In the period from November 2021 to June 2022, the ROMACTED Phase II of the Joint Programme in Türkiye focused on activities to build Community Action Groups, Institutional Working Groups, and Municipal Taskforce Groups and initiate cooperation between beneficiaries to develop Roma-related policies with local authorities and community members in nine pilot municipalities of Türkiye as follows: Akhisar/Manisa, Canik/Samsun, Edirne, Ereğli/Zonguldak, Gömeç/Balıkesir, Konak/ İzmir, Muratlı/Tekirdağ, Şişli/Istanbul and Uzunköprü/Edirne.
During the previous months, ten ROMACTED facilitators have been actively interacting with the Roma community in the field. As a result, Community Needs Assessments were prepared, identifying the real needs and priorities of the local Roma community. On average, 20 community members are part of the CAG dynamic in each municipality, with the approximate participation of eight women.
Some milestones were:
EDIRNE MUNICIPALITY
During the European Parliament Roma Week in Brussels, the Mayor of Edirne received the prize for Most Roma Friendly Mayor for 2022.
In Edirne, one CAG member successfully passed the university entry exam and enrolled in the School of Physical Education and Sports. Furthermore, he became a coordinator of the ROMACTED Children’s House, established in ROMACTED Phase I.
The empowerment of children through sports is essential for early development. Roma youngsters joined the girls’ basketball team, supported by Trakya University, School of Physical Education and Sports. Other partners are Edirne Municipality, Edirne Provincial Youth and Sports Directorate, Cumhuriyet Primary School, local Roma NGO and ROMACTED Programme.
The 98 pupils who dropped out of school during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic have benefitted from supplementary classes. Trakya University volunteer educators and students provided these courses in partnership with Edirne Municipality and ROMACTED Programme, and with the support of the Children's Rights Association and Roma Youth Association.
UZUNKÖPRÜ MUNICIPALITY / EDIRNE
In Uzunköprü, the Roma youth football team received sponsorship at the annual municipal football tournament. The Municipality of Edirne and the ROMACTED Programme contributed to provision of 17 jerseys. The team ranked 3rd among the 64 teams.
The CAG members established two Roma youth associations. Furthermore, two CAG members received employment within different municipal departments.
For the first time, International Roma Day was celebrated in Uzunköprü with the support of the ROMACTED Programme. Field visits and a symposium were organised with the participation of the wider community.
The Romani language is widely spoken/used in Uzunköprü. For this reason, a documentary, "Don't let the Romanes language disappear," was created by a Roma NGOs and it will be broadcast this year.
CANIK MUNICIPALITY / SAMSUN
In Canik, seven Roma people received employment within different municipal departments, such as cleaning, communication services and subcontracting companies. Furthermore, 15 Roma people were recruited by a private company.
While the community service centre has been made functional, 18 courses for elderly care services for women were offered in the municipal hospital.
KONAK MUNICIPALITY / İZMİR
The report on Social Security of Roma people (working without social insurance) was prepared by ROMACTED facilitators and presented to the Turkish Parliament. Experts from the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies started work on the legislative proposal, which will be submitted to the General Assembly of Türkiye.
Four Roma football teams were established. Efforts are made to allocate resources to the teams from the Ministry of the Interior, the General Directorate of Civil Society. The needs include infrastructure, supply of jerseys and technical equipment, transportation support for participation in tournaments, support for human resources, and other essentials.
AKHİSAR MUNICIPALITY /MANİSA
The opportunity to continue vocational training was offered by the Ministry of National Education and announced at the CAG meetings in January 2022. The members were encouraged to apply. As a result, a female CAG member benefited from this opportunity and shared that “she dreams of becoming a hairdresser”. Hence, she enrolled in the course for hairdressing and was employed as a hairdresser within the programme.
The Ministry of National Education has implemented the "10,000 Schools in Basic Education Project" to reduce the success and opportunity gaps between schools and to strengthen equality of opportunities in education. The goal is to open 3,000 kindergartens and 40 thousand pre-school classes within a year. One of the decisions during the IWG meetings was to place Roma children aged 5-6 in this class. As a result of the work carried out by CAG Members in the Hacı İshak Neighbourhood, 5-6 aged children were registered to school.
At the IWG meetings organised within the Akhisar municipality, it was decided to prepare a project proposal that would target employment opportunities for Roma women and establishing markets where the social and basic needs of financially disadvantaged citizens (Roma included) are met. Numerous ideas were expressed, such as having assembly centres in every neighbourhood, providing employment opportunities for six people in each centre, providing clothes to those in need through social stores, requesting donations from the business sector, creating opportunities for those who want to barter, and considering different activities that generate income for these centres. The Research and Development Unit will prepare the proposal and to seek co-financing. The minimum duration of the project will be two years.
Akhisar Municipality is also trying to implement a social housing project for the Kayalıoğlu Roman District. Even though the work is in the initiation phase, the parcelling and zoning work has commenced. This development is a tangible output of the 1st CAG meeting.
KARADENIZ EREĞLI MUNICIPALITY / ZONGULDAK
A 6-person CAG has had one-on-one meetings with the district governor and the mayor to search for tangaeble solutions for priorities identified in the Community Needs Assessment. To date, one youth CAG member with special needs and one female CAG member was employed by the Karadeniz Ereğli Municipality.
The preliminary preparations have been completed for the kindergarten and community centre in the Hamzafakihli neighbourhood. Hamzafakihli Primary school received various visibility items (promotional material) such as school bags, pens, pencils, notebooks and primary and intermediate class educational books, with support from other Council of Europe projects.
Preliminary preparatory work was carried out for a multi-purpose community centre in the city centre and an area of 50 square meters was used by CAG members on certain days.
On International Roma Day, an iftar dinner was organised for the Roma community which was followed by a celebration.
GÖMEÇ MUNICIPALITY / BALIKESİR
Local NGOs were brought together to assess the needs and priorities of the Roma communities. Raising awareness of non-Roma groups about the Roma issue was substantially increased. As a result of this initiative, inclusive social policies are initiated in Gömeç.
Since the facilitator is a member of the Municipal Council, the level of political awareness in the community was raised, especially in this municipality. Cooperation within the community has been achieved through the harmonisation of different political views.
