and Municipal Development. The overall project objective is to support NGOs, municipalities and other institutions to prepare projects for Roma integration with good quality in order to receive financing for these projects by European structural funds and programs financed by the state budget. The project is financed by Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI) at Open Society Institute – Budapest
