Ministry of Interior of the Slovak republic - Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak republic for Roma Communities

Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities is a part of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic. Ministry of interior is a central body of state administration for protecting the constitutional system, public order, security of persons and property, protection and
administration of the state’s borders, the safety and fluency of road traffic, for issues related weapons and ammunition, private security services, the entry to the territory of the Slovak Republic and the stay of foreigners in its territory,
identity cards, travel documents and driving licences, refugees and transmigrants, for the registration of population, for the Police Force and the Fire Fighting and Rescuing Corps.

The work of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities related to the Roma Youth

INTRODUCTION

The Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities is working on the activities for Roma youth intensively from 2016 when we started to implement the project of Regional Roma Platforms, also aimed at strengthening work with Roma youth. We have implemented a series of training titled "Starter for Young Roma Leaders", in which they could learn how to communicate, present, defend their opinions and at the same time learn about the possibilities offered to young people in Slovakia and in Europe. In the practical part, the graduates organized consultative meetings with their peers called "Workshops of the Future".

“Young Roma in Europe have a lot of skills and competencies, and they also want to actively participate in shaping their own future, but they often lack opportunities to make full use of their abilities. Europe cannot, however, allow the next generation of Roma to exploit its potential” said the Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) for Justice, Consumer Protection and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová at the opening of the High-Level Conference on Improving the Position of Roma Youth as a Driving Force in Roma Integration Process organized by the European Commission together with the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities within the Slovak presidency of the Council of EU in Bratislava (October, 9th – 11th 2016).

In the conclusions of the Council of the EU on Accelerating the Process of Roma Integration process adopted during the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU, Member States are also called upon to „take steps to strengthen the position of young Roma by promoting participatory policy making mechanisms to have a specific say in political areas that directly affect them.“ The Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak republic for the Roma Communities, who personally led the working group's discussions on these Council conclusions, took this commitment seriously. In 2017 he approved the Statute of the Advisory body of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak republic for Roma Communities in the youth field. This advisory body was created as a result of the consultation meetings with Roma youth.

WORKSHOPS OF FUTURE

Workshop of the future is a consultative meeting with Roma youth. The aim is mapping the needs and expectations of young people in the field of youth policy and communicating these findings to policy-makers.

The workshops are organized by young Roma leaders who are specially trained for this role as part of a personal development program for young people named Starter for Young Roma Leaders. These are young people aged 15 to 30 who are involved in different projects at local or regional level and they know the target groups. Under the supervision of mentors (trainers) and with the assistance of regional staff of the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak republic for Roma Communities they:
- ensure the participation of Roma young people and facilitate the workshop,
- record and make a first analysis of the findings from young people,
- provide first information to groups of young people on topics that interest them (or direct them to responsible people / institutions where assistance and support can be obtained);
- prepare and accompany the representation of young people on regional platforms for Roma integration policies ,
- ensure communication with parents, school principals, self-government representatives.

So far, young people have organized 35 workshops in different locations in Slovakia, with over 480 Roma young people taking part.

One of the important benefits of organizing these meetings by young people themselves is the participation young Roma who would not normally come to such meetings. This makes them feel safe and very open about their problems and needs.

The needs most frequently encountered at these meetings were:
- Improving communication and presentation skills
- Strengthening self-confidence
- Understanding own identity as a young Roma
- Education - in particular the real interest of teachers in Roma education
- Ensuring access to relevant information and explaining the complex bureaucratic language of regulations
- Need to be heard by adults and especially those responsible for creating conditions for young people

ADVISORY BODY IN THE YOUTH FIELD

At the consultation meetings, young people themselves have also defined the need to be actively involved in policy-making, in the preparation of measures that will in particular affect their future lives. Based on this request, the Plenipotentiary Ábel Ravasz set up an advisory body composed of Roma youth representatives - Advisory body of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak republic for Roma Communities in the youth field . It is formed by seven Roma youths nominated by young people from among themselves. It is one of the first steps of the Plenipotentiary to strengthen the position of young Roma to have a specific say in the areas that directly affect them.

The advisory body aims to promote an active and participatory approach to integration through the meaningful engagement of young Roma in the development, implementation, monitoring, review and reporting of measures targeting the Roma. It is an opportunity for them to address the current issues that the Plenipotentiary addresses and at the same time will have access to all the necessary information.

HIGH-LEVEL EVENT ON ROMA YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

The event was organized by European Commission, Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities under the under the auspices of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU from 9-11 October 2016 in Bratislava.

