ROMED2 implementation in Portugal - Municipality Pages published

The ROMED2 Programme was initiated in Portugal in March 2014, after the implementation of ROMED1 where 30 mediators were trained and certified based on the ROMED1 methodology.

Out of the 9 municipalities initially selected, 7 function according to the ROMED2 methodology of Democratic governance through community participation: Community Action Groups made up of Roma citizens were created and trained on topics such as "Reflection on Local Decision Making Processes", " Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities in Participatory Democracy", "Public speaking", "Challenges in Communication", "Conflict Management", they defined the priorities for their communities, and were guided by local and national facilitators through the first contact with the municipality and beyond. In most cases this led to "little victories" for the community and the municipality as a whole, both in concrete outcomes but also in the process of trust building and participatory democracy. The ROMED2 programme also established important synergies with Roma Civil Society at national level and with the development of the national initiatives in the field of Roma Women’s participation and Roma youth and students' participation.  

The ROMED2 Programme - the National Support Team in Portugal together with the Council of Europe coordination team in Strasbourg - is releasing a set of municipality pages illustrating in as much as possible:
- the context of the Roma communities in each municipality;
- a non-nominal description of the community action group;
- short term and long term priorities of the Roma communities in the municipality;
- initiatives already implemented;
- a timeline of activities in the municipalities;
- links to media articles related to the actions of the Community Action Groups and of local authorities in relation to the ROMED2 process of participation.

To read the Municipality Pages for Portugal, you can either browse on the map available in the Countries in ROMED2 section of this website, or through the links below. These pages will be updated regularly as the implementation advances.
* Barcelos
* Beja
* Elvas
* Figueira da Foz
* Moura
* Seixal
* Torres Vedras