BUCHAREST, JUNE 16, 2015— The Handbook for Improving the Living Conditions of Roma was disseminated today through a workshop in Cluj, Romania. The workshop will also take place on June 18, in Timisoara. The dissemination events are part of a series in the region, which started in Romania on June 2, at the European Commission Representation Offices in Bucharest.
In Cluj, and Timisoara, Mihai Boyer Magheru, social development specialist at the World Bank, Alina Nona Petric, operations analyst at the World Bank, and Andreea Tudor, Counselor at the Ministry of European Funds, the National Contact Point for Roma will inform the Romanian authorities and all concerned stakeholders on the purpose, use, and contents of the handbook. Their presentation of the handbook will be followed by a discussion to help the participants better relate the contents of the handbook to local circumstances, and start considering the application of the contents. Hard copies of the handbook, translated into Romanian, will be distributed during the workshops.
“Social inclusion of Roma is critical in helping the country unlock an untapped economic potential. Roma inclusion is not just the right thing to do, it is smart economics,” says Mihai Boyer Magheru, social development specialist at the World Bank. “We want to reach out beyond central authorities, into these regions indicated by the poverty maps, and by our research on Roma. By hosting these events in Cluj and Timisoara we have the opportunity to also meet the people in the neighboring counties.”
The handbook was jointly funded and drafted by the World Bank and the European Commission. The publication provides practical advice useful in the preparation and implementation of projects funded with European, national, or local funds. The hands-on, practical approaches, techniques, and tools for executing and enhancing the quality of interventions is expected to help improve the living conditions of Roma. The handbook intends to share global insights, experience, and ideas to broaden the range of interventions and actions considered by stakeholders, and also to inspire further innovations.
