News

 The first working meeting of the Steering Committee of the project "Promoting participatory field work at grass-root level in marginalized and traditional Roma Communities", funded by the European Commission under the Daphne III Program was held on April 1 and 2, 2011 in Veliko Turnovo. The meeting was attended by representatives of various institutions and NGOs from Bulgaria and Romania. Project partners are: Center Amalipe, "Liga pro Europa" from Romania, "ARSIS" from Greece (partner organizations). The meeting was attended by representatives of the National Agency for Roma - Romania, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration-Romania and on behalf of the Bulgarian institutions by experts from the Center for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities, the Ministry of Health, the Agency for Social Assistance, The State Agency for Child Protection, The National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues, The Commission for Protection against Discrimination, The National Network for Children, and Roma NGOs.

The participants discussed the importance of a joint work of NGOs with the state structures and an inter-institutional cooperation and support at a national, district, municipal and local level. They agreed on the need to cover the same geographical areas that are essential for the project "To touch the untouchable" as well as the three thematic fields: education, social and health). The participants further discussed the criteria for the establishment of community centers and the specific commitments of the members of the Steering Committee to the project activities. Six centers for community development will be established in Bulgaria, one in Greece and one in Romania. Each center will have two community moderators. The establishment of center in Romania will be based on the work of the previously existing social and economic centers, established by the National Agency for Roma in Romania. So far, these centers have worked in the field of providing employment to people from the Roma community, as there were no activities on prevention of the drop-out of children from school, prevention of early and forced marriages, domestic violence. Therefore, the focus of the work of the new center will focus on the activities of a preventive nature

The Greek partners will also establish a community center which will build and complement their existing work with Roma communities near Thessalonica.

"We hope that this model will identify and address exactly the needs of the Roma community, in particular, the services to develop the community" was the conclusion of all participants in the meeting.