ROMED2 launched in Greece

ROMED2 was launched in Greece at an event that took place in Athens between the 23rd and 25th October, with the attendance of the Greek Deputy Minister of Interior, Mr Leonidas Grigorakos and of the representatives of the municipalities of Iraklion, Ilion, Ilida, Komotini, Mesologi and Thessaloniki. The meeting was chaired by Ms Louisa Kyriakaki, expert on Roma issue and member of the Ad-hoc Committee of experts on Roma issues of the Council of Europe (CAHROM – link to article on the 6th meeting). The programme will be implemented in Greece by a national team composed of a National Project Officer, a National Focal Point and resource persons, in cooperation with the National Association of the Roma mediators and the National Focal Point of the Greek National Strategy for Roma Integration.

The meeting was strongly impacted by recent event in Greece, as greek media, and later on around Europe, were consolidating stereotypes on Roma through the needless and abusive coverage of the story of a 4-year old Romani girl whose appearance stroke some as ‘incompatible’ with that of her entourage. This in turn put other Roma families in danger, with reports of such abuse coming from Ireland and Serbia.

A photo gallery of the event is available here.

Strasbourg 4/11/2013