One of the key goals of Voice of Romni this year was to develop proposals for the national and regional action plans (2026–2028) to implement the Roma Strategy until 2030.

In August, we brought together representatives of Roma communities from Zakarpattia, human rights defenders, and government officials to summarize the results of the current plan and draft recommendations for the new one, taking into account the experience of recent years.

During the meeting, Ihor Lossovskyi, Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, noted:

“The format of this meeting is right. It’s important that more Roma people understand what the state is trying to do, what the Roma Strategy is, why it exists, why action plans for its implementation are necessary, and what the state is doing or trying to do to facilitate the integration of the Roma community into Ukrainian society while preserving their cultural, linguistic, and other distinct features.”

It was crucial for us that the voices and experiences of the participants in this dialogue become part of a shared vision for the future of the Roma community. Maria Mendzhul, Head of the NGO Carpathian Agency for Human Rights “VESTED”, shared:

“It’s important for me to be part of this event because, given our experience in civic work and cooperation with the Roma community, we see certain challenges and can share our expertise. Previously, we had the opportunity to discuss and develop documents that promote Roma integration into Ukrainian society, but on the community level. Now, we’ve been invited to contribute to the development of recommendations on the national level. Such joint cooperation is extremely valuable to ensure that these recommendations are truly effective.”

Vasyl Terpak, pastor of the Svaliava Church, also shared his impressions:

“It’s very good that people care so much about the Roma and are making plans for the future. For our children, for us Roma, it’s very important that our Roma children have access to education, gain knowledge, and learn professions. This meeting gave hope both to Svaliava and to Roma in Zakarpattia that the future will be bright. I believe that if you continue to act actively now, this will bear great fruit.”

By September, we had developed recommendations for the National Action Plan. Next, we will focus on creating regional plans and recommendations to ensure they reflect the real needs of Roma women and men and are contextualized across seven regions of Ukraine, said Anzhelika Bielova, President of Voice of Romni.

“Our next steps include visits and regional dialogues in seven regions of Ukraine to ensure that regional plans for the Roma Strategy are built based on the specific needs of local Roma communities. The Roma community is not homogeneous, and its needs differ greatly from region to region.”

For our team, this meeting was the first in a series of events we plan to hold across Ukraine. Stay tuned for more updates!