Share experience, encourage inclusion

NEWSLETTER #1

Share experience, encourage inclusion

Project summary:

The Roma/Gipsy minority is the largest ethnic minority in Europe. Around 10-12 million Roma are estimated to live in Europe and approx. 68% of them in countries covered by the SEE program. The exclusion and social deprivation of the Roma is an untimely and unresolved problem in the whole area. Despite various of programs and initiatives targeting them, Roma communities in are still exposed to discrimination and segregation, and their equal access to work, education, social benefits, health care, adequate housing, other public services and justice is still limited.

The PAIRS partnership involves 18 (11 financing) partners from 8 SEE (5 ERDF, 2 IPA and 1 ENPI) countries where the exclusion of Roma population represents a high policy priority. The consortium provides a horizontal and vertical combination of various expertise and competences in governance (national and local) and programme implementation (local/regional/national level, on several thematic fields).

The project will offer integrated, sustainable solutions, with the consent of all important stakeholders of Roma inclusion that will be convertible to programming. More effective and widely used integration methods and evidence based programming and funding schemes targeted to Roma inclusion will help achieve the aim of the Europe 2020 strategy to lift 20

million people out of poverty in the next 10 years. PAIR’s results will also contribute to strategic objectives of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020, which states that more effective and efficient use of financial resources targeted to the integration and social inclusion of the Roma is required.

Share experience, encourage inclusion

Kick-off event:

The PAIRS Project Kick-off meeting took place on the 15th and 16 of November 2012 at Budapest, Hungary. All partners were presented at the event. Chairman of the event was Mr. László Moravcsik, project manager on behalf of the Lead Partner of PAIRS Project.

During the two-day event all the partners had the opportunity to present themselves and to discuss the aims of the PAIRS project, expected results and achievements.

Also the overall project Budget including activities, Work packages and Budget lines was presented in detail. Participants were informed that in case any need of budget modification arises, partners have to inform the LP immediately. Before the modification comes into force, LP’s written acceptance is needed. At the event an interactive WORKSHOP was organised in order to process financial project documents and to reach a common understanding on reporting tasks.

Launch event:

On the 7th of February 2013 at Tarnabod, Hungary took place the Launch Event ot PAIRS: “Share experience, encourage inclusion”. The event was in a form of a half-a-day seminar, during which prominant lectors and officials spoke about different key aspects of the project. Among the lectors were Mr Miklós Vecsei, vice president of Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, Mrs Katalin Victor Langerné, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources, Ms Dora Husz, expert European Commission and Mr Attila Molnár, project manager ROMA-NET. A video message from Ms Lívia Jároka, member of the European Parliament called “Common goals should be achieved together” was shown to the attendees.

Share experience, encourage inclusion

Study visit – Hungary:

The fists study visit took place between the 20th and 22nd of March, 2013 in Hungary. The of the event program was designed to accomplish visits to several proposed “good learning practices” in Hungary, such as the housing case (Hell’s Tower), the community building case (“Presence”), the education case (“Hódmezővásárhely” presented in Monor, and “Sure Start Children’s House: Early Childhood Development” and “Tanoda”). As background materials, interview guides and questionnaires were distributed (the case descriptions have been circulated some weeks before the visit).

The group visited one of the first pre-fabs in Veszprém, amidst the industrial area of the city, which shortly after the transition turned into a ghetto, housing mostly jobless, extremely poor, and vulnerable Roma and non-Roma families.

The second day of the visit was focused on various elements of the integrated “Chance for Children” program, originally launched by the Academy of Sciences in 2006/7 in the framework of the “Strategy to Combat Child Poverty 2007-2032”, in the Szécsény micro-region in Hungary. Therefore, former staff of the micro-region (some of them are employed in follow-up activities) were invited to present and discuss achievements and challenges.

On the third day the social work carried out in Monor was presented by Dávid Kiss, former field social worker, today regional coordinator at HMCS. He reported about the history of the local Roma settlement which was established basically by the municipality on a municipally owned land during the “urbanization” period of Monor (the municipality closed its eyes and let to build “houses” without permission, while moving Roma out from the city center some 50 years ago).

Share experience, encourage inclusion

Study visit – Italy:

The Italian study visit of the PAIRS project took place from the 3rd to the 5th of April in the cities of Milan and Ferrara, Italy. In Milan, During the first day the group visited the project called “Villaggio solidale” (The village of solidarity) run by CeAS in cooperation with Casa della carità. On the second day there were two other visits: the first one to have a look to a program for labour inclusion in the suburb of Rozzano and the second one to discover the settlement of Impastato Street, in the outskirts of the city. The group also attended a music concert played by some Roma kids involved in a project about musical education and a meeting with Marco Granelli, the council member of the Municipality who is in charge of the Roma issue in Milan. On the last day at Ferrara the attendees were given the presentation of the case about Employment: Promotion of Roma self-employment and support for access to labour market. The second presentation that was delivered on that day was about Education: Educational support program and after school activities. During that there was a meeting with school staff and social workers.

Study visit – Albania:

For three days in April (22nd to 24th) in Albania took place the third study visit. After some interesting presentations of UNDP, OSCE/ODIHR and UNICEF projects, the attendees were taken on a visit to the Social Center “Romani Baxt” where Mr. Agim Fortuna, representative of local Roma Community made a presentation of good practice. During the second day a meeting of PAIRS project’s stakeholders and interested parties “Roma Community in Shkodra Region” took place. In addition the group visited a Multidisciplinary Community Centre where they saw the presentation “Literacy and social skills training for Roma women, men and children”. On the last day of the visit the group went to the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and had meetings with Ministry Officials - Mr. Spiro Ksera, Minister, Ms. Denada Seferi, Director of Social Policies Directorate and Ms. Blerina Zoto , Roma Secretariat.

www.maltai.hu

www.kormany.hu/hu

www.malta.uz.ua

www.nccedi.government.bg

www.amalipe.com www.agentiaimpreuna.ro

www.ceasmarotta.it

www.teuleda.org.al www.housingcenter.org.rs

www.malteser.al/en/

www.comune.fe.it

www.agentiaimpreuna.ro

AmalipeCenter for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance

www.osi.bg

www.operanomadimilano.org/ www.mpcs.gov.al

Share experience, encourage inclusion

Contacts:

Laszlo Moravcsik, PAIRS Project Manager, moravcsik.laszlo@maltai.huYana Pelovska, PAIRS Communication Manager, ypelovska@osi.bg

www.pairs-see.net