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Roma Integration Projects

www.ecmirom.org

ECMI’s activities with Romani (‘Gypsy’) populations in Europe began in 2003 and fall under three headings:

Activities under all three headings are aimed at increasing Roms’ level of integration into the societies in which they live by equipping them with the resources needed for playing an effective role in a democratic society based on the rule of law and for participating successfully in a competitive labour market.

The first global assessment of the needs of Macedonia’s Romani population was conducted by ECMI from September to November 2003. The research results indicated the necessity of mobilizing Roma experts to work on the integration of Roms in Macedonia. In mid 2004, the ECMI launched the project Romani Expert Groups for Romani integration in Macedonia. The four Expert Groups organized around the core areas of education, health, civil rights, and employment will develop and implement projects for the purpose of generating and compiling in usable reports the data necessary to provide a basis for the design of policy designed not only for Roms, but also by Roms.

The integrated analysis of the needs of the Romani population in Serbia and Montenegro was designed on the basis of a needs assessment methodology already employed successfully in the first global assessment of the needs of the Romani population in Macedonia. The analysis in Serbia and Montenegro was designed with the intention that the report resulting from it could serve in turn as the basis for Sida’s work with Roms in Serbia and Montenegro.

ECMI NGO Network for the Improvement of Interethnic Relations in the Republic of Macedonia

The European Centre for Minority Issues , a German-Danish action-oriented centre of expertise in the field of conflict resolution, has launched a multi-dimensional civil society programme in the Balkans in 2000. A central aspect of the programmes is a gradual shift in ownerships of the project to local NGO partners.
The project of an NGO Roundtable on Inter-Ethnic Relations in Macedonia seeked to empower local NGOs to generate high quality projects on developing Macedonian civil society. The project therefore invited partner organizations to represent interests of their communities, rather than their ethnic background.
In the year 2001 the project was organized in close co-operation with the Centre for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CRFMS) in Macedonia at the Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research (ISPJR) (Sts. Cyril and Methodius University , Skopje ).
Given the very large number of NGOs in the FYR of Macedonia, not all of which are equally active, the project started with 43 established NGOs who adopted a code of best practice to which others were subsequently invited to subscribe. NGO members were engaged in joint efforts to generate sustainable and inclusive projects that will have an impact on the diverse Macedonian society. Successful pilot projects were then presented to international funding bodies. Advice and assistance in executing projects was offered once funding had been obtained.
The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) organized the first meeting of the NGO Roundtable on Inter-Ethnic Relations in Macedonia in Flensburg, Germany, from 10-13 December 2000. Over 20 domestic NGOs from Skopje and other parts of the country represented the ethnically diverse civil community of Macedonia at the initial meeting. Most organizations deal with issues that touch upon the areas of human rights, civil society and conflict resolution besides women's issues. Media representatives also attended the Flensbug session. In addition, a representative from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe as well as eight international experts on minority issues and networking in the areas of human and minority rights were invited to attend the meeting . The working language of the seminar was English.
This first meeting was held in Flensburg , at the heart of the German-Danish Border Region, in order to offer NGO representatives a neutral environment and an atmosphere, which would foster dialogue, co - operation and the exchange of ideas. This decision was also motivated by the desire of the Macedonian participants to learn more about experiences in minority-majority relations in other regions.
This meeting was first of a series of initiatives within the framework of this project, which was made possible through generous grants from the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Secretariat for the Peace and Stability / FRESTA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The idea his project was conceived in December 1999 and it was launched following extensive research, preparations as well as a fact-finding visit to Macedonia in June 2000.

Mission Statement of the ECMI NGO Network for the Improvement of Interethnic Relations in the Republic of Macedonia

Building and development of an NGO network dedicated to the improvement of interethnic relations in the Republic of Macedonia .

The overall aim of this project was to foster constructive discussion between domestic NGOs in Macedonia on the question of interethnic relations in order to identify common ground for action. Two main objectives were set: (1) to encourage the development of joint NGO project proposals which cut across ethnic lines and which are responsive to the needs of local communities; and (2) to establish a network of NGOs committed to working together in order to improve interethnic communication and interethnic relations. One year later, despite major impediments, these aims have been achieved: on 18 December 2001 , the "ECMI NGO Network for the Improvement of Interethnic Relations in the Republic of Macedonia " was officially launched in Skopje .

Network Aims

1. Promotion of mutual cooperation through exchange of all available resources.
2. Initiation and implementation of joint projects.
3. Increasing the influence of NGOs in the community.
4. Creation and development of a joint strategy for the improvement of interethnic relations.
5. Expansion of the network.

