In January 2015, ACM – the High Commissariat for Migration in Portugal published an evaluation report under the title “Roma Municipal Mediator Project – Experimental Project Evaluation Results”.

The Municipal Mediator Project (MMP) was launched in 2009 in 15 municipalities with the purpose of “placing Municipal Mediators in municipal council departments or initiatives promoted thereby, as part of an on-the-job training programme”, with the principal

objective of “improving the access of Roma communities to local services and amenities but also facilitating communication between culturally-differentiated groups, reflecting the content of their interaction and preventing and managing conflicts.”

Some 20 Roma living in Valea Seaca, a commune of about 3,000 inhabitants in Eastern Romania, are facing constant administrative difficulties as they were not registered at birth, lack ID documents and therefore do not “exist” administratively.

Ionela Ciobanu, for example, is a Roma woman who had lived for over 30 years without an ID card. As a direct consequence, her three children could not attend school and she could not qualify for any assistance from the State.

The Community Action Group formed through the ROMED2 Programme in Giulesti (Bucharest 6^th sector) was involved in the organization of an informal Roma women’s meeting at the Roma Culture Museum on 30 May 2015 - a round of exchanges with other initiative groups from Ferentari, Mizil, Spantov, Valea Seaca and Giurgiu.

Last week in Torres Vedras, 430 essential food products were delivered to the Social Center and Parish of Torres Vedras. 

This donation comes as a result of the collection made within Roma families, on the initiative of the Community Action Group (CAG) of Torres Vedras, in partnership with the Philadelphia Evangelical Church.

The recipient organization was chosen based on the public it targets: children, youth, adults and seniors.

Ms Umbelino, Municipal Councillor responsible for social issues welcomed this initiative as an opportunity to dismantle clichés related notably to the lack of openness of the Roma community.

In Torres Vedras, the CAG having organised the collection is made up of 15 citizens (out of which 5 women).

Between the 4th and the 5th of May, a Turkish delegation comprising representatives from the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and of two NGOs working in the field of Roma rights, Sıfır Ayrımcılık Derneği [Zero Discrimination Association] and Sosyal Değişim Derneği [Association for Social Change] visited a number of locations of ROMED2/ROMACT in Bulgaria in order to get acquainted with the different models of Roma social inclusion interventions.

Beginning of April 2015, the National Support Team for ROMED in Greece organised the last session of Training of Mediators in the  3^rd cycle of ROMED1 Programme in Greece. By the end of the training 25 participants received certificates as proof of the completion of the training, while the first day of the training was attended by representatives of six different ministries including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection. Representatives from four different regions and from six different municipalities also attended the training.

On 8^th of April the world celebrates the International Roma Day, and within the ROMED Programme, local authorities, Community Action Groups and the National Support teams are mobilised to make the best of this day.