Advocating for successful integration of Roma migrants through better education/employment policies
01Nov2016

Forum Roma of Serbia (FRS) and Public Policy Research Centre (PPRC) Serbia are implementing the project "Documenting new experiences of “Otherness” and advocating for successful integration of Roma migrants through better education/employment policies“, supported by the Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE) and the Roma Initiatives Office (RIO).

This project goal is to provide evidence based policy research documenting experiences of the integration of Roma migrants in the Serbian society by exploring how educational process/employment capabilities and prevailing public discourse affect their overall outcomes, controlling for other important factors governing integration such as possession of IDs, housing solutions and sources of income, etc. This will be done through individual in-depth interviews with Roma migrants in two communities, Subotica and Novi Sad and in the Center for emergency admission in Šabac; round tables with representatives of local institutions, organisations, mobile teams and NGO sector dealing with Roma migrants in Subotica and Novi Sad, and interviews with representatives of national institutions and organisations such as representatives of the Readmission Office at the airport Nikola Tesla, and the Center for emergency admission in Šabac; interviews with the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Government Team for Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Interior, the Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations of the Republic of Serbia, and representatives of the Migrant Service Centre in Belgrade, the German Serbian Chamber of Commerce, GIZ, Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, and Ministry  of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs.

The  aim of the project is to enhance policy dialogue and partnerships at the local and national level for setting the agenda for change in the domain of social inclusion of Roma migrants through refinement of educational/employment options aimed at successful employment of Roma migrants in Serbia or through orderly labor migrant options in Europe. In particular, the evidence-based advocacy will be oriented to exploring new venues for employment of Roma migrants in partnerships with EU and domestic business associations represented in Serbia and proactive policies toward EU partners in creating opportunities for orderly labor migrant options in EU i.e. seasonal employment opportunities for Roma migrants.

Last but not the least, the evidence-based advocacy will call for discussion among civil society, public institutions and broader public about the new experiences of “Otherness” of Roma migrants, and effect of confluence of influx of migrants and austerity measures in Serbia  on discriminative discourse and practices.