As SDC is supporting Roma inclusion in several countries, mainly in the Western Balkans and new EU member states, it was decided in 2012 to organise a Regional Workshop on Roma Social Inclusion in order to allow SDC staff managing these programmes to exchange their experiences, learn from each other and improve the quality of design and steering of their programmes. The first meeting that took place in Belgrade in December 2012, followed by two other face-to-face meetings in Bucharest (2015) and Tirana (2016).
Exchanges between the interested programme officers managing Roma inclusion programs continued between the workshops (so-called learning trajectories where the participants meet virtually once every 3-4 months and share their current challenges and findings).
Three active learning trajectories are:
- Roma women empowerment;
- Transforming discrimination by working with the majority population;
- Community development and active citizenship;
IDS has supported the organisation and facilitation of both Bucharest and Tirana’s workshops and are moderating the learning trajectories.
The general aim of Capitalisation of SDC Experiences in Roma Social Inclusion is to draw broad conclusions from past SDC experiences in promoting Roma social inclusion and make them easily accessible for decision makers. Jo Howard will be producing a synthesis paper providing the main findings and lessons from the Roma inclusion seminar series (including evidence from other donors) to provide strategic guidance for future projects.
