ABOUT ROMED1

The ROMED1 Programme was initiated in 2011 aiming for the training of mediators around Europe. Indeed, mediation is one of the tools recommended by most instances at European level for reducing the gap between Roma communities and public institutions, such as schools, health facilities, but also local and regional administrations.

It was the "Strasbourg Declaration on Roma" in 2010 with its article 46, which engaged the commitment of signatory states to

"set up a European Training Programme for Roma Mediators with the aim to streamline, codify and consolidate the existing training programmes for and about Mediators for Roma, through the most effective use of existing Council of Europe resources, standards, methodology, networks and infrastructure, notably the European Youth Centres in Strasbourg and Budapest, in close co-operation with national and local authorities."

In 2012, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted the Recommedation CM/REC (2012)9 to Member States on mediation as an effective tool for promoting respect for human rights and social inclusion of Roma. A printable version of the Recommendation is available on our website in English and French.

GENERAL AIM

The general aim of ROMED1 is to improve the quality and effectiveness of the work of school, health, employment and community mediators, with a view to supporting better communication and co-operation between Roma and public institutions (school, health-care providers, employment offices, local authorities etc.)

To contribute to the achievement of the general aim, the ROMED programme was focused on the following three objectives:

1. to promote effective intercultural mediation to improve the communication and co-operation between Roma and public institutions;

2. to ensure the integration of a rights-based approach in the mediation between Roma communities and public institutions;

3. to support the work of mediators by providing tools for planning and implementation of their activities which encourage democratic participation while generating empowerment of Roma communities and increased accountability of public institutions.

In the context of effective intercultural mediation mediators, their employers, public institutions in general, as well as members of the Roma communities, need to clearly understand and accept co-operation based on the principles of mediation. Mediators therefore need support and specific competences to perform their role from this perspective.

The human rights based approach, which is one of the pillars of the work of the Council of Europe, is essential for overcoming the paternalistic perspective often encountered in public institutions, as well as the tendency for complacency in a situation of dependency, often encountered among members of the disadvantaged Roma communities, mainly because they do not trust that it is possible otherwise. Thus, the ROMED1 programme promotes the idea that the intervention of a mediator is necessary to build trust between Roma and public institutions, not as an act of charity, but as a responsibility for ensuring effective access to fundamental rights of citizens.

To perform their role as intercultural mediators from a rights-based perspective well, mediators also need practical skills, tools and specific methods to organise their work. The ROMED programme contributes to the development of the key competences mediators need and proposes a participatory work cycle starting with the set-up of support teams, both at community level and within the public institutions. The work is structured as a cyclic process including participatory planning, implementation and evaluation, leading to empowerment, accountability and better direct co-operation.

Mediation is one of the measures used across Europe to tackle the inequalities Roma face in terms of access to employment, healthcare services and quality education. It consists of employing persons with a Roma background, from local Roma communities, or with a good knowledge of Roma issues, to act as mediators between the Roma and the public institutions.

IMPLEMENTATION 2010 - 2016

The implementation of the programme started in November 2010 with the consultation of key stakeholders in the field and with the selection of the first group of trainers, and continued with the training of trainers, while the delivery of the first trainings for mediators started in the spring of 2011.

In the period 2011-2015 several key achievements can be mentioned:

A set of reference documents:

• design and elaboration of a new Training Curriculum for Mediators (available for download in the Resources section of our website, or by clicking here);
• a European Code of Ethics for Mediators:  a set of core principles and norms to guide the work of mediators has been identified as a key tool for protecting the mediator against abuse and for enhancing the quality of the services provided;
• adoption by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers of the Recommendation CM/Rec (2012)9 on mediation as an effective tool for promoting respect for human rights and social inclusion of Roma.

Influence on national policies:

• mediation increasingly present in the National Strategies for Roma Integration elaborated on the basis of the EU framework;
• increased visibility and enhancement of existing mediation systems or of on-going processes through a snowball effect in Ukraine, Greece, Romania, Germany, Bulgaria, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Portugal and Kosovo;
• institutionalisation of mediation in the Republic of Moldova and the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.

Impact on the practice and training of mediators:

• improved perception of the mediator and her/his role by the public institutions (around 700 representatives from national and local institutions involved in activities);
• improved awareness of their role among mediators: intense peer networking, exchange of experiences and ability to build collective responses to problems;
• creation of a European pool of ROMED trainers, more than half being Roma, able to deliver the ROMED curriculum in 20 languages;
• 1258 mediators trained and certified in 22 countries (close to 1500 trained): a very large majority of mediators are Roma, the others have a very good knowledge of the Roma community.

ROMED1 was intensively implemented from 2011 until 2013. After the launching of ROMED2, a programme that builds on the achievements of ROMED1, the training of mediators have only been conducted upon request as well as in new locations where the methodology had not been previously introduced. The infographic below presents the main figures and achievements.