RIISE Coordination Meeting
Several ERGO Network members and also new partners met in February for our annual ‘Roma Included in Social Europe’ (RIISE) coordination meeting.
ERGO Network is implementing a four-year work programme funded by the EaSI Programme of the European Commission’s DG Employment in order to support the social inclusion and poverty reduction of Roma in EU member states and provide a bridge between the grassroots and the EU level concerning Roma-related policies and funding programmes.
An important part of the work programme is implemented on national level in the ‘Big 5’, the EU member states with the highest Roma population. With the financial support of the European Commission through the RIISE work programme, ERGO Network members coordinate national Roma civil society coalitions, support Roma activists to engage in and benefit from Community-Led Local Development (CLLD), conduct research and inform Roma activists about relevant EU developments.
During the coordination meeting held in Brussels, representatives of the ERGO Network members Integro Association (Bulgaria), Nevo Parudimos (Romania), Slovo 21 (Czech Republic), Autonomia Foundation and Pro Cseherat (Hungary) as well as our partners RomanoNet (Czech Republic) and Idetartozunk (Hungary) came together for two days to discuss their work.
Among other things they shared updates on the development of national Roma Inclusion Strategies and Operational Programs and strategized together how best to influence them. They learned more about how to engage in the EU’s European Semester process and discussed common work on Social Economy. The partners will work together closely during the year and meet again in November.