Information for the Media

Dolenjske Toplice, 27th November 2015

The international conference “Broaden horizons – networks and experiences for successful Roma inclusion« in Dolenjske Toplice has come to an end today.

Dolenjske Toplice, 26. 11. 2015_5The organizer of the international conference Broaden horizons – networks and experiences for successful Roma inclusion” is the Development and Education Centre Novo Mesto (RIC Novo Mesto), who has organized the conference in cooperation with the partnerships in the projects e-Roma Resource and Finally – financial literacy for Roma. The conference was held under the honorary patronage of his Excellency Borut Pahor, the President of the Republic of Slovenia.

Numerous international and national institutions as well as individuals have responded to the invitation to the conference. Within the two days of the conference, 260 participants from 12 countries presented their work.

At the project market stalls, 26 international projects and examples of good national practices were presented within various sessions, work groups, and round tables, moreover, more than 90 various contributions were presented at the plenary sessions.

At the plenary session on Thursday, as an introduction to the conference, the following speakers, among others, presented their keynotes: Marjeta Gašperšič, director of RIC Novo Mesto, MSc Stane Baluh, director of the Office for National Minorities of the Republic of Slovenia, MSc Branko Soćanac, director of the Government Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia, Emilia Venot, project officer, the Agency for Education, Audiovisual Field and Culture at the European Commission, Vlasta Nussdorfer, the Human Rights Ombudsman, Jožek Horvat Muc, president of President of the Roma Union in Slovenia and European Roma Union, and Janja Rošer, president of the Council of the Roma Community of the Republic of Slovenia.

The conference organizers wanted to emphasize the importance of connecting the stakeholders in the field of Roma inclusion; we wanted to encourage networking and cooperation between the ministries and institutions, to establish new partnerships, and to facilitate the exchange of best practices through the use of materials produced within the framework of various projects in the field of Roma integration.

On the first day of the conference, a press conference was held, which was attended by the MSc Stane Baluh, the director of the Office for National Minorities of the Republic of Slovenia, who made a brief assessment of the implementation of the measures of the National Programme for the Roma of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2010-2015. He announced the novelties in a new programme which is being prepared at the moment. The new programme will be a continuation of the old one, and it will include two new and important fields, namely, a Roma youth organization and Roma women and girls. Emilia Venot from the Agency for Education, Audiovisual Arts and Culture at the European Commission, presented the financing possibilities for the activities from various fields of Roma inclusion, and the role and plans of the European Commission in the field of networking and presenting the results of the projects for the Roma. Jožek Horvat Muc, the president of the Roma Union in Slovenia, stressed the importance of networking and the exchange of knowledge between Roma and other organizations, particularly in the field of education and Romology.

DSC_2938At the end, Marjeta Gašperšič, the director of RIC Novo Mesto, made the assessment of both international projects, within which the conference has been organized. The projects Finally and e-Roma Resource boast with quality results, which RIC Novo Mesto can be proud of. Nevertheless, the dilemma of how to ensure the sustainability of results remains. The project Finally has created an extremely high-quality financial literacy programme for the Roma, which is also suitable for other target groups, especially for the less-educated. Our next challenge is to get through to the policies and decision makers that will provide funding for the implementation of the programmes even after the completion of the projects.

The platform www.eromaresource.com represents the virtual format of the conference. Its purpose is to present the results and thus to ensure the sustainability of the projects which were financed from the public funds, and should therefore be accessible to everybody in the long term as well.

Additional information:

Ana Granda Jakše
t: 07 393 45 50, 041 750 265
e: ana.granda.jakse@ric-nm.si
w: www.broadenhorizons.siwww.eromaresource.comwww.project-finally.eu