Ruzhintsi

General Information
 
ROMACT Cycle: 
Closed
Mayor of the Municipality: 
Alexandar Alexandrov
Contact Person within the Municipality: 
Violeta Ilieva - Chief Expert "Social activities“
Facilitators: 
Yuksel Yasharov
Total population: 
4 331
Roma living in the Municipality: 
2 100
Description of the Municipality: 

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Ruzhintsi Municipality is located in Northwestern Bulgaria and is part of the administrative district of Vidin. It includes 10 settlements. The town of Ruzhintsi is the administrative center of the municipality.
 

Roma population lives in segragated neighborhoods  in Ruzhintsi, Cherno Pole, Byalo Pole and Drenovets. 

In recent years there has been massive migration to major cities in the country and abroad, increasing unemployment rate,  and fewer children in schools. Ruzhintsi  is located in a region that is the fastest depopulating in Europe.

 

The ROMACT Process

ROMACT Process started in April 2021 with the signature of the Letter of Agreement.

The Taskforce for Roma inclusion was created in November 2021.  

The Municipal Action Plan for Roma inclusion was adopted by the Local Council in July 2022.

Trainings
ROMACT experts provided the following training and coaching sessions since the start of implementing the programme:

For the local authorities:
*Partnership management for the implementation of municipal policies for social inclusion
* Consultation on the Analysis of the needs for social services at the municipal and regional level

For educational mediators, schools and municipal employees:
*Intercultural training for better inclusion

For Community Action Groups (CAGs):
*
 Understand and Participate in CLLD strategies
* ROMACT approach for local facilitators

The Municipality benefited from ROMACT expertise to apply for the following projects:

"Future for Children and Families in Ruzhintsi Municipality" - Funded by The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) - Budget 149 250,00 € - Status: Under evaluation
* Interventions on existing school buildings for "Nikola Y. Vaptsarov" Secondary School, Drenovets village - Funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan within BG-RRP-1.007 - "Modernization of educational environment" - Budget 1 190 986 € - Status: Under evaluation

The expertise provided by ROMACT for municipalities involves training and guidance on preparing project proposals and implementing inclusive policies aimed at improving the living conditions and social integration of vulnerable populations, including the Roma.

ROMACT Small Grants Scheme
 
ROMACT offers small grants scheme to support the efforts of the municipalities and Community Action Groups to respond together to the needs of the most vulnerable and to multiply the good practices across ROMACT municipalities.

Under the scheme of small grants, the following project was supported by ROMACT between Feb - April 2023:

Reconstruction of buildings/facilities - SU” Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov school in Ruzhintsi
ROMACT supported the school with 5000 euros to fund the reconstruction of building and facilities dedicated to education and culture. The project aimed at improving the social infrastructure of facilities and promote the well-being and development of pupils through targeted renovations and upgrades.
 

Timeline Points

27 Apr 2021
Step 1- Becoming Committed- Signature of the letter of agreement
18 Nov 2021
Creation of the Municipal Taskforce for Roma Inclusion
20 Jul 2022
Step 3- Translating priorities into measures- Adoption of the Joint Action Plan by Local Council
23 Oct 2023
End of ROMACT process
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