Promotion of the Dosta! campaign in the Republic of Serbia, 2007

The UNICEF Belgrade Office, the Secretariat for Implementation of the National Strategy for Roma and  the Council of Europe will launch in Belgrade UNICEF’s report "Breaking the Cycle of Exclusion: Roma Children in South East Europe" and promote the Council of Europe/European Commission’s “Dosta!” campaign during a special event which will be held on 16 May, 2007 at the Media Centre, Sava Centre, Milentija Popovica Street no. 9, Belgrade. 

Breaking the Cycle of Exclusion: Roma Children in South East Europe report calls for immediate action on social exclusion of children in middle income countries. It focuses especially on Roma children and covers eight middle income states/entities in South East Europe which share similar characteristics: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.

Based on a desk study sponsored by UNICEF’s National Committee in Germany, this report highlights the severity and the causes of exclusion of children. It identifies the most critical issues that, if addressed properly in the short, medium and long term, can break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and exclusion and create a new cycle of development, opportunity and inclusion.

Several studies and reports have been developed on Roma in the past and the World Bank has initiated the Roma Decade. Breaking the Cycle of Exclusion: Roma Children in South East Europe report draws from existing studies and experiences and brings in the perspective on children. The report analyses three dimensions of exclusion of the child: the environment, early childhood and education.

In the region, there are an estimated 3.7 million Roma, about 1.7 million of them (46%) are children. The World Bank estimates of the Roma population are almost five times higher than the census data. This illustrates the serious lack of reliable data that this report had to handle. While majority populations are declining in the countries surveyed, the Roma populations are rapidly increasing. In Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Romania and Serbia the percentage of the population below 19 is between 29 and 22 percent for the average population while it is 41 to 47 percent for Roma. The population increase in these countries is among the poorest and most excluded children.

When children reach school age they stand at a crossroad: they might go into permanent poverty and exclusion, or with the right support, they might still have another chance to break through the barriers and come out of the intergenerational cycle of exclusion. It is urgent to get it right. Childhood is an opportunity that does not come back!

Breaking the cycle of exclusion does also mean to fight towards stereotypes and prejudices towards Roma that lead to discrimination. The fight against discrimination towards Roma is the main purpose of the awareness raising campaign “Dosta! Go beyond prejudice, discover the Roma”, a Council of Europe/European Commission initiative for breaking down deep-rooted prejudices and stereotypes towards Roma. The Dosta! Campaign is built around two main axes, the one of the recognition of Roma as fully fledged citizens of European countries, and the one of the recognition of the contribution of Roma culture to Roma cultural heritage.

The speakers at the event are:

- Ms. Ann-Lis Svensson, UNICEF Area Representative for Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia
- Ms. Esmeralda Hernandez Aragones, Counsellor, Head of Political Section of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Serbia
- Ms. Cathie Burton, Council of Europe’s Directorate of Communications Campaign Support Team Leader
- Mr. Ljuan Koka, Head of the Secretariat for Implementation of National Strategy for Roma