Kyiv City Administration is studying and gradually starting to implement the Strasbourg experience in dealing with Roma cooperation and their social adaptation, emphasized Hanna Starostenko, Deputy Head of Kyiv City State Administration, after a meeting with the delegation of the Council of Europe regarding Roma issues in the capital.
“As a European capital, Kyiv should follow European principles and universal human values. Despite national belonging, each of us has equal political, economic, and social rights. To address the integration problems of the Roma minority into the societal life of Kyiv, the city administration seeks support from its European colleagues,” she noted.
Currently, there are three informal Roma settlements in the capital – in Holosiivskyi, Darnytskyi, and Desnianskyi districts.
“They live rather isolated from the local population and have poor living conditions, a low level of education, and often a precarious state of health. The task of the city administration is to support these people in their pursuit of a stable life and avoid possible tensions with local residents,” Hanna Starostenko pointed out.
The Deputy Head of Kyiv City Administration is confident that Kyiv has every chance of success, but she emphasizes that this problem cannot be solved in a day: “The city of Strasbourg spent decades creating conditions for today’s representatives of Roma minorities to be socially integrated, have decent living conditions, and become full-fledged members of society. This is just our first step, but we have a great model to follow.”
Source: Kyiv City State Administration
