Working with Roma : participation and empowerment of local communities

This report presents the main insights gained during the EU Fundamental Rights Agency's project on local engagement for Roma inclusion, which explores how to best involve Roma in integration efforts at the local level. Bringing together local authorities and residents, especially Roma, it investigated what aspects work, which ones do not, and why this is the case. The 21 localities in 11 Member States covered by the research involved diverse local contexts, needs and challenges. But the experiences in all of them underscored that resources need to be better used to bring actual improvements in the lives of Roma across the EU. This report outlines the main lessons learned during the research, providing an opportunity to improve the design, implementation and monitoring of integration efforts at local level - for the benefit of all individuals still living on the margins of society, Roma and otherwise.