Contacts: World Bank in Washington: Nick van Praag (1-202) 458-9262 Email: nvanpraag@worldbank.org World Bank in Paris: Rachel Winter Jones (33-1) 40-69-30-52 Email: rjones1@worldbank.org OSI in NYC: Laura Silber (1-212) 548-0640 Email: lsilber@sorosny.org PARIS, December 3, 2004 — Donors meeting in Paris today pledged in excess of US$ 41 million towards a decade-long program to expand educational opportunities for Roma communities in Central Europe and the Balkans. Of this total some $30 million was pledged by the Open Society Institute. Some 70 representatives from international financial organizations, private foundations, governments, and Roma leaders took part in the meeting. The conference was co-organized by the World Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), and the Open Society Institute (OSI). “The new Roma Education Fund will help break the cycle of social exclusion and discrimination from which the Roma have suffered for generations. This is the first time such an array of partners has convened to provide concrete support to improve the living conditions of Europe’s largest and most excluded minority, ” said James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. The pledges announced in Paris are a down payment that will allow the Roma Education Fund (REF) to start operating in 2005. Additional contributions are anticipated in due course. The fund will make grants to reform educational policies, increase access and improve schools. Projects and programs may be submitted to the fund by local, regional and national governments, private or non-profit entities, and public-private partnerships. “Roma will never be full contributing members of society without access to education. This means preparing teachers for the particular challenges faced by Roma and engaging Roma parents in educating their children,” said George Soros, Chairman of the Open Society Institute. The Fund is a central pillar of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 which will be inaugurated by heads of government from eight countries of Central Europe and the Balkans at an event in Sofia, Bulgaria in February 2005. These countries — Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, and the Slovak Republic — are home to some 6 million of the estimated 7 to 9 million Roma living in Europe. Under the Decade, governments will put in place comprehensive plans to accelerate social inclusion and improve the economic status of Roma people in their countries. | Roma Facts in Brief Roma are now one of the largest, poorest, and fastest growing minorities in Europe. The total Roma population in all of Europe is estimated at between 7 to 9 million. They represent roughly 2 percent of the 450 million people who live in the enlarged European Union. Roma populations are significantly younger than majority populations – between 40-50 percent of Roma in the Decade countries are under 20 years of age. Approximately 6 million Roma live in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, of which nearly 5 million in the new member states of the European Union. Poverty rates for Roma range between four and ten times that of non-Roma in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro —nearly 40 percent of Roma in Romania and Bulgaria live on less than $2.15 per day. Roma are often deprived of the resources necessary for adequate living conditions, but also lack access to education, labor markets, social and health services, and channels for participation in society. Gaps in education between Roma and majority populations are stark. Across countries, some 70-80 percent of Roma have less than a primary school education. Fewer than 1 percent of Roma continue on to higher education. Between 50-80 percent of Roma study in “special schools” intended for the mentally and physically disabled, which limit their future opportunities in education and on the labor market. |
For more information on the World Bank’s program on Roma, visit: http://www.worldbank.org/roma For details on OSI’s work on Roma, visit: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/roma/ |
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