The aim of the event was to bring together young Roma and relevant stakeholders to work together on how they can be a driving force for the Roma integration process.

The high-level conference provided a forum for addressing the problems of young Roma people through dialogue and exchange of knowledge and experiences in this area. It gave Roma youth an opportunity to express themselves, and for policy-makers to hear their experiences first-hand.

The conference was opened by Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, European Commission, followed by Lucia Žitňanská, Minister of Justice of the Slovak Republic, Ján Richter, Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, Jiří Dienstbier, Minister for Human Rights and Equal Opportunities of the Czech Republic and Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak republic for Roma Communities, Ábel Ravasz.

The event brought together:
- 255 participants from 34 countries (EU + candidate countries)
- Roma young people from all 34 countries
- State representatives responsible for Youth Policies and for Roma Integration policies (National Roma Contact Points)
- Representatives of Roma Youth or pro Roma NGO’s from EU member states
- European Commission representatives (DG Justice, DG Education and Culture, DG Near, DG Employment, DG Regio) + EC Commissioner Věra Jourová
- Council of Europe representatives
- European Youth Forum representatives
- Other Roma and pro Roma international NGO’s representatives
- High level representatives from the Slovak Government

For Roma Youth we made to cooperate:
- European Commission + SK Presidency
- DG JUSTICE + DG Education and Culture + DG NEAR + DG EMPL
- Slovakia: Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities + Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport + Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family

Conference conclusions served as a base for suggestions leading to solving Roma youth issues at national, regional and local level and revise the Roma Youth Action Plan (CoE) direction in the future.

Main outcomes from the conference were included to the Council Conclusions on Accelerating the Process of Roma Integration.

CONGRESS OF YOUNG ROMA

The Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities, in cooperation with the Roma Education Fund and the University Library in Bratislava, organized the Congress of Young Roma on the occasion of the International Roma Day. The young Roma at the Congress adopted a joint declaration, from which it is clear that the young Roma know what they want and want to be heard.

More than 40 young Roma have met at the congress for two days and they formulated their own opinion on what will help the Roma. The outcome of the congress shows that there is no need to invent new reforms and plans, but first of all it is necessary to listen to the Roma themselves.

“I recommend to all competent to read the Joint Declaration of the Young Roma. There are very good proposals and concrete measures in it. If we involve these young people in the processes, I am sure that this will have a major positive impact on the whole integration process. We must realize that there is a new generation of ambitious and educated Roma who want to actively engage in the solution of public affairs” said Plenipotentiary Abel Ravasz.

The Congress of the Young Roma took place on 5 and 6 April 2018 at the premises of the University Library in Bratislava. The outcome of the congress is the First Joint Declaration of the Young Roma.

European Solidarity Corps

The Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for the Roma Communities became a successful applicant for a grant for the project called "Internship at the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government for the Roma Communities". As part of this project, in June 2019, the Office had a call for an internship. The traineeship is intended for young people aged 18 - 30 and will take place in USVRK offices in Bratislava and in regional offices (Košice, Presov, Spisska Nova Ves, Banska Bystrica, Rimavska Sobota, Nitra, Humenne, Michalovce, Kežmarok, Svidník). The traineeship will take place between July 2019 and December 2020. Under this project, 15 trainees from the Slovak Republic and 2 trainees from the Czech Republic will take part in the traineeship. The duration of one traineeship is 6 months. In addition to obtaining information on the functioning of the USVRK and policy setting processes in the field of integration of Roma communities as well as the state administration, the traineeship also includes the possibility of attending a basic Roma language course. Each trainee is assigned to a mentor and tutor who is in charge of his / her personal development and assistance in acquiring new competencies during the traineeship. In the first round, 72 trainees enrolled, of which the first 9 trainees were selected and begin their traineeship on 2 September 2019.

Accredited training of youth workers

On 21 December 2018, the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities received accreditation from the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport for the implementation of a nationwide educational program entitled “Training of Trainers for Youth Work from Marginalized Roma Communities.”
In the period from April 12, 2019 to June 16, 2019, the Office implemented this educational program for the first time. The training was aimed at developing leadership skills of young leaders, youth leaders, youth workers and volunteers working with Roma communities. The training took place over three weekends (Friday - Sunday) with an interval of 1 month and was completed with a final test and a certificate. The last phase of the training took place from 14 to 16 June 2019 in Ružomberok. At this last training, 21 participants passed the final exam and were awarded a "Certificate of Professional Competence with Nationwide Validity".