The National Development Agency and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs from Hungary call for further consultation on the introduction of Equal Opportunity Funding Policy...14 May 2009
...better monitoring and pre-primary education in EU Member States on the event ofduring the EURoma Network meeting.
EURoma is a European Network made up of representatives of twelve countries, determined to promote the use of Structural Funds provided by the European Union to enhance the effectiveness of policies targeting Roma people and to promote their social inclusion. Members of the network are Managing Authorities and Government Bodies dealing with Roma integration. During the EURoma meeting in Budapest between 6-8 May 2009, the main topics were Equal Opportunity Funding Policy, the establishment of a better monitoring system, and the utmost importance of at least one year of systematic pre-primary education for all children aged between 3-6 years.
The Equal Opportunity Funding Policy was introduced by Hungary – uniquely in the region – in the field of public education and urban rehabilitation. The objective of the Equal Opportunity Funding Policy is to promote educational and residential de-segregation in EU funding policy.
The Equal Opportunity Situation Analysis in Public Education was prepared in around 1000 settlements in Hungary as part of the Public Education Development Programme, which will support the introduction of de-segregated educational policy by schools and municipalities in Hungary. Further details: www.okm.gov.hu.
160 Anti-segregation Plans were prepared as part of the Urban Rehabilitation Programme, which provide information about necessary steps for social inclusion (housing, employment, healthcare, social care, etc.) of people living in Roma ghettos. Further details: www.szmm.gov.hu.
The Equal Opportunity Situation Analysis in Public Education and the Anti-segregation Plan are approved by independent experts. All tenders and projects are managed by the Regional Policy and Human Resources Managing Authorities of the National Development Agency.
As a result of the three-day meeting the National Development Agency and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Hungary suggest the following for further consultation:
• General use of the Equal Opportunity Funding Policy, as a basic principle for consideration for EU decision makers, to be implemented in resource allocation policy;
• A working group for better monitoring data on extremely marginalized people (Roma) should be set up in the framework of the members of the network, the European Commission, Eurostat and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights;
• Call for the importance of at least one year of systematic pre-primary education for all children aged between 3-6 years.
Further details: info@euromanet.eu , http://www.euromanet.eu