Tackling discrimination against Roma people through participatory mutual learning

• Author: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
• Pages: 12-13

SOCIAL INNOVATION: INSPIRATIONAL PRACTICES

SUPPORTING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES

12

© Press department of Budapest, 2010

Logo of Roma-Net Urbact project

Problem addressed

Roma people are the EU’s largest minority but despite

widespread policy ef‌forts to facilitate their integration, they

continue to suf‌fer from ethnic discrimination and socio-

economic deprivation. 78% of Roma people surveyed in 2019

lived in overcrowded housing, whilst only 43% of Roma adults

were in employment. Roma social policy initiatives across

Europe have tended to treat Roma community members

as passive recipients. Initiatives are oen designed and

implemented by actors outside the community, impacting

how relevant they are to the needs of Roma people, and

how ef‌fectively they can provide support.

Innovative solution

Roma-Net was launched in 2009 to combat discrimination

towards Roma people through mutual learning based on

the voice of the Roma community itself. It is a network

of nine cities in Spain, France, Italy, Czechia, Slovakia,

the UK and Hungary - with Budapest as lead partner. All

participating cities establish local support groups, which

bring local Roma organisations into contact with local

authorities from a range of sectors including healthcare,

housing, education and policing.

Local support groups enable Roma representatives to inform

public authorities of their community’s concerns and develop

action plans tailored to their specif‌ic needs. Roma-Net also

provides a platform for cities to share their experiences of

implementing these tailored intervention strategies, thus

mutually increasing expertise and contributing to more

ef‌fective support for the Roma population.

Roma-Net organised six meetings, called ‘learning clusters’,

on key topics affecting Roma people, such as: local

empowerment and active community engagement; area-

based approaches towards exclusion and segregation; and

transitioning to the labour market. These events brought

together 220 participants including Roma people, public

authorities and members of local support groups to exchange

information on good practices and develop local action plans

for long-term Roma social and economic inclusion.

Tackling discrimination against

Roma people through participatory

mutual learning

Roma-Net

Hungary