The Decade of Roma Inclusion (''Deshbersh le Romengo Anderyaripnasko'' in
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
) was an initiative of 12 European countries to improve the
socio-economic status and social inclusion of the
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
across the region. The initiative was launched in 2005, with the project running from 2005 to 2015, and was the first multinational project in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
to actively enhance the lives of Roma.
The countries that took part in the project were:
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Macedonia,
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. All of these countries have significant Romani minorities, which has been rather disadvantaged, both economically and socially.
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
maintained observer status.
The governments of the above countries have committed to closing the gap in welfare and living conditions between the Roma and non-Roma populations, as well as putting an end to the
cycle of poverty and exclusion that many Roma find themselves in. Each of these countries has developed an action plan that specifies goals and indicators in the project's priority areas: education, employment, health and housing.
The founding international partner organizations of the project are the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, the
Open Society Institute
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...
, the
United Nations Development Program
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
(UNDP), the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
(CoE), CoE's
Development Bank
A development financial institution (DFI), also known as a development bank or development finance company (DFC), is a financial institution that provides risk capital for economic development projects on a non-commercial basis.
, total commitme ...
(CEB), the Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues of the
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the European Roma Information Office, the European Roma and Travellers Forum, the European Roma Rights Centre and the Roma Education Fund. The
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–HABITAT), the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the
United Nations Children's Fund
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
(UNICEF) became partners in the Decade in 2008, and the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) became a partner in 2011.
The Roma Education Fund (REF), a central component of the initiative, was established in 2005 with the mission of expanding educational opportunities for Romani communities in Central and Southeastern Europe. REF's goal is to contribute to closing the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma through a variety of policies and programs, including desegregation of educational systems. REF receives funds from governments, multilateral organizations and private sources. It finances projects that are proposed and implemented by governments,
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s and private organizations.
Planning for the project was guided by the International Steering Committee (ISC), which was composed of representatives of the participating governments, international partner organizations and Romani organizations. Each year, one of the participating governments holds the project's presidency.
References
External links
Decade of Roma Inclusion - official siteRoma Education Fund - official siteOpen Society News: The Decade of Roma Inclusion, Challenging Centuries of DiscriminationEU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP): Overcoming Exclusion, The Roma Decade - online journal issue with seven papersCriticism of the Decade's organisation- Interview with Ivan Veselý, chairman of the Dženo Association, a Romany rights group. (Archived 02/09/2012)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decade Of Roma Inclusion
Romani in Albania
Romani in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Romani in Bulgaria
Romani in Croatia
Romani in the Czech Republic
Romani in Hungary
Romani in North Macedonia
Romani in Montenegro
Romani in Romania
Romani in Serbia
Romani in Slovakia
Romani in Spain
Romani rights