News archive
                   

MORE SUPPORT TO THE MOBILE ROMA SOCIAL INCLUSION TEAMS IS NEEDED

25. March 2019.

Bujanovac – Improvement of communication with the Roma community, provision of institutional sustainability and the financing of operational plans of mobile teams are more than necessary to increase the social inclusion of Roma in local communities, is the connclusion reached at the meetings held in March with mobile teams for social inclusion of Roma from Vranje, Bujanovac, Leskovac and Prokuplje.  

With mobile teams from Vranje, Leskovac, Bela Palanka, Bojnik, Bujanovac, Kragujevac, Krusevac, Prokuplje, Novi Sad, Sombor, Valjevo, the Belgrade municipalities of Zvezdara and Palilula, Pancevo, Odzak and Kovin, as local inter-sectoral mechanisms formed within the local self-government, a cycle of workshops was held that led to these conclusions. 

Participants of mobile teams were familiar with the goals and the achieved results of the project called "Technical Assistance for Improving the Living and Housing Conditions of the Roma Population in Informal Settlements - Roma Housing", in each of the three components, which are as follows: preparation of project-technical documentation for the improvement of living conditions in substandard settlements, the establishment of local cross-sectoral mechanisms for the realization of measures and services in the areas of importance for the improvement of housing, education, employment, social and health protection, preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the Roma national minority and monitoring and supporting the implementation of 13 infrastructure projects. 

Mobile teams were formed with the aim of recognizing and realizing the real needs of the Roma population on the ground, as well as determining the support needed to improve their overall position, in accordance with the Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma in the Republic of Serbia in the period from 2016 to 2025.

The project "Technical Assistance for Improving the Living and Housing Conditions of the Roma Population in Informal Settlements - Roma Housing" is one of the initiatives supported by the EU with the cooperation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. The contracting body of the project is the Ministry of Finance, while the main beneficiaries are the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and the Office for Human and Minority Rights. 

An important part of the project is a grant scheme that supports 11 projects at the local level in a total value of 7.55 million euros.  The initiative will provide housing solutions for over 700 Roma, as well as improving infrastructure conditions for over 5,000 members of the Roma population.

Source:  Jugmedia and Coordination Body