Eurodiaconia Roma Network Meeting: Conference Report
by Vera NYGARD
The theme of this year’s Eurodiaconia Roma Network Meeting was Addressing Participation and Inclusion of Roma. The meetings were hosted in Novi Sad, Serbia by the Eurodiaconia member the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organisation (EHO). This three-day event was organised in cooperation with the Eurodiaconia partners the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Swiss Church Aid HEKS/EPER.
The aim for the meetings was to explore and discuss challenges and promising practices for the inclusion of Roma and strengthen the existing network of faith-based organisations working on Roma inclusion. Across Europe, Roma have limited opportunities to participate in political life and in society. Addressing the exclusion and discrimination against Roma requires policy changes, but also empowerment, capacity building and participation of Roma and civil society organisations working with Roma in decision making. The joint Roma Network Meeting focused on practices that increase Roma participation and representation in civil society and diaconal work as well as in political decision-making processes. The event included presentations from experts and policymakers, group discussions as well as presentations from members and study visits to two local Roma inclusion projects.
Wednesday 18.9
Representatives from the host organisations opened the meetings and all partner organisations were introduced. The agenda was presented and the meetings for the following three days were framed. The first presentations within the theme of Participation and representation of Roma were held by Marcos Andrade from ROMACTED, and Osman Balic from Standing Conference Roma Citizens Association (SKRUG). Andrade, who is also a representative of the European Council, spoke on the topic of Ensuring Roma participation from the European to the local level. Balic focused on the national level, as he presented the state of play of Roma participation in Serbian politics. Both speakers emphasised the need for combined efforts in order to ensure that the voice of Roma is heard. It is not enough to have strategies in place if no efforts are made to implement them.
The last part of the day was dedicated to presenting best practice examples from different projects in Europe. Anna-Sofie Gerth from Berliner Stadtmission presented a project for homeless people in Berlin. Around 3000-5000 people in the city are homeless. During winter, Stadtmission opens an emergency shelter to prevent people from dying in the streets. They provide shelter, food and counselling. Some of the clients are Roma, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria. Gerth explained that there is a clear divide between the Roma and the rest of the clients. Roma sit only with other Roma, and others won’t make an effort to socialize with them. Stadtmission are making efforts to change this, by encouraging people to mix with other “groups” in different ways. They have been met with a lot of resistance, but small glimpses of change have provided reason enough to continue the efforts.
Thursday 19.9
The day started with a visit to the EHO Centre in Novi Sad. The Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization is implementing a wide range of projects, amongst others housing projects for Roma. The visit was followed by a presentation by Shejla Fidani, from the Regional Cooperation Council. Fidani spoke about fostering social inclusion through participatory approaches to decision making. She provided an overview of Roma inclusion measures in the Western Balkans. As these countries are receiving IPA funding from the EU, they are required to fulfil certain conditions on Roma inclusion. The Regional Cooperation Council has been working towards including civil society organisations in this process, but has found a level of distrust based on previous experiences. Specific roadmaps have been created in order to provide concrete measures to tackle issues within the most marginalised groups.
The parallel working groups that followed discussed promising practices on Roma empowerment. I attended a group that discussed how we can create and increase spaces for Roma participation in our societies. The group agreed that we need to start with recognition of Roma on all levels. If the majority population does not have an awareness of Roma, or only base their knowledge on negative assumptions, creating space is nearly impossible. Another aspect that was discussed was how crucial it would be to encourage leadership amongst Roma in a way that comes naturally, instead of trying to adapt leadership models that simply don’t work. It’s important to ask who the natural leaders are in the communities and how those leaders can be encouraged to advocate for the rights of Roma.
Further best practice examples were presented in the afternoon. Sam Fraser from Skåne Stadsmissionspoke about how his organisation is working to stop hate crime against mobile Roma in Malmö, Sweden. They are working together with Civil Rights Defenders in an EU-funded project that runs for a two-year period. The project focuses on the migrants’ daily lives in Sweden and the protection that wider society should offer them as victims of hate crime. Testimonies have been gathered and it has become clear that very few cases of crime have been reported to the police. The objective of the project is to increase reporting of hate crimes, make sure cases are investigated and lead to a trial, and in the long term a reduction of hate crime is seen.
Isak Skenderi from VoRAE, Kosovo, presented examples of empowering Roma for political participation. He spoke on the importance of making sure from an early age that Roma have the same opportunity to participate in society as the majority population. If they do not receive the same training or education as the rest, they cannot compete on the same level. An important aspect of the work of VoRAE is training youngsters to be competitive in the labour market. Encouraging leadership and political participation is of equal importance, as it directly concerns the future of Roma:
“Roma need to be involved in decision making that directly affects them. Otherwise it’s like going to the doctor and he prescribes you medicine without asking about your symptoms”. VoRAE has insisted and ensured that any national committee that is directly dealing with Roma issues, includes Roma participants or Roma activists.
Mirjana Maksimovic from the Delegation of the EU to the Republic of Serbia, provided us with an overview of EU policy priorities post 2020 in supporting Roma inclusion. Maksimovic is part of the Roma focal point in the delegation and has thorough insights on the current situation. The current priorities in the National Roma Integration Strategies will remain more or less the same post-2020, but have an even stronger focus on housing and employment. Civil society organisations are still in the process of providing recommendations that potentially could have an impact on the final strategy. The new NRIS will be adopted by the Council in June 2020.
Friday 20.9
The last day of the conference was dedicated to study visits. Our first visit was to an EHO project that focused on improving living conditions for Roma. The project started in 2016 in five different locations. The selected houses were of low construction quality and without sanitation. This has been changed through thehouse upgrading project. All families are now able to use functioning bathrooms and the general living conditions in their houses have been improved.
The second project we visited was a drop in shelter, the Center for Youth Integration. This is a licensed service with the aim to improve life quality of street involved children. The drop in shelter benefits children between 5 and 15 years of age who live or work on the streets of Belgrade and who are exposed to numerous risks due to this way of life.
Beneficiaries are supplied with regular, nutritionally balanced meals and clean clothes, as well as offered support with their education. The drop in shelter provides a safe environment that nourishes proper psychosocial development of the children. The beneficiaries can also take part in different creative, educative, cultural and sports activities.
Conclusions
This year’s conference provided the participants plenty of opportunities to discuss inclusion and empowerment of Roma from a practical standpoint. It was quite clear from the discussions and presentations that we have a long way to go in ensuring the integration and inclusion of Roma communities and individuals. At the same time, some of the best practice examples also provide hope that change is possible as long as we take the time to listen to Roma and seek to assist them on their own terms. Integration cannot be forced, nor should it happen without including Roma in the decision-making process. We need to provide space for Roma to contribute on a political level, not just to tick a box but to truly draw from their experience and knowledge.
Tags: Europe