On 4^th of April, the European Commission organised the 3^rd Roma Summit in Brussels – the first high profile meeting since the creation of the EU framework for national Roma integration strategies in 2011.

The panels included high-level representatives, including EC President Barrosso, Vice-President Reding, and Commissioners Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion), Vassiliou (Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth), Borg (Health and Consumer Policy), as well as heads of states, members of the EU governments and parliaments, and high-profile representatives of the Roma civil society. The Council of Europe was represented by Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Director General for Democracy of the Council of Europe.

The National Pedagogical Documentation Center (CNDP) of the French National Educational system just published its magazine “Diversité”, a first 2014 issue that deals with mediation in various contexts and its importance in the application of social policies.

After a successful first training cycle in 2012-2013, a new group of Roma, Gypsies and Travellers will start the ROMED Training of Mediators in Manchester from 26 to 29 March. Around 25 trainee mediators from all over the United Kingdom will participate, together with representatives from employers, local and national authorities and NGOs. Organised once again in cooperation with our dedicated UK training team, as well as the Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers (ACERT), ROMED National Focal Point for the United Kingdom, a number of trained mediators from the first cycle will return to share their experiences and demonstrate how they have put into practice their acquired knowledge one year on from completion of their training.

Report from Zemfira Kondur – National Focal Point for ROMED in Ukraine.

Following the invitation of the Odessa Regional Administration on the 14 and 16 March 2014, the ROMED training for Roma mediators and social workers took place in Odessa, Ukraine.

23 Roma mediators and social workers from Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporozhie, Transcarpathia , Kiev and Odessa participated in the three-days training. The main aim of the training was to improve the skills of mediators in the social sphere, and for

social specialists to improve their skills in their work with Roma families through mediation.

On the 12 and 13 March 2014, ROMED2 was officially launched in Lisbon, Portugal in the presence of municipality representatives, mediators and facilitators of Community Action Groups from 8 municipalities: Beja, Figueria do Foz, Coimbra, Seixal, Elvas, Moura, Abrantes and Barcelos, several of which have already expressed and signed their commitment to the programme. The Launch event was followed by a first national workshop where the same actors gathered to discuss the future implementation of ROMED2 in the eight municipalities.

On the 14th of March 2014, ROMED2 was officially launched in Lisbon, Portugal in the presence of municipality representatives, mediators and facilitators of Community Action Groups from 8 municipalities: Beja, Figueria do Foz, Coimbra, Seixal, Elvas, Moura, Abrantes and Barcelos, several of which have already expressed and signed their commitment to the programme. The Launch event was followed by a first national workshop where the same actors gathered to discuss the future implementation of ROMED2 in the eight municipalities.

Article by Szilvia Rezmüves - National Project Officer for ROMED2/ROMACT in Hungary

Article by Orhan Tahir – National Project Officer for ROMED2 and ROMACT in Bulgaria.

Българска статия

A follow up event to the Helsinki 4th International Romani Women’s Conference took place in Strasbourg on the 17^th February 2014 gathering 15 Roma women, experts in the Romani Women Issues from Romania, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Finland, Turkey, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Republic of Moldova and “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. It intended to take stock of the results of the Finnish Conference and build on the conclusions and recommendations made by the Romani Women present during the Conference.

Article by Liliya Makaveeva and Orhan Tahir – National Project Officers for ROMED2 and ROMACT in Bulgaria.

On 14 January, St Vasili Day in Bulgaria and the mark of the beginning of the Romani New Year, the ROMED Community Action Group of the municipality of Byala Slatina, in cooperation with the Mayor of Byala Slatina, organised the festivities for the event, where around 120 people participated from other localities. The event was possible also thanks to contributions of the municipality, local businessmen and above all thanks to the commitment and efforts of Roma themselves.