ROMACTED, “Promoting good governance and Roma empowerment at local level”, is a Joint Programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe.

The programme will be implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Turkey by the Council of Europe’s Support Team of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma issues for a period of 36 months, starting in May.

The aims of the programme are to:

Representatives from Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden are currently in Buzau, Romania to assess the situation of Roma and exchange practice and experience with their Romanian counterparts in the field of education, employment, social inclusion and health.

The Council of Europe is organising a call for tenders for consultancy services for the provision of intercultural trainings and mediation trainings.

Consultants will support the implementation of ROMACT Programme by providing consultancy services on various topics. 

The Transnational Cooperation and Capacity Building component of the ROMACT programme (ROMACT TCC) aims at assisting local authorities in better integrating marginalised people, in particular non-nationals of Roma ethnicity.

“I really learned things that I can apply, and while this was a challenging course, the trainer was able to answer all of our questions well.”

Borovan, Boychinovtsi, Isperich, Nickola Kozlevo, Septemvri, Sliven, Sredets, Tundzha and Tvarditsa will therefore be able to implement new measures for the inclusion of vulnerable groups, in particular some of the activities included in their Municipal Action Plans for Roma integration. 

Five representatives of ISB.e.V. – Interessengemeinschaft sozialgewerblicher Beschäftigungsinitiativen from Dortmund, Germany visited Sofia and Plovdiv in Bulgaria for a working visit. 

Community empowerment and mobilisation are the main focus of these workshops . During the training participants shared their perception of what constitutes a developed community. “I was impressed by the exercise” stated Sorin Meghesan, Mayor of Tarnaveni.

Efforts of the ROMACT municipalities of Kolackov, Lomnicka, Stropkov and Vrbnica to improve the life of its citizen, including its Roma Communities, using an integrated approach were rewarded this year.