Today, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue have signed Agreements on Cooperation with eight institutions, with the aim of creating conditions for the employment of members of the Roma national minority for a period of one year.
Institutions which are signatories to the Agreement on Cooperation are the City Administration of the City of Kragujevac, Centre for Social Work “Dr Mihajlo Stupar” of the Municipality of Knjaževac, Preschool Institution “Dragica Lalović” of the Municipality of Bela Palanka, Cultural Centre in Kruševac, Sports and Cultural Centre “Požega”, NES – branch in Pirot , outpost in Bela Palanka, NES – branch in Bor, and PUC “Komstan” from Trstenik.
The solemn ceremony of signing the aforementioned Agreements at the premises of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government was attended by the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Martinović, PhD; the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, Tomislav Žigmanov; Gordan Damnjanović, PhD, on behalf of the City Administration of the City of Kragujevac; and Aleksandar Stojanović on behalf of the Centre for Social Work “Dr Mihajlo Stupar” of the Municipality of Knjaževac.
Minister Martinović has pointed out that this is a concrete indicator of the State’s firm commitment to care equally for all its citizens and to build an inclusive society. He has added that the improvement of the quality of life of Roma men and women and their integration into the society are the goals towards which Serbia is working a systematic and devoted manner, expressing his belief that members of the Roma national minority would make a significant contribution to improving the work of public administration.
In order to improve the position of Roma men and women and their greater participation in the public and political life of the Republic of Serbia, the National Academy of Public Administration has organized the Professional Training Programme for Roma nationals for 2021. The programme is intended for members of the Roma community, with the aim of developing and improving their professional competences, as a prerequisite for their better employability in administrative bodies.
A total of 41 persons have successfully completed the said programme thus far. In this regard, the Conclusion was reached by which these persons are to be employed for a period of one year. After the completion of the Programme, consultations have been held between the members of the Roma national minority and the institutions in order to harmonize the needs related to their work engagements, within which they expressed their desire to work. Consultations have been carried out with public institutions, Local Self-government Units, public administration bodies and others.
Intensive communication on this topic shall continue in the coming period, and other agreements will be signed with the Ministry of Interior, Local Self-government Units and other institutions in the near future.