The ‘Reduction of Inequalities and Promoting Social Inclusion’ programme financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway was officially launched on Wednesday 26 March.
The aim of the programme is to improve the situation for the Roma population in the Czech Republic. The programme will support a campaign against racism and hate violence, and will be implemented by the Agency for Social Inclusion under the Office of Government of the Czech Republic. To this aim, the Agency for Social Inclusion will cooperate with the media, schools, police and local initiatives.
Reaching out through social media
The campaign will receive approximately €1.24 million and will be targeted towards children, youth and young adults with the aim of reducing social tensions. A communication campaign using social media will be the most important tool. The campaign will counter myths and provide arguments and facts on the situation of vulnerable groups, and create space in the media for victims and vulnerable groups to tell their stories.
In addition, the campaign will support the representatives from schools, towns and municipalities, police and local initiatives in their work to prevent conflicts as well as in providing professional support to the victims.
A key priority
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have made the social and economic inclusion of the Roma a priority, ensuring that special measures are taken to include the Roma as a target group in relevant programmes in countries with a sizeable Roma minority, such as the Czech Republic.
In the Czech Republic, these efforts are channelled through the following programmes:
The Children and Youth at Risk programme;
The Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Arts programme;
The Schengen cooperation programme;
The Mainstreaming Gender Equality programme, and
The Social Inclusion programme
Visit the website of the Czech Focal Point website for more information