The Memorandum of Cooperation

ECMI NGO Network was member driven Network based on its key document the Memorandum of Cooperation whose main guidelines were established in December 2001. The Memorandum for Cooperation included the Criteria for admission in the ECMI-NGO Network , Code of Conduct and a n Action Plan of the NGO Network, in the year of the establishment. Subsequently, additional amendments were included into the founding document that mirrored the changing needs of the Network. Because member NGOs had to consent to the joint Memorandum of Cooperation every year, members had a strong sense of ownership about the ECMI Network. They felt that their individual needs had to be incorporated while at the same time they beared in mind the interest of all members in the Network.

The Coordinating Body was composed of twelve representatives of NGOs and one representative of ECMI. Six members were representing the multiethnic composition of the Network, the other six were reflecting the regions in which the Regional Centre are based. The Coordinating Body was headed by its elected Chair.
The Coordinative Body taked on the principal responsibility for the implementation of the activities; convening the members of the network; sustainability strategy for the network; joint lobbying for the network; maintaining regular contacts with Regional Centers.

The ECMI Regional NGO Resource Centres

During 2002 six Regional NGO Resource Centres were established as neutral grounds for all NGO members in developing, coordinating and implementing joint projects on issues that cut across interethnic ties.
The centres were in the cities of Skopje, Kumanovo, Tetovo, Gostivar, Bitola and Shtip . The Regional Resource Centers were especially valuable because they provided NGO members with a neutral physical space where they could meet whit the stakeholders and stay above and beyond ethnic politics.

enhanceing the capacity of participating NGOs to devise and implement interethnic projects (through training, on-site advice, facilitation of dialogue between NGOs and their beneficiaries, local government and the local media and other capacity enhancing measures);
strengthen the credibility of participating NGOs by developing and adhering to a common Code of Conduct;
support the development by participating NGOs of joint interethnic projects, their presentation to donors, and their implementation in strict accordance with these criteria.

Over 70 grass - roots NGO from Macedonia become part of the Network in a joint effort to identify common ground for action on issues related to advancing interethnic dialogue in the Republic of Macedonia. Their committed work in the community that they were acting made them recognizable and highly respected partners. This leaded to their strong partnership whit the local government and the business sector.
During the existence of the ECMI NGO Network, members have generated over 140 and implemented over 86 joint pilot projects in order to contribute to the improvement of the interethnic relations in the Republic of Macedonia .
Hence in the year 2002/2003 Intra Networks were established, namely the Youth Multicultural Initiative (YMI), Educational Network, Environmental Network and the Working Group for Minority Rights. Apart from the officially established intra-networks, the numerous Roma NGOs in the ECMI Network also formed a spontaneous collaboration among themselves.
The intra-networks were beneficial to their members for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is always advantageous for all NGO members to address issues of priority and common concern at national level. Moreover, the accumulative power of the NGOs working jointly is necessarily elevated comparing to their individual capacities. The intra-network is also more successful in monitoring the government policy on their specific area of work. Lobbying for an established NGO priority can rarely achieve its objective without quantitative or qualitative influence. In addition, NGO capacities as well as networking abilities of NGO members were further enhanced by the intra-networks. Altogether, one can safely claim that intra-networks added a substantial plus to networks because they are expertise oriented and they are an indication of Network sustainability.

Conclusion of the project

During 2004 , the Coordinative Body cooperated with the ECMI as facilitator in elaborating a strategy for the upcoming period in order to outline the Network future development and maintenance. The initiated discussion among the Network members led to:

By the closure of the ECMI project, these initiatives have resulted in independent and sustainable structures. ECMI welcomes the creation of these new civil society formations and wish the participating member organisations the best of luck in their future work.

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Policy Dialogue Initiative

Our aim

The Policy Dialogue Initiative (PDI) was ECMI’s dialogue project in Macedonia that provided politically influential persons with the opportunity to work together to create more sustainable and inclusive policies. The project was implemented from January 2004 to March 2005, thanks to the generous support by Department of Foreign Affairs, Government of Ireland.
This project seeks to achieve concrete political action to implement the Framework (“Ohrid”) Agreement signed in August 2001 among Macedonia’s chief political parties. Within this initiative, four working groups were established to discuss issues of concern in the areas of education, economy, health care and human rights. Each working group comprised of 10-15 experts who came from three professional backgrounds: politicians and persons in government; professionals and experts in the relevant fields; and NGO leaders and activists. While the majority of the members were based in Skopje, other members came from Tetovo, Gostivar, Bitola, Stip and Kumanovo.
The primary aim of these working groups was to identify problems and make recommendations that will assist decision makers to formulate and implement more just, inclusive policies that improve the quality of services, strengthen the rule of law, and provide better economic opportunities for people of all backgrounds living in Macedonia. The secondary aim was to strengthen communication and build working relationships among members from different segments of society.
Through regular meetings, each working group worked through a series of planned steps to identify, define and prioritize main areas of concern within their policy fields, gather additional information on priority problems, analyze the information, make recommendations and devise strategies for the presentation of our recommendations.

