Ágnes Kelemen

The overarching objective of the EEA and Norwegian Civil Society Fund (NCTA) was to “support the development of civil society in Hungary and strengthen its participation in shaping social justice, democracy and sustainable development.” To this end, the Fund provided support for projects developed across seven thematic areas, of which Autonómia was responsible for the themes of empowering socially vulnerable groups and the welfare services provided to them.

The aim of our Integrom programme was to develop a new model to promote the employment of Roma in the for-profit sector. Autonómia implemented the programme in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group and civil society organisations supporting Roma people. The project successfully connected young Roma people with the corporate sector to enable qualified young Roma people to secure long-term careers at the country’s leading companies.

Launched with the support of the European Commission and the Open Society Foundations, the programme sought to strengthen initiatives that utilise community resources in an inclusive manner at local level. Through a network of cooperation, the programme brought together municipalities and mayors who had established good practices in the field of Roma integration and wished to further develop their local activities.

The overall aim of the project was to promote intercultural dialogue and the acceptance of diversity. In four countries, we supported local organisations and networks that took action against negative stereotypes, prejudice, racism and xenophobia through grassroots initiatives and local community actions.

In Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary and Germany, young Roma people carried out a total of 25 local campaigns.

The programme was launched with the aim of ensuring that European Union funds earmarked for Roma integration reach the regions where Roma people live. We developed grant applications locally with Roma minority local authorities, civil society organisations and local communities that responded to our call for proposals. We supported our winning partners through mentoring and additional support.

A hundred proposals were submitted, of which forty were successful, totalling five million euros.

The aim of this programme, co-financed by the European Social Fund, was to mitigate the deepening, reproduction and territorial spread of poverty, as well as to promote the integration of those living in extreme poverty.

The programme sought to achieve this by strengthening local community ties, tailoring social, health and other human services to local needs, and involving the local population.