I part, year 2016-2017.
On the year 2016 The Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania has prepared and submitted the project “Local Roma platforms – a path towards cooperation with municipalities” to the Directorate General of Justice and Consumer Affairs of the European Commission. The main goal of the project was to create a mechanism for cooperation between Roma communities and local municipalities, ensuring effective inclusion of the local governance in the Roma integration process.
The project was financed with the European Union structural funds and the total value of the project was about 68,000 euros. Project activities started on May 2016.
During the implementation of the project, Roma platforms were established in five Lithuanian municipalities where the largest Roma communities are concentrated: Vilnius, Šalčininkai District, Panevėžys, Šiauliai and Marijampolė. Five representatives of the Roma community, trained in the year 2014 as a part of Council of Europe and the European Commission’s program for te Roma community members ‘ROMED’ (Mediation for Roma), played the role of mediator between local Roma communities and municipal institutions in order to ensure a harmonious dialogue between these two interested parties.
Project activities included specialized training for specialists working with the Roma community: providing the knowledge for municipal administration employees, social workers, teachers on how to work with this target group. Special trainings were also organized for Roma women, encouraging them to become more involved in public life, strengthening of the involvement of Roma community members in solving the problems of their community, and research were carried out in order to better understand the existing obstacles to the integration of the Roma community into Lithuanian society.
On the 1st of September 2016, the trained representatives of Roma communities – mediators between local Roma communities and municipal institutions – started working in the municipalities of Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Vilnius, Marijampolė and Šalčininkai.
Meetings with Roma communities and representatives of municipalities took place all over Lithuania. During the implementation of the project in ten Lithuanian municipalities, there was active communication with specialists working in them, persons supervising Roma issues, and Roma representatives.
During the project, workshops and trainings were held on the following topics:
- Seminars for school and municipal administrations
- Education for Roma women on human rights issues
- Training, integration and retention of Roma children in the education system
- Trainings for social workers
- Activities for Roma leaders
Research carried out during the project:
II part, year 2017-2018
In 2016, the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania continues to promote the cooperation and mutual dialogue between Roma communities and local municipalities, in Solving integration, social inclusion, education, health protection and other issues relevant to the Roma national minority the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania continues the project ‘Lithuanian Roma Platform – going local’, funded by the European Commission, launched on the year 2016.
In the first years of project implementation, relations were established between Roma communities and municipalities. A tool was created for Roma to solve problems more quickly and successfully through mediators, and for employees of municipal institutions to familiarize themselves with the situation of Roma. During the project, training was organized for education workers working with Roma children, teachers gained specific knowledge about the characteristics of Roma children’s education. A lot of attention has been given to Roma women, encouraging them to take on the leadership roles. The project was implemented in 2 directions: informing and educating the public and strengthening Roma abilities and skills. After the successful completion of the first phase of the project, in July 2017, the funding was received for the implementation of the second part of the project. This year it was allocated with 65 000 Eur.
During the implementation of the project, trained coordinators were employed – mediators between the Roma community and municipalities who worked in Vilnius, Panevėžys, Marijampole, Kybartai and Eišiškės. They helped Roma community members to communicate with representatives of state institutions, assisted them in managing affairs in state and private institutions, helped to solve other problems of everyday life, and carried out education and prevention programs. A seminar was organized for Roma women and girls, as well as events for Roma youth. Training was also organized for teachers working with Roma. Meetings were held with Roma coordinators and consultations with representatives of municipalities.
III part, year 2019-2020
The Department of National Minorities implemented the third stage of the project “Lithuanian Roma Platform – going local” funded by the European Commission.
Coordinators – mediators had been working in Vilnius, Jonava and Kybartai in order to solve the issues of integration, social inclusion, education, health care, employment relevant to the Roma and to ensure a smoother dialogue between the representatives of the local government and the Roma community. A mediator working in Vilnius helped the Roma people living in Kirtimai settlement to find a place to live in the city.
Responding to the needs and current affairs of the Roma community, seminars and trainings for Roma women and youth, activities for children, a seminar for teachers about the Roma genocide, meetings in municipalities with representatives of local authorities and the Roma community were planned during the implementation of the project. Also, in order to assess the change in the situation of the Roma community, in accordance with the goals of the 2015-2020 action plan for the integration of Roma into Lithuanian society, a study – a comparative analysis – was carried out with the funds of the project. You can find project activities HERE (LT).
In the first two years of project implementation, relations between Roma communities and municipalities were established. After employing coordinators-mediators in the project, it was more successful to solve the problems faced by the Roma, and smoother cooperation with the municipalities took place. During the implementation period of the project, trainings were held for education workers working with Roma children, teachers gained specific knowledge about the characteristics of Roma children’s education. A lot of attention has been given to Roma women, encouraging them to take on leadership roles. Also, meetings were held with Roma coordinators, consultations with representatives of municipalities.
It is important to mention that during the implementation of the project activities, the aim was not only to empower the members of the Roma community, to solve the problems faced by the Roma, to develop new or to strengthen existing abilities, but also to educate and inform the public.
Since 2016, the Department of National Minorities has been implementing the EC-funded project ‘Lithuanian Roma Platform – going local’. The third phase of the project lasted until August 15, 2020. The project budget was 68,000 euros.
IV part, year 2020-2021
In the years 2021-2022, the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania continued the main activities of the project “Lithuanian Roma Platform – going local” launched in 2016. Roma platforms operated in Vilnius, Panevėžys, Kybartai and Jonava. The mediators working in them helped the Roma community members to solve relevant issues of education, health, employment and other issues.
During the project, events aimed at empowering Roma women took place. One such event was dedicated to the prevention of early marriages. Early marriages still occur in the Roma community. Roma women who marry early often do not complete their education in order to raise children, but later such decisions become a serious obstacle to get a job. Therefore, it is very important to encourage Roma girls to finish school and acquire any profession.
Since the beginning of the project, contacts have been established with various municipalities where the Roma minority lives. During the implementation of the fourth part of the project, cooperation with representatives of local authorities was further developed and relations with Latvian and Estonian Roma organizations were established.
The brochure “Lithuanian Roma” was also published, which provides information about the social situation of Roma in society. The brochure can be found here.
The fourth stage of the project ended up on 15th of August, 2021.
The budget of the project was 68,000 EUR.
V part, year 2021-2023
On 15th of August 2021, the 5th part of the project “Lithuanian Roma platform – going local” started, which lasted two years. During the implementation of the project, a new Roma platform was established in Marijampole, and mediators who have been working for several years continue their activities in Vilnius, Kybartais and Jonava. Many Roma are living in these cities and the help of mediators is important for them in solving social, educational and other issues.
In this part of the project, a lot of attention was paid to Roma youth. Most of the events were organized specifically for young people, promoting their citizenship, self-confidence and responsibility for their future. Roma youth are introduced to volunteering, aiming for smoother integration into the labor market in the future.
During the project, events were held to present Roma culture and history, to acquaint the public with the Roma genocide during the World War II. Books in English were also published – ‘Lithuanian Roma oral history archive’ and the comic book ‘Draw me the way’.
The persons implementing the project and participating in it actively visited various Lithuanian municipalities in order to get acquainted with the situation of the Roma people living there and their opportunities to be included in the project in some way. During such a visit, a connection was established with the municipality of Troškūnai city, and the high school in Troškūnai received help in financing teaching assistants working with Roma.
The 5th part of the project lasted until August 14, 2023.
EUR 197,000