Roma Civil Monitoring

The role of CSOs in the future of Roma equality, inclusion and participation (Roma Civil Monitoring event)

Date: 11 April 2024, from 9:00 to 11:45, Brussels time
Venue: European Committee of the Regions, Room VMA21, Rue Belliard 99, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Format: moderated introductory panel presentations for each block followed by participatory discussion and Q&A.
Form: in-person with possible speakers online
Invited guests: European Commission services, UN, RCM national coordinator/coalition members.
The working language of the event is English, and Romani interpretation will be available. 
Online recording: Here

Background:

For the initiative of the European Parliament, the European Commission has launched a continuation of the Roma Civil Monitor (RCM) pilot project (2017-2020) for the next four years (2021-2025). The title of the follow-up project is “Preparatory action – Roma Civil Monitoring: Strengthening capacity and involvement of Roma and pro-Roma civil society in policy monitoring and review” and is implemented by a consortium of Democracy Institute of the Central European University (DI CEU, project leader), ERGO Network, Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) and European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC).

The RCM contributes to the ambitious objectives of the new EU Roma Strategic Framework 2020-2030 in several ways:

  1. Strengthening the capacities of the Roma and pro-Roma civil society to provide independent monitoring, assessment and reporting on national strategies for Roma equality, participation and inclusion, their implementation, as well as other policies with impact on Roma,
  2. Supporting participating civil society organisations and activists in their advocacy work aimed at making the public policy more effective in fighting the Roma exclusion and participation, as well as communication of the independent monitoring’s findings to keep governments accountable in the field or Roma inclusion policy,
  3. Empowering the Roma and pro-Roma civil society to engage in dialogue and cooperation with public authorities responsible for the Roma inclusion, equality, and fight against racism.

The RCM’s first monitoring cycle has been completed, and reports on the quality of the Member States’ new national Roma strategic frameworks (NRSFs) are now available. An RCM synthesis report summarising findings from RCM country reports served as one source for the 2022 EC Communication assessing the new NRSFs. The upcoming Romani Week is an appropriate opportunity to present selected findings from the RCM’s first monitoring cycle.

The focus of the RCM Event:

Following consultation with the Consortium Members, national coordinators implementing the RCM, and agreement with the EC, the event will focus on three main subtopic blocks.

  1. Funding for Roma civil society functioning: The block aims to provide more insights into the funding opportunities for the development of the Roma Civil Society and its limitations.
  2. Participation in policy-making processes: The block provides a platform for CSOs to share experiences about their participation in developing NRSFs and address the quality of their participation in other policy-making processes.
  1. Opportunities for promotion of Roma’s rights and interests: Within this block, the main approaches, opportunities, and limitations of interest representation of Roma communities will be discussed.

Agenda

08:30 – 09:15    Registration and arrival of participants

09:15 – 09:30    Opening

Moderator: Dan Pavel Doghi, Team Leader, Non-discrimination: Anti-racism and Roma coordination Unit, European Commission

  • MEP Anna Donath, Hungary, Renew Europe Group
  • Katarina Ivankovic Knezevic, Director for Social Rights and Inclusion– Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL), European Commission

09:30 – 10:15    Theme 1: Funding for Roma civil society functioning

Moderator:        Carmen Tanasie, Policy Officer, ERGO Network

  • Ondrej Novotny, Romodrom, Czechia
  • Florin Moisa, Resource Center for Roma Communities, Romania
  • Participatory discussion and Q&A

10:15 – 11:00    Theme 2: Participation in policy-making processes

Moderator:        Roland Ferkovics, RCM Co-Manager, CEU Democracy Institute

  • Rafael Saavedra Rodriguez, FSG, Spain
  • Sinisa Senad Music, Roma Youth Organization of Croatia
  • Participatory discussion and Q&A

11:00 – 11:45    Theme 3: Opportunities for the promotion of Roma’s rights and interests

Moderator:        Bernard Rorke, Advocacy and Policy Manager, European Roma Rights Centre

  • Nina Trollvige, Trajosko Drom, Sweden
  • Marietta Herfort, Phiren Amenca, Hungary
  • Participatory discussion and Q&A

11:45    Closing

  • Dan Pavel Doghi, Team Leader, Non-discrimination: Anti-racism and Roma coordination Unit, European Commission