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Roma in an Expanding Europe |
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"Roma in an Expanding Europe: Breaking the Poverty Cycle"
The Road to the Budapest Conference and the Road Ahead
Kossuth House, Washington, D.C. (September 10, 2003)
[Related links]
Presentation and Reflections by
Dena Ringold, Senior Economist, ECA Region, World Bank
"Roma Voices" - Documentary Presentation (7 minutes)
Discussion led by
Julius Varallyay, Senior Economist, ECA Region, World Bank
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
The HungarianAmerica Foundation/KHSC is hosting a discussion forum on one of the most challenging
social issues of Central Europe, the Roma poverty and their reintegration
into the fabric of society in an expanding Europe. Dena Ringold, Senior
Economist with the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank, will
give a summary of the two-day conference, "Roma in an Expanding Europe:
Breaking the Poverty Cycle," held June 30-July 1, 2003, in Budapest,
Hungary.
Ringold, author of the Roma Report produced by the Bank for this event, and
who also spearheaded the Bank's organizational efforts for the conference,
will talk about the road that led to this milestone event. The conference,
which called for economic and social advancement of the Roma, was
co-sponsored by the World Bank, the Open Society Institute (OSI), and the
European Commission. The event brought together an unprecedented range of
top government representatives, senior officials from international
organizations, and leaders from the Roma community and civil society.
The program at the Kossuth House will include the presentation of "Roma
Voices," a 7-minute documentary shot in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and
Bulgaria, prepared for the conference. The film gives a snapshot of
challenges to be addressed, such as education, health care, housing, and job
opportunities. Short video clips will share the reflections of World Bank
President James D. Wolfensohn and Mr. George Soros, Chairman of the Open
Society Institute.
Ringold will talk about the objectives and potentials of the milestone
initiatives, agreed on and launched at the conference, such as the Decade of
Roma Inclusion, between 2005 and 2015, and the Roma Education Fund.
Julius Varallyay, Senior Economist, ECA, World Bank, a key player on the
Bank's Roma project team, and a delegate to the Budapest conference, will
share his views on the status and advancement of Roma inclusion in Central
Europe. The discussion forum, lead by Varallyay, will provide an opportunity
to explore a variety of issues - such as, how policies of the national
government, local government reforms, increasing NGOs and civil society
activities, the catalyst of the EU accession, and last but not least,
cooperation with international organizations facilitate the empowerment and
social integration of the Roma in the ECA region and, in particular, in
Hungary.
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