Following the launching event, which took place in Budapest on 4 October 2013, the first workshop of the ROMACT and ROMED2 programmes took place on Friday, 18 Oct 2013 in the same city. Mayors and candidates from the municipalities of Szeged, Nagyecsed, Nyirbator, Pecs, Gyulaj, Jászfényszaru and mediators from the same municipalities and from Bag were present to start preparing, with the assistance of trainers, concrete plans of implementation in each municipality of ROMACT/ROMED2.

On 15 October 2013 in Bucharest, the ROMACT and ROMED2 programmes were launched in Romania. Having the largest Roma population in Europe, the implementation of the programmes in Romania will be extended from the average 5 to 6 municipalities in other participating countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia) to 10 municipalities of various sizes among which Bucharest (6th sector), Botosani and Calarasi.

The launch event was attended by Romanian and European officials the complete list of which can be found in the agenda of the event, and among which Mr Daniel Vasile, President of National Agency for Roma, and Mr Florin Manole, President of Local Elected Roma Association. 

The ROMACT and ROMED and programmes were launched on Monday, 14 october 2013 in Albena, Bulgaria in the presence of Ms Zinaida Zlatanova, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Chair of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues. The Minister of Labour, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Regional Development of Bulgaria were also present together with other high officials and representatives of municipalities, labour offices and mediators.

The two programmes are to be implemented in five municipalities in Bulgaria: Varna, Shumen, Maglizh, Sliven, Tundja and Byala Slatina.

The new ROMACT and ROMED2 Programmes were launched in Hungary on Friday 4 October at a national conference attended by over 100 national and international players. Laszlό Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Zoltàn Kovàcs, Hungarian Secretary of State for Social Inclusion, and Jeroen Schokkenbroek, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe welcomed and underlined the importance of these new activities. The launching event will be followed by a workshop where mediators, staff members of local authorities and mayors will gather together with ROMACT/ROMED2 trainers to work on the inclusion of Roma in democratic governance on the 18th of October 2013 in Budapest.

On the 30th of October 2013 the second phase of ROMED focusing on Roma participation in democratic governance through mediation kicked off with the very first launching event in Ohrid, “the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia”, where six municipalities were selected for implementation: Tetovo, Vinica, Bitola, Prilep, Gostivar and Stip.

After two years of implementation in 22 countries and over 1000 mediators trained, the ROMED2 Programme is about to be launched.

The new approach in ROMED2 is about building up the capacity of Roma communities to participate in democratic governance through mediation.

Call for Expressions of Interest - Deadline 10 July 2013

The Roma Youth Action Plan is a response of the Council of Europe to the challenges faced by Roma young people in Europe. The Youth Department of the Directorate of Democratic Citizenship and Participation is welcoming applications from junior and senior trainers to carry out the training session for Roma Youth Leaders which will be held in Budapest in November 2013.

Call for Expressions of Interest – Deadline 30 June 2013

The Fourth International Conference of Roma Women organised by the Council of Europe and the Finnish Government will take place in Helsinki, Finland, on 16-17 September 2013. Roma women will address on the international stage the issues affecting their and their families’ lives and exchange experiences. In addition, the ROMED Programme will organise the possibility of remote participation of Roma Women at the Conference in a selected group of countries.

The First ROMED Training Session for Roma Information Centres and Free Legal Aid for Roma took place in Ohrid, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, from 7 to 11 May 2013. The Session was organised in partnership with SONCE with Alexandra Raykova and Ramiza Sakip as trainers. Thank you to everyone involved for your hard work.

The Fifth Meeting of the Council of Europe's Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on Roma Issues (CAHROM) took place in Strasbourg from 14-16 May. Thirty nine member states were represented, as well as observers, including various representatives of the European Commission, FRA, OSCE-ODIHR, UNHCR, OHCHR, World Bank, Amnesty International, ERTF and the Holy Sea. The agenda included the presentation of the latest developments concerning ROMED and two new thematic reports, namely on encampment sites for Travellers and other related issues and on school attendance of Roma children with a specific focus on Roma girls.