Last week, the CSCD team visited the three places and learned about the policies of each of them regarding Roma inclusion.

Within the Municipality 4 Roma project, three information days were organized in the municipalities, which have previously signed letters of support. At the events, the team of our organization presented the good practices of the municipality of Campobasso, Italy together with the Italian project partners, who also participated in the discussions in real time.

As expected, there was no lack of good practices on the Bulgarian side. In the municipality of Slivo Pole all children are covered by the educational system regardless of their origin, and compulsory education of 4-year-old children has been introduced. The meeting was attended by principals of schools, kindergartens, municipal and community center employees and all shared their experiences in working with Roma. Many children from this origin later become educators or social workers. During the pandemic, the Roma people from Slivo Pole, living abroad, organized funds to send support to the municipality.

In the municipality of Ivanovo we met mainly with representatives of the community itself and they themselves expressed their satisfaction with the work with institutions and municipal officials. Roma children there are also involved in a number of extracurricular activities, and education is a priority according to their words.

The same was shared by representatives of the municipality, the municipal council and the district administration in Montana. The municipality also offers social housing for the socially disadvantaged people for a monthly rent of BGN 40, but they stressed that they do not have special policies for Roma and are against such a division. They work to support the socially disadvantaged regardless of their ethnic origin. There are two municipal councilors from the Roma ethnic group in the municipality, and in 2020 a Roma representative with merits in the field of sports - Tashko Tanov was awarded with a badge of honor of the Municipality of Montana. Locals also said that Montana is among the municipalities with the highest percentage of Roma with higher education.

All three municipalities showed interest in establishing a long-term partnership with the CSCD and support for future projects in the field of Roma inclusion.


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