National Strategy of Roma Integration to the Lithuanian Society
The strategy (action plan, adopted in 2015) for 2015-2020 aims at reducing discrimination and social exclusion of the Roma; promoting the Roma participation in social and public life, enhancing awareness of the Roma community and raising social tolerance towards the Roma minority.
The plan establishes 6 objectives. It shall promote (1) the integration of the Roma to the educational system. Actions encompass development of pre-school education, general education, non-formal learning and adult education.
The plan aims at (2) increasing the access to health care; (3) a better inclusion to the labor market; (4) enabling the Roma women by expanding opportunities for them to participate in the social life; (5) improvement of the living conditions of the Roma; (6) promoting the inter-cultural dialogue.
The Strategy foresees measures, public funding, terms of implementation and responsible implementing bodies to reach the 6 aforementioned objectives and targets of the Strategy for the Roma Integration into the Lithuanian Society. Evaluation criteria of the action plan were set up.
The 6th objective of the Strategy - the promotion of an inter-cultural dialogue - is set to expand the openness of the Roma culture and the increase of the tolerance of the society towards the Roma. In the pursuit of this objective, a number of measures are listed in the Strategy. During the period of 2015-2020, the Ministry of Culture is entitled to organize 19 events within the European Commission's DOSTA campaign aimed to disperse the stereotypes about the Roma. The Ministry of Education and Science is entitled to reniew the general education programs and include topics of the history of the Roma and their genocide during the World War II. Aimed to decrease the discrimination of the Roma a number of Roma who have been employed under the European Commission's ROMED program to provide the inter-cultural mediation services, is expected to rise to 32. No less than 6 campaigns for non-discrimination and promotion of successful integration of the Roma children and youth into education system are foreseen. The number of consultations on equal opportunities and non-discrimination is set to 49.
The overall expected results of the Strategy are the increased level of tolerance towards the Roma, a better integration of the Roma into the society, improvement of the Roma children, youth and adult education, an increased inclusiveness of the Roma women into social activities.
The budgetary allocation for the implementation of the Strategy for the period 2015-2020 is 2,190,360 EUR.