VII EUROPEAN CONFERENCE "HEALTH AND THE ROMA COMMUNITY" Health promotion, |
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| Introduction
Participants
Program
Information
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The Roma people are an ethnic and cultural minority that have been residing throughout practically the whole of Europe ever since the XIVth century; their numbers in Europe today stand at an estimated eight million people. A proportion of them live in Community countries (mostly in the Mediterranean region), and a considerable number also reside in Eastern and Central European countries. We are therefore speaking of a heterogeneous ethnic group comprised of sub-groups whose social and personal realities are very different. This European Conference, one more in a series of yearly conferences organised by the Sastipen Network every since 1995, intends to deal with the issue of health promotion in the Roma community from the framework of European inclusion policies, promote trans-national cooperation and the transfer of know-how and experience and it also intends to mobilise the different agents involved and foster debate on those issues that are vital to improving the quality of life and health of Europe's Roma community. When we address the issue of health, we are referring to something that affects the lives of individuals, groups and whole communities and that is one of the most important indicators of inequality, quality of life and the degree of active participation as members of society with full citizenship. In this sense, the poor socio-economic conditions, educational deficits, difficulties encountered in gaining access to the labour market, sub-standard housing conditions and, more specifically, inadequacies with respect to health care and quality of life, are all aspects that contribute to making the Roma one of the most underprivileged groups, one that is most subject to exclusion or discriminatory processes and also one that has some of the most pronounced problems in all of Europe. European policies aimed at inclusion identify basic work objectives such as stimulating an inclusive health policy for everyone, developing policies to deal with dependencies and guaranteeing access to health care for the most vulnerable groups and promoting partnership and collaboration among public and private entities for the development of health programs. The Gypsy population should also benefit from these action lines. In light of the above it is our view that, to the degree to which we are capable of tackling the variety of problems facing this community (health being one of them), we will be contributing to the social and cultural advancement of the Roma people and will be fostering social cohesion throughout the different European countries.
This Conference is fundamentally aimed at:
Wednesday 8 May 9.30: Participant registration and distribution of documentation. Thursday 9 May 9.30: Topic area: The Roma community's access to both general and
specific health resources. Friday 10 May 9.30: Topic area: Run-down environments and health: shanty towns,
mobile housing and sub-standard housing and their impact on the Roma population's quality
of life.
· Registration fee The registration fee includes admittance into the Conference, documentation and lunch during the three days of the meeting. Please deposit or transfer the registration fee to the following
bank account and send us your proof of deposit: For further information: FSGG Financed by: EUROPEAN COMMISSION - DG SANCO PLAN NACIONAL SOBRE DROGAS Sastipen Network SPAIN. Fundación Secretariado General Gitano |