OSI Roma Decade Matching Funds / The Decade of Roma Inclusion

Deadline: 30 September 2007

The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 is a political commitment by governments in Central and Southeastern Europe to combat Roma poverty, exclusion, and discrimination within a regional framework. The Decade is an international initiative that brings together governments, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, as well as Romani civil society to accelerate progress toward improving the welfare of Roma and to review such progress in a transparent and quantifiable way.

The idea of the Decade emerged from "Roma in an Expanding Europe: Challenges for the Future," a high-level regional conference on Roma held in Budapest, Hungary, in 2003. Prime Ministers of the participating governments signed the Declaration of the Decade of Roma Inclusion in Sofia, Bulgaria, on February 2, 2005.

The nine countries taking part in the Decade are Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia. All of these countries have significant Roma minorities, and the Roma minority has been rather disadvantaged, both economically and socially.

The founding international partner organizations of the Decade are the World Bank, the Open Society Institute, the United Nations Development Program, the Council of Europe, Council of Europe Development Bank, the Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Roma Information Office, the European Roma and Travellers Forum, the European Roma Rights Centre, and the Roma Education Fund.


The Terms of Reference for the Decade of Roma Inclusion were adopted at the 7th ISC meeting in Bucharest, Romania, on November 18, 2005.
Each year, one of the participating governments serves as the Presidency of the Decade. Bulgaria currently holds the Presidency.

Countries participating in the Decade of Roma Inclusion: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia.

OSI will provide up to 30 percent of the individual project costs with a maximum individual allocation of EUR 50,000.

Related documents

Contact: Kinga Rethy at the OSI Roma Initiatives Office - Krethy@osi.hu