The Roma Youth Action Plan (RYAP) was a project of the Council of Europe which responded to the challenges faced by Roma young people in Europe, particularly in relation to their empowerment, participation in policy and decision-making processes and structures, and to the multiple realities of discrimination with which they are confronted.


The project gave priority to human rights and intercultural dialogue as responses to discrimination and antigypsyism, together with development and capacity building of Roma youth organisations and movements. The project uses double mainstreaming of Roma youth issues, capacity building and youth participation as main approaches to support the autonomy and participation of Roma youth.

Initiated in 2011, the RYAP was developed on the basis on the recommendations from the first Roma Youth Conference organised in September 2011 by the Council of Europe. The project was prepared and implemented in the spirit of the Strasbourg Declaration on Roma, which it complements by associating young people and taking into account the challenges faced by young Roma and their priorities.

In March 2016, the Joint Council on Youth of the Council of Europe adopted the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Roma Youth Action Plan 2016-2020. The strategic document was developed on the basis of the experiences of the first cycle of implementation of the project (2012-2015 and the proposal made by the participants during the second Roma youth conference. The RYAP Guidelines provide the strategic framework, priorities and main approaches for the implementation of the RYAP for the period of 2016-2020. The document incorporated and takes into consideration the Thematic Action Plan for Inclusion of Roma and Travellers (2016-2019), adopted by the Committee of Ministers in March 2016. The RYAP Guidelines were set for 2016-2020 period as to cover the period of the thematic Action plan for the Inclusion of Roma and Travellers and the term of the Agenda 2020 on youth policy.

The RYAP was carried out within the framework of the Council of Europe Youth Department’s co-management system in close co-operation with the Roma and Travellers Team of the Council of Europe. An Informal Contact Group of the RYAP was set up to coordinate and promote communication among relevant European Roma and youth stakeholders thus building synergies and maximizing the impact of the activities carried out for young Roma people. The Roma Youth Action Plan has been incorporated in the two biennia of the Youth for Democracy programme (2016-2019).

The RYAP finished at the end of 2019, producing a variety of experiences, ideas and good practices. The Council of Europe organised the seminar as one of the key activities to review the results of the RYAP and to identify future priorities and ways of action in relation to Roma youth participation and combating antigypsyism.

Read the Roma Youth Action Plan >>

Read the Roma Youth Action Plan Brochure >>

Read “The Strasbourg Declaration on Roma" >>