On April twenty-second, Yulian Kondur, Project Coordinator of the Roma Women Fund “Chirikli”, participated in a meeting of the Interagency Working Group focused on the implementation of the Strategy for Promoting the Rights and Opportunities of the Roma National Minority in Ukraine until 2030.
Participants reviewed the 2025 progress report and discussed how the Action Plan is functioning in practice, with a focus on translating adopted policies into real outcomes.
Data as the Foundation of Effective Policy
During the discussion, Yulian Kondur emphasized a key challenge — approaches to data collection. According to him, without reliable and comprehensive data, it is impossible to accurately assess the situation of Roma communities or make effective policy decisions.
He stressed that data collection must be systematic, consistent, and based on clear principles.
Institutional Challenges
Viktor Yelenskyi, Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, supported this position, noting that significant challenges remain: some state institutions avoid collecting such data or lack the necessary tools.
This creates systemic barriers to evaluating policy effectiveness and planning further actions.
Integration as a Systemic Process
“For real integration of Roma, it takes more than the existence of policies. It requires quality evidence, effective coordination between institutions, continuous consultations, meaningful participation of Roma organizations and communities, and measurable results.” — Yulian Kondur, Project Coordinator of the Roma Women Fund “Chirikli”.
This approach allows moving from formal implementation of the Strategy to real impact on communities.
Visibility in Decision-Making
In the context of Ukraine’s European integration, recovery, and reconstruction, the inclusion of Roma communities becomes increasingly important.
We believe that if integration is to be meaningful, Roma communities must be visible — in policies, state institutions, and decision-making processes.
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