BRUSSELS—At an international donor conference hosted by the Open Society Institute, the World Bank, and the European Economic and Social Committee, donors swung their financial support behind education for the Roma, Europe's largest minority population. The €25.5 million in funding commitments announced by donors today is targeted for the Roma Education Fund (REF) and will provide the essential ingredients needed for children to succeed in school: scholarships, school meals, teacher training, and academic support. The added financial support will also help governments develop stronger national policies for Roma inclusion.
"Roma want to contribute to society. They want to improve the lives of their children and give them a better life than they had. The most important factor that keeps so many Roma trapped in poverty is a lack of education; with increased political will and improved cooperation we can tackle this problem head-on," said George Soros, chairman of the Open Society Institute and one of the founders of the Roma Education Fund.
The REF is a grant-making and policy analysis foundation established in 2005 that designs and supports programs and projects to improve Roma education outcomes in Europe. With help from the Fund, last year alone over 30,000 students, from pre-school to university, showed improved test scores while more than 800 Roma students attended and graduated from university.
Roma continue to face discrimination and exclusion from opportunities available to most citizens. They often lack access to good quality education or other social services, holding low quality and low-paying jobs.
"The primary school completion rate among young Roma is similar to that prevailing in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This strikes me as something that does not belong in the Europe of the 21st century," said the World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The amount committed today will enable the REF to continue closing the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma children by supporting quality education for Roma, desegregation of education systems, and improvement of Roma's social inclusion. "The REF has identified what works in Roma education. The time has come to move to large scale interventions," said Costel Bercus, chair of the REF governing board.
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