Ethnic and linguistic diversity: the case of young Roma children in Europe Sarah Klaus Iliana Sarafian Margareta Matache David Greger Arthur Ivatts Radosveta Dimitrova

Purpose of the Session  Highlight the context and conditions of young Roma children and families in Europe  Consider the risk and protective factors impacting young Roma children  Learn about the context in the Czech Republic through the Roma Early Childhood Initiative (RECI) report  Understand the research and policy challenges in Europe to full inclusion of young Roma children.

Context of Roma in Europe  Europe’s largest ethnic minority (10-12 million)  Few than 1/3 are employed  20% never enroll into school  8-12 years shorter life expectancy and high infant mortality  More likely to be evicted as a community than any other Europeans

Roma Participation in ECE Sources: UNDP-World Bank Roma survey 2011, UNICEF database 2012 for school year 2010/2011, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights survey 2011.

Roma Children in Institutional Care Source: ERRC, BHC et al (2011).

Resources Bennett, J. (2012a). ECEC for children from disadvantaged backgrounds: findings from a European literature review and two case studies: European Comission Directorate-General for Education and Culture Bruggemann, C. (2012). Roma education in comparative perspective: Findings from the UNDP/World Bank/EC regional Roma survey Roma Inclusion Working Papers. Bratislava: UNDP. ERRC: Dis-interest of the Child: Romani Children and the Hungarian Child Protection System (2007) ERRC, BHC, MSF and Osservazione (2011) Life Sentence: Romani Children in Institutional Care European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights survey (2011) European Commission (2011) An EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to In t. C. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions (Ed.), COM(2011) 173. Brussels: European Commission European Commission (2013)Steps forward in implementing national Roma integration strategies. (COM(2013) 454). Brussels: European Commission. OSI (2010) No Data –No Progress progress /no-data-no-progress-country-reports pdfhttp:// progress /no-data-no-progress-country-reports pdf Roma Education Fund. (2013). A good start: mainstreaming the access of disadvantaged Romani children to quality early childhood education and care. Budapest: Roma Education Fund. UNDP/World Bank Roma survey (2011) UNESCO and CoE (2014) Inclusion from the start - Guidelines on inclusive early childhood care and education for Roma children UNICEF (2011) The Right of Roma Children to Education Council of Europe. (2010). Statistics. from Council of Europe Roma and Traveller Division World Bank (2010) Roma Inclusion- an Economic Opportunity for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia World Bank (2012) Toward an equal start: Closing the early learning gap for Roma children in Eastern Europe. Washington: World Bank.