Promoting EU Citizenship among Roma

This initiative revolves around the dissemination of printed material to spread information conducive to political engagement and the protection of human rights. ERIO has created 3 types of fact sheets regarding anti-discrimination legislation throughout the EU: one is designed for all member states of the EU, and two are geared toward specific nations and their corresponding situations of the Roma of Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Czech Republic. These fact sheets are distributed to Roma individuals and organisations in order to facilitate knowledge of the rights of the Roma according the EU legislation on anti-discrimination. They are also available for download in PDF format on the ERIO website and are being spread widely throughout a network of cooperative organisations that, with ERIO, is promoting active citizenship, equal opportunities, and intercultural dialogue.

Also, ERIO is creating both public broadcasting programmes for broadcast via Radio Rota and compact discs (CDs) for distribution to radio stations in Slovakia and Czech Republic in order to reach the Roma and provide information regarding the dialogues of the EU and anti-discrimination legislation. The broadcasts include interviews with victims of discrimination in order to further mobilise the Roma in actively pursuing their European citizenship and their knowledge of their rights. The dissemination of the broadcasts and CDs is being facilitated through a working relationship between ERIO and another Roma informational organisation, Dzeno Association of Czech Republic.

The broadcasts, CDs, and the information available on the website are offered in Romanes, Slovak, Czech, and English in order to ensure relevance and access to persons of various nationalities and languages.

In addition to disseminating information, the project is also working to create dialogue between the Roma organisations and the EU in order to foster understanding of the lack of protection of Roma rights across the EU. To promote advocacy and policy change, ERIO is also building the network of Roma advocacy groups across the EU to create a more comprehensive and active network with several organisations with stronger mobilisation capacity. By connecting Roma communities in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, ERIO hopes to bring people together from across Europe to share not only information, but personal experiences as well. This conversational flow, it is hoped, will bring people closer together around shared culture and history.

Rights.

A news piece published May 31 2009 indicates: "According to a recent report by the Vienna-based Fundamental Rights Agency, in the last 12 months, 50 percent of Roma say they have been victims of discrimination in the EU and are afraid of more episodes and being further isolated from mainstream society because of the worldwide economic recession that has hit the EU hard, believing they will become even more targeted by people who lose their jobs and become socially antagonistic."

ERIO is concerned that changes in European policies mean that many Roma are not aware of their rights, especially regarding anti-discrimination and equality. This project is designed to provide them with the knowledge of exactly what treatment they are entitled to within their home country.

ERIO is an international advocacy organisation which promotes political and public discussion on Roma issues by providing information on a range of policy issues to the European Union institutions, Roma civil organisations, governmental authorities, and intergovernmental bodies.