On March 6-7, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in partnership with the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience, and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights organized an event "Workshop and Conference on Mapping the Challenges Faced by Ukrainian Roma in War Time and Overcoming the Obstacles through Policy, Advocacy, and Empowerment”. This high-level event had diverse participation, including international organizations and NGOs and community members from Ukraine. Among those were two of our current RGPP students, Artur and Vira. They represented both community voices and local organizations supporting Roma communities.
This is what they said about the conference:
Participating in this conference was extremely important for us for several reasons.
First and foremost, this conference provided us with a unique opportunity to meet representatives from various international organizations. This was not only a chance to learn about international practices and approaches to addressing the problems related to the protection of rights and interests of Ukrainian Roma during the armed conflict but also an opportunity facilitating knowledge exchange, networking and establishing potential future collaborations.
On the first day of the event, we focused on developing documents outlining the key challenges faced by the Ukrainian Roma community during the war and identifying interventions. This process was not only an opportunity to systematize our experience and knowledge but also a platform for discussion and critical analysis of the proposed solutions.
On the second day, we had the opportunity to present these documents and recommendations to representatives of our state and international organizations. This was a chance to directly convey to the key stakeholders the information about the problems faced by Ukrainian Roma and to suggest specific steps for their resolution.
Participation in the RGPP program since September has also significantly influenced our ability to discuss, analyze these issues, and contribute to the discussions. Through reading, learning, and interacting with experts and peers, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of many aspects related to human rights, the protection of vulnerable groups' interests, and mechanisms for influencing policy and public opinion.
Regarding our current state and feelings about the situation, despite all the difficulties and challenges, we remain optimistic. The meetings and dialogues that took place during this conference inspire and give hope that through joint efforts, significant progress can be made in addressing the issues facing the Roma community in Ukraine.
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