Recommendations

The recommendations of the Working Group for Education highlight the necessity of recognizing the value of multiculturalism, strengthening infrastructural needs, encouraging depoliticization in the education sector, and enhancing teacher-training institutions. Separate presentations were made to the Ministry of Education, the Parliamentary Committee on Education, the Bureau for the Development of Education and to international organizations operating in Macedonia.

The Human Rights Working Group has focused on finding ways for strengthening the capacity of institutions responsible for human rights protection, as well as the issues of citizenship and the personal right to liberty.

With the aim of promoting the development of sustainable strategies in the field of health, the Working Group for Health has recommended developing a new national strategy for health care. Their recommendations in particular focus on relevant themes and prerequisites for consideration during the preparation of this new strategy as well as strategies for implementation.

The Working Group for Economy has adapted a dual approach toward issues in the economic sphere: macroeconomic and microeconomic policy problems. Recommendations were presented at the Economic Forum, December 13 at the Holiday Inn Skopje.

Outcome

Throughout December 2004, members of the working groups in ECMI’s Policy Dialogue Initiative in Macedonia were actively engaged in lobbying members of Parliament, representatives of individual ministries and relevant government institutions to adapt and implement their policy recommendations in the fields of education, health, economy and human rights. The Policy Dialogue Initiative has organized presentations of its recommendations at several events.
The Working Group on Education organized their first presentation of recommendations on December 7, for representatives of international organizations and donors that have programs in the field of education in Macedonia. The same recommendations were presented the next day at the Parliament for representatives from the Parliamentary Committee on Education, the Ministry of Education and the Bureau for the Development of Education. In addition, on December 13, a meeting with the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on Education was held to discuss future cooperation between education working group and the Parliamentary Committee for Education in the course of 2005 in regards to Multiculturalism in Education. This positive step was proposed by the Committee itself based on their favorable impression of the recommendations made by the Working Group on Education.
In addition to individual presentations targeting relevant government actors, a large press conference was held for members of the domestic and international press on December 14 at the Holiday Inn Skopje, to publicize the recommendations to local citizens and members of the international community.
In order to disseminate the recommendations developed within the Policy Dialogue Initiative, at the beginning of February, ECMI began implementing promotional activities on the national and local levels.
The Local Forum in Tetovo was held on March 29, 2005, on the premises of the Southeastern Europe University. The Local Forum was organized in cooperation with the Association of NGOs from Tetovo to identify the relevant stakeholders in the local community as target groups for promoting the recommendations. The members of the City Council, principles of the primary and secondary schools in Tetovo, academics from both universities in Tetovo, health practitioners and the managerial team from the Tetovo City Hospital, as well as businesspersons from Tetovo and the region attended this Forum.
The Local Forum in Kumanovo was held on March 30, 2005 at the restaurant “Rim-Paris” in Kumanovo. The relevant stakeholders were identified in cooperation with the Coalition for Multiethnic Cooperation as local partners for ECMI. Among the attendees were the Mayor of Kuamnovo, members of the City Council, high officials of the Ministry of Interior, representatives of the Macedonian Parliament from Kumanovo and Ministry of Education as well as Bureau for the Development of Education.
The Local Forum in Bitola was held on March 31, 2005 on the premises of hotel “Epinal”. All relevant institutions and local media were invited by ECMI’s local partner, Center for Democratic Initiatives-Bitola. Representatives from the University in Bitola, Ministry of Interior, NGO representatives that work in some of the fields covered by the recommend- ations attended the Forum.
Public presentation of the recommendations was held at the Hotel Turist in Kriva Palanka with an aim to inform the public about the recommendations and possibilities of implementing them at the local level.
Public presentation of the education recommendations for the improvement of the educational system in Macedonia was held on 14 March at the Hotel Bitola. The audience comprised of over 40 residents of Bitola, directors and teachers of secondary and elementary schools, professors and students of the Faculty for Pedagogy, and representatives of NGOs and local media.
The NGO Coalition “Centre for Democratic Initiatives” organized a public presentation of the health recommendations in the high school for medicine in Bitola on 18 March 2005. During the discussion, the attendees expressed their positive opinion of the recommendations and offered several proposals for implementation at the municipal level.
The association of non-governmental organizations of Tetovo presented the recommendations of the working group on education at a public event on the premises of the Mosa Pijade high school on 16 March 2005. The public event was attended by representatives of the Office for Education, directors of secondary and elementary schools, university professors and the local media. All attendees agreed that the recommendations were of great relevance, which stemmed from the expertise of the members of the working group for education, and that the recommendations presented a new step towards educational reforms.
The promotion of the recommendations also included TV and radio promotions, promotions in the printed media, debates and working meetings with local stakeholders as well distribution of various promotional material.

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