2007 Press Releases 

Bratislava Roundtable participants to discuss affordable housing options for Roma communities

Bratislava, February 22, 2007

A roundtable will be held in Bratislava on February 28 to discuss affordable housing options for low-income Roma in Slovakia. The roundtable is the culmination of months of work by a special affordable housing working group which reviewed the program of low standard housing construction implemented by the government. In addition, the working group spearheaded the design of environmentally friendly, affordable housing, with the aim of implementing pilot construction in 2007.

The working group and roundtable were organized by Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia (PDCS) as part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Roma Integration Program.

The goal of the roundtable is to present and discuss examples of past affordable housing projects for low-income Roma and to formulate recommendations for future work on affordable housing. Other discussion topics will include financing of affordable housing projects, preparing tenants for moving into affordable housing, and quality control of construction projects.

Representatives from Slovak Ministries, regional offices of the Plenipotentiary of Roma Communities, mayors and other local government officials, community social workers, foundations and donors will be in attendance.

The Roma Integration Program, currently in its final year, builds the capacity of Roma communities and supports inter-ethnic collaboration in nine target municipalities in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. In three target Slovak communities, Prešov, Kežmarok and Rimavská Sobota, PDCS works with government, NGO, and private sector representatives to identify Roma community needs and draft action plans to address these issues with funding from small grants. Nationally, PDCS facilitates policy roundtables, school-based initiatives and media programs designed to foster collaborative Roma integration efforts. The United States government has provided nearly $2.8 million dollars of assistance in the three countries to support these efforts.

Event Details:
February 28, 2007, 11:00 to 16:00
Pálfy Palace, Zámocká ulica 47
Bratislava

Contact details:
Pavol Makyš
PDCS, o.z., Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia
Tel.: +421-2-5292 5016 | Fax: +421-2-5293 2215
pavol@pdcs.sk
http://www.pdcs.sk