In order to integrate the Roma into Katerini society, Norway and the donor countries of the EEC Grants – Iceland and Liechtenstein – are financing with 2.3 million euros the purchase and installation of model houses that will host 56 Roma families, who currently live in camp in the Pelekas area of the Municipality of Katerini.
The project is part of a wider program of empowerment and inclusion of Roma totaling 7m euros, which is supported by the EEA countries and the Greek state. In parallel with the housing project, in cooperation with the Municipality of Katerini, actions of empowerment, integration and inclusion of young Roma women and children of the camp are already being implemented, aiming to prepare their relocation and smooth integration into the local community.
Children, for example, are encouraged to go to school regularly, young women in the community are educated on a range of issues related to their health, employment and education opportunities, and ongoing interventions are prepared to prepare for the relocation of the community.
The presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Saturday, February 26 at the Roma settlement in Pelekas underlined the importance of this project and highlighted the good integration practices that are already being implemented.
As Ms. Sakellaropoulou said, it is important “to facilitate the access and stay of children in school, to emancipate women and young people, to abandon anachronistic and oppressive practices, and to fight racism and stereotypes, which lead to marginalization and make it difficult to achieve social parity “.
Within the framework of the same program, a task force was created and is already operating under the coordination of the experienced team of the Secretary General of Social Solidarity and the Fight against Poverty, Mr. George Stamatis.
The task force, which already includes 25 experts, including representatives of Roma communities, has the mission of disseminating and feeding the National Roma Strategy at the local level, with an emphasis on the four regions of the country with a high Roma population: Attica, Central Macedonia, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, as well as Western Greece.
Representing the donor countries of the EEC Grants, the Norwegian Ambassador Frode Overland Andersen noted: “It is a great honor that the President of the Republic chose to visit the Roma camp in Pelekas. In addition, I am impressed by the actions that frame the Roma community and encourage their empowerment and integration. The relocation to the model settlement is part of a series of coordinated actions that presuppose the smooth cooperation of the Municipality with the state and the community. “This is really an innovative project that can be a model of empowerment and integration not only for Greece, but also for the 15 countries that benefit from EEA grants.” The Organization for Fundamental Rights of the European Union (FRA) also participates in the project as an International Partner, which is the European Union’s key interlocutor for Roma issues and provides support and know-how for its implementation.
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