CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - Roma Rights
National Strategies on Roma Inclusion: Effectiveness, Impact and Cost

08 May 2012

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is looking for original articles and other submissions (book reviews, interview with key figures and conference reports) from a broad range of disciplines addressing the European Union’s Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies.

The European Commission launched an initiative in 2011 requesting that Member States and accession countries develop national strategies on Roma inclusion by the end of the year. Governments were asked to develop clear goals and programmes in education, employment, housing and healthcare within their national strategies. All 27 governments have submitted documents to the European Commission for review, ranging from extensive strategies to brief summaries of existing policies. The Commission recently held an extraordinary meeting of the Roma Platform to discuss the strategies. Despite these efforts, it is unclear yet whether the resultant strategies will have a significant impact on the ground. Member States have differed greatly in their response, and even the best strategies will need to be implemented effectively.

In this issue of Roma Rights, the ERRC seeks submissions which reflect on and seek to provide answers to questions like:

• What is the role of civil society in relation to the strategies? How effectively have Roma organisations been involved in the process so far, and how will they be involved in the implementation?
• How much will the strategies cost? Have sufficient provisions been made nationally or at the EU level? How much would non-implementation cost?
• Will the new strategies be different from strategies developed in the past? Is the framework a meaningful political step?
• What was the impact (or failings) of previous strategies? Can a new Government strategy be successful if it does not admit or define the shortcomings of its previous policies?
• How far do the strategies deliver from a human rights perspective? How effectively do they cover anti-discrimination, and what is likely to be the impact of these measures in 2020?
• Which countries have produced effective strategies? How can other Member States adopt and learn from best practice examples?
• What role should EU bodies play to ensure the strategies make a difference on the ground?  How should the EU undertake monitoring and evaluation of strategies?
• Is there meaningful learning to be applied from the Decade of Roma Inclusion? What and how should it be put into practice?
• What does this EU initiative mean for the Decade of Roma Inclusion in practical terms?
• What do informed actors expect the Roma landscape to look like in 2020 upon conclusion of the Framework’s programming period?

Individual testimonies reflecting the experiences of Romani persons and organisations are particularly welcome. The above themes are meant to be illustrative; authors are encouraged to address the theme from other perspectives as well. Articles offering critical insight into lessons learned in similar situations, as well as submissions reflecting the perspective of the grassroots Roma movement are also welcome.

Process

Full articles must be submitted to the ERRC by 20 June 2012. All submissions will be reviewed by a committee of ERRC staff who will make the final selection of articles for publication. Due to limited space, it may not be possible to publish all articles submitted. The ERRC reserves the right to refuse publication of submissions at any point prior to the publication of the journal. The indicative publication date for this journal is December 2012.

Please send queries and submissions to Marianne Powell: marianne.powell@errc.org.

Submission Guidelines

• All submissions and accompanying materials must be written in British English.
• Submissions must follow the ERRC Style Sheet.
• Submissions must be in electronic form and accompanied by any relevant graphics or pictures.
• The length of submissions should not exceed 5,000 words for articles and 2,500 words for other items (e.g. book reviews or conference reports), inclusive of footnotes.
• Footnote referencing should be utilised. Submissions with bibliographical referencing will be sent back to authors.
• All contributions must be original, previously unpublished material.