Maglizh
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Last update 18/08/2016
Maglizh is a municipality in the Stara Zagora Province, in South-Central Bulgaria, with the town of Maglizh as the administrative centre for14 surrounding villages. It has a population of about 11.000 out of which around 40 % are of Roma ethnicity.
Traditional industrial sectors in the municipality are in logging and wood processing with a well-developed agriculture sector as well. In spite of these strong industries, the unemployment rate for the municipality is higher than the Bulgarian average.
The Roma population is concentrated in segregated neighbourhoods in the town of Maglizh and the villages of Dabboo, Vetren and Zimnitsa. These communities are facing school segregation, poor housing conditions, a lack of infrastructure combined with a high unemployment rate (approximately 90%) and a lack of access to services, particularly health care.
The ROMACT Process
Maglizh joined the ROMACT Programme in December 2013 with the signature of the Letter of Commitment by the Mayor of the municipality, Mr Gospodin Gospodinov.
Shortly after joining, the Community Action Group (CAG) started to meet and develop a list of needs that were presented to the Local Authority in May 2014. These needs were discussed and priorities were agreed and acknowledged by the Municipal Council and integrated in the Municipal Plan for Roma Integration (MAPRI) in April 2015. The MAPRI includes:
| Priorities | Objective 1 | Objective 2 | Objective 3 | Objective 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | Guaranteeing the right of equal access to quality education through the integration of Roma children and students in ethnically mixed kindergartens and schools | Creating conditions for the desegregation of Roma children in kindergartens and schools | Attracting Roma parents in the educational process and enhancing their participation in school life | Improving the material base of educational institutions. |
| Health | Reduce child mortality | Improving health care for infants and preschool children | Improving prevention activities among the Roma population | Improving access to health services |
| Housing | Creating cadastral maps and registers of areas, including areas with compact Roma population | Updating / developing detailed plans of existing and newly terrains | Providing alternative accommodation in case of eviction of Roma families from vulnerable homes that inhabit | Improving housing conditions |
| Infrastructure | Identifying measures to improve waste disposal and garbage disposal in Roma localities | Improving social/technical infrastructure in Roma neighborhoods | Reconstruction of objects of cultural infrastructure | |
| Employment | Increasing employment of Roma | Improving Roma qualifications and skills | ||
| Rule of Law and non- discrimination | Improving the efficiency to work with of Roma among the employees of the municipal administration of Maglizh municipality and employees of the police | Strengthening the representation of Roma in public administration at all levels | Preservation, development and promotion of Roma culture. |
The MAPRI implementation started as below:
| Priorities | Measure implemented | Measure implemented |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Streets renovation, setting up of street lights and provided of trash containers in Tulovo and Dabovo | Renovation of the culture centers in Tulovo and Dabovo (EAFRD) |
| Education | 150 children attend kindergarten for free | |
| Health | Appointment of two health mediators | Project "New healthcare opportunities " (OP-HRD) to provide 24 disabled people benefit from the daily care and support provided by 21 “personal assistants”- 90% of which are Roma. |
Due to local elections the ROMACT process slowed down in Maglizh and activities resumed in March 2016 with the creation of a Public Council for the implementation of the MAPRI. Actions included the integration of the CAG in the process of creating the Local Action Group which was set up to create a Local Development Strategy to be supported by CLLD under the EAFRD. Shortly after these activities during a Joint meeting between the Local Authority and the CAG, 5 CAG members were appointed to be part of the Public Council in charge of the monitoring of the implementation of the MAPRI. The MAPRI was document was also updated based on CAG’s new proposals.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, Maglizh municipal staff attended several training and coaching sessions organised by the ROMACT Programme. In May 2016, after an evaluation based on the accomplishment of the four ROMACT steps (see timeline below), the ROMACT cycle was considered a success and the programme closed.
Despite the closure of ROMACT process, punctual support continued and The Municipality benefited of ROMACT expertise for the following projects in 2020 :
* “Prevention of secondary segregation in the educational institution of the Town of Maglizh” No. НПОД - КП33.2 - 007/13.07.2020 г, National program “Support of Municipalities for Implementation of Activities for Educational desegregation and Prevention of Secondary Segregation”, Ministry of Education.
Budget: 16 923 euros
Status: approved
*“Hand in hand in support of the educational integration of the youngest citizens of Muglizh” No. КП33.19-5-002/10.08.2020, Competition Procedure 33.19-2020 of the Center for Educational Integration of Children and Pupils from Ethnic Minorities (COIDUEM).
Budget : 5 988 euros
Status : approved
* "Increasing civic participation in the processes of implementation&monitoring of the MLDP - Funded by the European Social Fund.
Budget : 29 197€
Status : approved
Trainings provided by ROMACT experts :
Community Action Groups (CAG):
* Legal frame for addressing discrimination.