Launch of the Decade of Roma Inclusion

21 July 2005

On February 2, 2005, Bulgaria hosted the official ceremony for the launch of the Decade of Roma Inclusion in its capital city Sofia. Participants included Prime Ministers from Central and Southeast European countries, as well as World Bank Group President James Wolfensohn and Open Society Institute Chairman George Soros.

The Decade emerged from the conference "Roma in an Expanding Europe: Challenges for the Future," hosted by the government of Hungary in June 2003. The conference was organised by the Open Society Institute, the World Bank, and the European Commission, with support from United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Council of Europe Development Bank, and the governments of Finland and Sweden. For more information regarding the Decade and its objectives please visit the Decade's official website at http://www.romadecade.org/. 

(ERRC)