City Municipality of Zvezdara - "Inter-sector Mechanism for the Prevention of Discrimination against Roma and Antigypsyism in Zvezdara” project

City Municipality of Zvezdara

PROJECT TITLE: Inter-sector Mechanism for the Prevention of Discrimination against Roma and Antigypsyism in Zvezdara

VALUE: EUR 59,564.90

DURATION: 12 months

PARTNER: Association “Open Heart” from Belgrade

BENEFICIARIES: 70 employees in local public institutions, 10 representatives of associations dealing with Roma inclusion, 20 employers, 170 Roma men and women (including 50 children), and 30 artists from Belgrade (including 5 Roma artists).

The city municipality of Zvezdara, through the project "Inter-sector Mechanism for the Prevention of Discrimination against Roma and Antigypsyism in Zvezdara," aims to enhance measures for the inclusion of Roma in the territory of the city municipality of Zvezdara and the city, specifically to establish a mechanism to support Roma in the protection of human rights and the fight against discrimination and antigypsyism, through inter-sector cooperation of the local public, civil, and private sectors, and to promote Roma culture and tradition within the Roma community and the broader community in the district of Zvezdara and the city of Belgrade.  This will be achieved in partnership with the local civil society organization "Open Heart," which has experience in promoting the social inclusion of Roma in Zvezdara.

These goals are to be achieved through two types of activities.  One type of activity will lead to the establishment of inter-sector cooperation between the public, private, and civil sectors, which includes:  establishing a mechanism for monitoring and protecting the rights of Roma before local public institutions, sensitizing representatives of local public institutions, employers, and civil society organizations to fight against discrimination of Roma and antigypsyism, as well as informing the local Roma community about mechanisms for protecting their rights.  Additionally, it is planned to inform the general public about the human and minority rights of Roma through the promotion of protection mechanisms, as well as through the promotion of Roma culture and tradition, which should remind the public that Roma are equal and legitimate members of society.

The second type of activity involves familiarizing the local Roma community, including their children, as well as other children in schools in Zvezdara and the broader cultural audience in the city of Belgrade, with traditional and modern Roma culture.  These activities aim to raise awareness that Roma have both a tradition and a modern culture, which will contribute to increasing the self-confidence of Roma and facilitate their easier inclusion in society.

Contact person in the project team: Zlatko Petrin (zlatko.petrin@zvezdara.org.rs)