20/09/2022
FSG Internacional
Last week, Fundación Secretariado Gitano carried out the workshop on sustainable participation and political advocacy in the meeting of the Roma Civil Monitor 2021-2025 celebrated in Budapest
Between the 13 and 15 of September, the Roma Civil Monitor (“Preparatory action – Roma Civil Monitoring – Strengthening capacity and involvement of Roma and pro-Roma civil society in policy monitoring and review”) gathered all their National Coordinators in Budapest. This encounter aimed to be a meeting point for all the stakeholders of the initiative to share experiences and learn from each other.
The workshops carried out provided the National Coordinators with guidance on how to plan and implement the activities concerning capacity building, communication at the national level and sustainable participation (with particular emphasis on the mapping of the stakeholders’ landscape to develop political advocacy). The first two activities were developed by Ergo Network while the latter one was carried out by Fundación Secretariado Gitano.
The encounter also aimed to strengthening the NGO network and transnational cooperation by knowing each other better and sharing the main findings from the Roma Civil Monitor so far, and by engaging in discussions on topics with trans-national relevance, as well as planning the development of the thematic reports to delivered in 2023.
Last day of the meeting included the intervention of representatives of the European Commission (DG Empl, DG Just and DG Regio), who provided key information on the European financial instruments for Roma inclusion in the programming period 2021-2027 (ERDF, ESF+) and updates on DG Just policies relevant to the Roma population.
What is the Roma Civil Monitor
The Roma Civil Monitor 2021-2025 is a follow-up to the Roma Civil Monitor pilot project 2017-2020 and aims at involving at least 90 Roma and pro-Roma civil society organisations and individuals from 26 EU Member States (Malta is not included) in monitoring and reporting mainly on the Member States’ national Roma strategic frameworks (NRSF) but also other policies concerning Roma. The initiative contributes to building the capacity of the national Roma and pro-Roma civil societies providing them with systematic support in engaging in the dialogue, advocacy and cooperation with national stakeholders.
The Roma Civil Monitor 2021-2025 initiative is implemented by a consortium led by the Democracy Institute of the Central European University (DI/CEU), and including European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network (ERGO Network), Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) and European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), under a service contract with the European Commission’s Directorate-General Justice and Consumers (DG Just).
