Since 2015, and within the framework of the Thematic Action Plan on the inclusion of Roma and Travellers (2016-2019) and of the Strategic Action Plan for the Roma and Travellers Inclusion (2020-2025), the Council of Europe implemented various training sessions (Roma Political Schools - RPS) for Roma citizens having the potential to stand for election at local level, in order to bring Roma closer to local decision-making bodies and promote their active participation in local administration. The first such systematised experience of these Roma Political Schools was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina prior to the municipal elections of 2 October 2016. Training was organised for a group of Roma participating in the community action groups of the ROMED2 programme with the support of the Council of Europe’s Electoral Assistance Division. As a result of this training, 20 people of Roma ethnic origin stood as candidates in the elections, 12 of whom were elected as municipality councillors (10 of those elected had never previously been candidates in local elections).

Since 2017, the Council of Europe, in partnership with Roma-led and pro-Roma organisations, has been supporting Roma Political Schools held to date in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkiye, United Kingdom, and Ukraine, with pilot initiatives also in Kosovo*[1].

*All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text, shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.