| Â BUDAPEST, July 2, 2003 (The World Bank) - World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn welcomed a new approach endorsed by government leaders of Central and Southeast Europe to reduce poverty among Roma and include them in European society through better education, health care, housing and job opportunities. The initiative, which includes a Decade of Roma Inclusion and a Roma Education Fund, was agreed at a two-day conference hosted by the Government of Hungary on the challenges facing Roma in an expanding Europe.
The conference brought together an unprecedented range of top government representatives, senior officials from international organizations, and leaders from the Roma community and civil society. The event was co-sponsored by the World Bank, the Open Society Institute (OSI), and the European Commission. Other contributors included the UNDP, the Council of Europe Development Bank, and the governments of Hungary, Sweden and Finland.
The Decade of Roma Inclusion, to start in 2005, will include targets to be agreed over next 12 months. They will likely include goals related to poverty reduction, health, school enrolment, employment, and so on.
"This conference brings new hope that we have to nurture. The conditions in which most Roma now live are unconscionable. We must forge a better understanding of the Roma among other members of society and work with Roma leaders to realize their aspirations. This is a community with great potential and we all have a responsibility to ensure that this cultured people has the opportunity to realize its contribution to European society" said World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn.
The Roma Education Fund will provide funding to raise the educational status and performance of the Roma. At present, few Roma children complete primary school and many are wrongly placed in schools for children with special needs.
"Without better education, Roma aspirations for equal opportunities and a better life cannot be met. Breaking the cycle of social exclusion and discrimination requires active support for education as the single best way out of the Roma’s current impasse," said Mr. Wolfensohn.
The new education fund, which is expected to take a year to set up, will provide resources for new and innovative approaches aimed at boosting Roma educational opportunities. Once detailed plans have been agreed, the World Bank will organize a pledging conference.
For more information on the Budapest conference, Roma in an Expanding Europe: Challenges for the Future, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/romaconference
For the full text of the Bank's latest Roma report and for more information on the World Bank's involvement in Roma issues, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/roma
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