Dissemination conference of A Good Start project

With more than 120 participants, the Roma Education Fund in cooperation with the Worldbank, organized a one- day long event, entitled `Conference on Early Childhood Education and Care for Roma Children` ‒ Lessons from the EU Parliament-DG Regional Policy Pilot Project and Policy Implications for EU Structural Funds Use, which took place on the 4th of June in Brussels.

With more than 120 participants, the Roma Education Fund in cooperation with the Worldbank, organized a one- day long event, entitled `Conference on Early Childhood Education and Care for Roma Children` ‒ Lessons from the EU Parliament-DG Regional Policy Pilot Project and Policy Implications for EU Structural Funds Use, which took place on the 4th of June in Brussels.

The conference aimed to disseminate the results and outcomes of the “A Good Start” project, funded by the European Commission that supported more than 4,000 Romani children from ages zero to six in accessing early childhood education and care services in 16 locations across four countries (Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, and Slovakia).

The conference was also the launch event to the World Bank report “Toward An Equal Start: Closing The Early Learning Gap For Roma Children In Eastern Europe ” based on the 2011 UNDP/WB/EC regional Roma survey of Romani households in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.

‘A Good Start’ preliminary results and lessons learned were discussed,the final evaluation report will be published at the end of Summer 2012, final results, data and evidences will be availbale soon. The Opening Remarks was chaired by Mr. Rudolf Niessler, Director of DG Regional Policy (European Commission) and the list of high-level speakers included Mr. László Andor, European Commissioner, Ms. Danuta Hübner, Member of the European Parliament, Ms. Lívia Járóka, Member of the European Parliament, Mr. Pierre Mairesse, Director of DG Education and Culture (European Commission), and Mr. Costel Bercus, Chair of the Roma Education Fund delivered welcoming speeches. Speeches performed and presentations delivered can be downloaded here.
Participants at the Conference had the opportunity to view a Photo Exhibition about the project’s activities. Photo gallery can be seen here.  
The conference brought together policymakers, academics, Roma and non-Roma civil society organizations, governments, and European Commission and European Parliament representatives interested in developing a more inclusive system of early childhood education and care for Roma disadvantaged children.
Budapest, 6 June, 2012


Speeches and presentations of the event: