In its three years, the USAID-funded Roma Integration Program – implemented by Partners for Democratic Change, Partners Hungary, Partners Slovakia and Partners Czech – has worked to build the capacity of Roma communities in Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic to peacefully resolve conflicts and build consensus around pressing issues.

The Roma Integration Program has accomplished so much. In the nine communities in which we work, Roma and non-Roma have developed their skills together to create positive change in their communities. Through trainings, cooperative planning processes and the implementation of grant projects, individuals who had never worked together before – non-governmental organizations, local governments, Roma, and non-Roma, individuals from various professions —now collaborate to improve community relations and address pressing Roma issues. Nine Conciliation Commissions have also been established –interethnic groups of people committed to preventing and resolving disputes and promoting dialogue in their communities - a very positive step.

At national levels, public policies have been influenced on issues such as education, media, health, and housing, and have successfully integrated Roma recommendations into their development. The program has also generated media opportunities to increase the presence of Roma in national media outlets, and to improve the quality of reporting on Roma issues. National-level media internships for Roma in Hungary and the Czech Republic, a new bi-weekly television show about Roma issues across Slovakia – these are but a few of the Roma Integration Program successes.

Since the beginning of the Roma Integration Program, it was clear that education would be a critical component of regional Roma integration efforts. I would like to share with you a few thoughts on some of the educational challenges that many Romani children face each day, and some prospects for change.

Many Roma children and young people have effectively been denied schooling, creating an enormous education gap. Having enjoyed few education opportunities themselves, Roma parents often see education as an irrelevant luxury with an unreasonably high “opportunity cost.” I have seen a tendency among Roma parents to think that school is not a priority for their children.

This inaccurate assessment is often met by an equally indifferent and sometimes hostile attitude towards Roma students by their teachers. There are numerous accounts of teachers placing Roma children at the back of classrooms or becoming impatient with children’s irregular attendance, their poor state of preparedness, and their lower standards of personal hygiene. As a result, the children often have to deal with humiliations that eventually make school an intolerable experience.

These experiences are of course deeply rooted in broader societal ills that influence such treatment. Community and family poverty caused by social exclusion and pervasive unemployment have immediate and long-term impacts on the participation of Roma children in education and lead to the sort of discrimination that leads many students tofeel excluded and lost...

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