Breaking the Roma Poverty Cycle in Serbia and Montenegro

1
Breaking the Roma Poverty Cycle in Serbia and
Montenegro

• Young Roma Leaders Study Tour
• Washington DC, November 2003.
• PETAR ANTIC

2
Priorities

• Education
• Poverty Reduction
• Decent housing
• Discrimination
• _________________________
• Multidisciplinary approach is required

3
EducationRoma Education Fund should financially
support

• Pre-school education for children of Roma
  nationality complemented with state enforcement
  of on-time enrollment
• Affirmative action in next 10 years (7
  enrollment quota in high schools and universities
  with scholarship support)
• Training teachers in multi-cultural context and
  Roma cultural material in the curriculum
• Desegregation of children of Roma nationality

4
Roma Educative Fund Participation of Roma is
essential

• National and international experts groups
  including Roma
• Qualified specialists of Roma nationality should
  be employed within the secretariat of Roma
  educational fund to prepare the Fund program
  and coordinate the activities.

5
Poverty Redaction

• Firms who employ Roma should receive tax
  exemptions for a certain period of time as an
  incentive.
• Affirmative action in employing Roma in civil
  services
• Provide promised grants for self employment
  income generating activities. Plus small business
  training.
• Special attention to give young Roma vocational
  training
• Simplify the process for getting necessary
  documents

6
Decent housing

• Improve slum settlements up to basic European
  standards
• Involve municipalities in urgent resolution of
  living conditions for Roma IDPs from Kosovo
• Registration of illegal houses as possible
• It is necessary to define by the law the duty of
  the authorities to find the alternative
  accommodation for the displaced persons both with
  legal and illegal habitation.

7
Discrimination

• Adopt the Law against discrimination and create
  Commission against discrimination
• Media campaign for tolerance
• Advocacy training program for young Roma
  activists
• Anti-racism courses to be included in all public
  institutions