The non-governmental organization Media Team organized two panel discussions with representatives of the Nikšić local administration and the Roma-Egyptian (RE) community from that city.
"Through the content of the two panels, models of better cooperation between decision-makers and the RE community were presented with the aim of faster social and cultural inclusion of the young RE population in Nikšić, and improvement of the living conditions of this community through more efficient arrangement of the RE settlement. The position of young people from the RE community in Nikšić has improved significantly has improved compared to previous years, but the dynamics of the inclusion of the RE population in everyday life is still slow," states the statement signed by the Media Team's project coordinator, Snežana Danilović.
The first panel "Mechanisms of better cooperation and faster social and cultural inclusion of the youth of the Re population in Nikšić" took part in the representatives of the Secretariat for culture, sports, youth and social care of the municipality of Nikšić.
"Counselor for cooperation with the RE community, Miljaim Delija, said that there are significant developments in communication with decision-makers, which is especially visible through the work of the Roma parliament and the increasing number of young people in the school system. He stated that there are challenges related to solving housing, such as and problems concerning the employment of young people of this community. He stated that much more must be done at the state level in order to speed up the social and cultural inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in our society," the announcement reads.
Maja Radoičić, head of the Office for Youth, reminded that a new local action plan for youth is being developed and that young Roma and Egyptians participated in the research of its needs, while Miloš Nenezić, head of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs and the Protection of Human and of minority rights, presented activities within the "Romacted" project, which deals with the inclusion of the RE community.
"The municipality of Nikšić, with the support of the Council of Europe, realized two mini-grants through this project. With the first mini-grant, in the amount of 13 thousand euros, part of the playground was built for the RE community, while with the second mini-grant, worth ten thousand euros , organized training for members of the RE community, three of whom received training in office business. The commitment of the Municipality of Nikšić to the integration of the RE population was confirmed by the 'Roma Friendly Mayor' award, which was received by the President of the Municipality in April 2024 in Brussels. Marko Kovačević," Nenezić said.
On the second panel entitled "Improving the living conditions of the RE population through more efficient arrangement of RE settlements and the promotion of a new model of cooperation with local self-government", Vidak Krtolica, secretary of the Secretariat for Communal Affairs and Traffic, pointed out that they are continuously working on the removal of illegal landfills near RE settlements. He also emphasized the good cooperation with the NGO sector in that area.
The Director of the Communal Enterprise, Vido Sjekloća, pointed out that he is open to all initiatives concerning the arrangement and cleaning of Roma settlements, but also that it is the duty of all citizens to properly pay for garbage collection.
The Executive Director of the Ecological Movement "Ozone", Aleksandar Perović, praised the participation of representatives of the RE community in the ecological campaign "Our city - our o(b)draz", while Mitar Barać from the local Tourist Organization (TO) announced the organization of free trips for young Roma and Egyptians organized by TO Nikšić. Most of the questions to the panelists, from RE representatives, related to the employment of Roma and Egyptians and solving their social status.
The panels were organized as part of the project "For the full inclusion of the RE population in our society", which was supported by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights. By the end of the project, a round table on the topic "Ethnic distance and interculturalism" will be organized, at which the Informant on social rights and cultural uniqueness of youth from the RE community will be promoted.
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