Over the past two years, the Council of Europe and the European Commission have been implementing the ROMED 2 program and the program for Romani mediation in Ukraine within the framework of the “Strategy for Social Protection and Integration of the Romani National Minority into Ukrainian Society for the Period until 2020.” These programs are aimed at the social integration of Romani communities within specific regions.
The implementation of these programs involves close collaboration between Romani activists and government authorities and local self-government bodies, which play a crucial role in ensuring the social adaptation of Romani communities through the implementation of measures in key areas such as education, housing, employment, healthcare, and social services.
As part of the implementation of the “ROMED 2” program, the State Institute for Family and Youth Policy, in cooperation with the NGO “Chirikli,” conducted a study among employees of structural units of district state administrations who most frequently interact with the Romani population in the course of their duties. This study covered the following departments:
More than fifty employees from structural units of district state administrations in Kyiv participated in the study.
The study results among employees from various departments of district state administrations revealed the following. The first set of questions concerned the existing knowledge and skills of the employees in working with the Romani population. It’s noteworthy that over 90 percent of respondents indicated the importance of deepening their knowledge about interacting with Romani communities for their work. The list of deficiencies includes the following: the most significant challenge among respondents is a lack of awareness of international legal norms (recommendations) regarding Romani people, followed by a lack of knowledge about the state policy regarding Ukraine’s Romani population, although half of the respondents had already dealt with representatives of Romani communities in their work. From this, it can be concluded that improving the effectiveness of addressing issues related to the lives of Ukraine’s Romani population is impossible without a profound understanding of international and Ukrainian legislation regarding Romani people.
The second set of questions regarding the results of training civil servants as part of the implementation of the ROMED 2 program concerned the respondents’ views on the most urgent issues faced by Romani communities that require swift resolution. At the top of the list is a lack of official registration, followed by inadequate living conditions and medical services. Accordingly, 85 percent of civil servants believe that the existing system of social services for the Romani population needs reform.
The surveyed civil servants also shared their opinions on the information that would be crucial for successful communication with the Romani population. For instance, 60 percent of them find studying the EU’s experience in Romani integration and gaining a deeper understanding of Romani way of life to be highly beneficial.
Overall, the conclusion is that the ROMED 2 program and the Romani mediation program should be continued due to their relevance, necessity, and positive results. They should also be adjusted based on the results of the study conducted among employees of structural units of district state administrations in Kyiv. This means that the program of courses on Romani mediation should be extended to other regions of Ukraine to involve other civil servants in the training process.
