Cooperation leads to improved living conditions of Roma

December 23, 2021

The training dedicated to the topic of improving living conditions in substandard Roma settlements was organized through three modules for members of Mobile Teams for Roma Inclusion, coordinators for Roma issues, employees in departments of urban planning, local economic development, social activities, as well as employees in other departments from 35 local governments in which the project carried out activities. Over 50 participants from local governments went through the training, and each of the training modules presented examples from cities and municipalities to which the project provided direct support, which was an opportunity for participants to hear the experiences of their colleagues and problems encountered but also about the ways in which they addressed the challenges.

In addition to gaining knowledge in various topics, the goal of these trainings was to contribute to the creation of a team of people at the local level who will continue cooperation after the project has ended, in order to improve the living conditions of Roma in substandard settlements. For this reason, members of Mobile Teams for Roma Inclusion, coordinators for Roma issues and representatives of various departments of local administration, participated in the trainings together.

Through the first training module, participants dealt with topics such as initial assessment of planning documentation and infrastructure, inclusion of substandard Roma settlements in the national GIS database of settlements, identification and preparation of urban documentation needed for further improvement of housing and communal infrastructure.

Through the second and third training modules, participants with the support of experts went through the specification of project tasks, technical documentation for communal infrastructure, and gained new knowledge in the field of housing in the context of choosing the best housing model and meeting the needs of users. settlements. In addition, the topic of the training was the improvement of local mechanisms for providing support in improving the living conditions, position and inclusion of Roma.