LIVE BROADCAST: 11th European Platform for Roma Inclusion underway in Brussels, Roma from Czech Republic attending

In Brussels the 11th session of the European Platform for Roma Inclusion has been underway since yesterday and is being attended by a delegation from the Czech Republic. Politicians and Romani representatives are discussing Roma inclusion and how to improve the situation of Roma in Europe.

The main session attended by EU Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová is underway with a live broadcast here on news server Romea.cz. This year’s session of the platform is dedicated to discussions connected with the transition of Romani children and youth from the education system into employment.

LIVE BROADCAST

“This subject is very important because Romani people still remain the least-represented group on the labor market and a high number are unemployed. Many young Roma between the ages of 15 and 24 do not study and are not employed,” say the organizers of this year’s session.

According to organizers, a combination of different factors is responsible, such as poverty, low educational achievement, discrimination in the areas of education and employment, and serious structural barriers to Romani people taking advantage of their potential for labor market participation. The European Commission, through this initiative, is facilitating a broader dialogue among the Member States, nonprofit organizations, and representatives of Romani communities about the policies of inclusion and integration.

The Czech Republic is represented at the event by Deputy Human Rights Minister David Beňák, and representatives of nonprofit organizations from the Czech Republic are also attending, such as Michal Miko from the Slovo 21 organization, Nikola Taragoš of the Romodrom organization, Kumar Vishwanathan of the Vzájemné soužití (Life Together) organization, Miroslav Klempár of the Awen Amenca organization, and activist Tomáš Ščuka. The European Roma Grassroots Organization Network (ERGO) is represented by its director, Gabriela Jamen Hrabaňová of the Czech Republic.

“The meeting of the platform has a big influence on how the Czech Republic behaves. Without the European Commission, the implementation of integration would not be going on, its financial resources and options are enormous. Thanks to these meetings, Romani nonprofits have managed, for example, to lead the Commission to decide to begin its infringement proceedings against the Czech Republic for violating its obligations in the case of discrimination against Romani children in the Czech education system. The pressure that is being put by the European Commission on the state in the area of inclusion is important,” Miko told news server Romea.cz.