On March 15^th 2013, NRC took participation on the Closing conference of the Roma inclusion pilot project “From pilots to outcomes”

The conference was organized by the United Nations Development Programme BRC in collaboration with European Commission Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy and the World Bank, and was focused on evidence-based lessons on the socio-economic inclusion for Roma communities.

The conference was focused on evidence-based lessons on the socio-economic inclusion for Roma communities.

The conference presented the results of the three-year pilot project decided by the European Parliament targeting Roma socio-economic inclusion and implemented in the fields of early-childhood education and care, self-employment through microcredits, information and awareness raising, data collection and monitoring and evaluation tools in five European Union Member States and Macedonia.

Ashmet Elezovski had the opportunity to hear the presentations and discussions, as well as to present his opinion on this conference. He gave a positive comment on the presentation of Mr. Zeljko Jovanovic, director of the Roma Initiatives office, Open Society Foundation, which was supported by his other colleagues who were participants on this event: Nadir Redzepi, Costel Berkus, Valeriu Nicolae and others.

“The analysis and the presence of the experts and deputies are good, but: why are there no visible results from this work in the Roma districts? The problems increase as well as the barriers toward the Roma community from the earliest age, the health condition is getting worse, there is a selective discrimination with the freedom for movement, the discrimination is visible and getting worse, the anti-Gypsism toward the Roma is very painful. When will the activities and effects of the projects take place with an implementation of 80% directly in the Roma communities? I am not saying that there aren’t results now, but it is time that we are taken seriously, because it is time that the Roma become true experts in the search for correct and professional job which can contribute to the necessary results for the better future of the Roma.”