Call for Roma Civil Society Participation

2011.09.05

A local resident speaks about housing problems during a field visit organized as part of the "Improving Access to Housing for Roma" conference held under the Czech Decade Presidency in February 2011.

The Decade Secretariat has issued a call for Roma civil society participation at the 21st International Steering Committee Meeting in Skopje on September 29-30, 2011.

Dear Civil Society Partners,

We are pleased to introduce a new selection system for civil society representatives to participate in Decade events. The purpose is to encourage diverse Romani civil society representatives to take an active part in the International Steering Committee Meetings and other Decade meetings.

Kindly find attached a Call for Romani Civil Society Delegates and an Application Form for participation in the 21st International Steering Committee Meeting. You are welcome to apply or we would be grateful if you could distribute the information among your Roma civil society partners.

The 21st ISC Meeting is the first event organized under the Decade Presidency of the Republic of Macedonia, and we plan to complete a full two-day program including a field trip on the afternoon of September 30.

The Decade Presidency of the Republic of Macedonia, particularly Minister Nezdet Mustafa, Decade National Coordinator, has the strong intention to make the upcoming Decade events pragmatic and practical, providing adequate space for discussion, innovation and tangible recommendations.

The 21st International Steering Committee meeting will include sessions on the actualization of solid proposals for the synergies between the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 initiative and the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies as well as mapping the current national processes in the Decade countries on updating Roma strategies based on the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. The 21st ISC Meeting will provide an overview on preliminary results of the Regional Roma Household Survey pilot project as well as a presentation on the current status of the Decade Trust Fund.

Please consider your contribution to the ISC meeting and kindly return the completed form not later than September 13, 2011.

Please kindly note that we will not be able to consider incomplete or late applications.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

With best regards,

Tunde Buzetzky
Facilitator, Decade Secretariat