New programme for the inclusion of Roma people to be launched in Romania

Newsroom 14/10/2013 | 09:19

Council of Europe and European Commission joint programme ROMACT will be implemented in several pilot municipalities in Bulgaria and Romania, aiming to improve the inclusion of Roma people in areas such as housing, education and employment.

The ROMACT programme will run for one year in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and Slovakia, and will focus on building the capacity and political will of local and regional authorities to develop and implement strategies and policies for Roma inclusion. ROMACT is a joint initiative of the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion. The initial phase of the programme will have a budget of EUR 700,000.

According to Mediafax newswire, in Europe are almost 12 million Roma people, which make them the biggest ethnic minority in Europe.

The project ROMACT, aimed at improving the capacity of cities and regions in developing and implementing projects for the inclusion of Roma, is an initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the framework of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion. The project will be launched in Bulgaria and Romania jointly with the ROMED II programme – a follow up on the successful training of Roma mediators, implemented by the Council of Europe and the European Commission since January 2011.

Photo courtesy of the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion