Eu member states

Information about the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

1. Title:	Programme: Economic revitalization in Areas of Special State Concern - General integration of the Serbian minority in the war-affected areas
2. Rationale:	According to the Croatian government, approximately 300,000 ethnic Serbs left their homes during the 1991-95 war. Most left for Serbia and acquired refugee status there, but 50,000 Serbs remained at the end of the war in Eastern Slavonia, as internally displaced persons. As of late 2003, according to the government, 108,000 Serbs had registered as returnees. Lack of access to their pre-war homes and infrastructure remains is a key impediment to Serb return. Obstacles range from an inability to repossess property held illegally by temporary occupants, to being unable to receive substitute housing or compensation for lost tenancy rights. Fear of discrimination in pension benefits also deterred the return of Serb refugees. With a more stable security situation and having finally begun major reconstructions assistance for the beneficiaries, the lack of economic opportunities remains the biggest challenge to the sustainable return and full reintegration of the Serbian returnees. In most areas of return, virtually no Serb returnees are employed in state, municipal, or town-run services and institutions, such as health centres, schools, child-care centres, post offices, or power-supply companies. Serb returnees have been able to find some work in private businesses owned by Croat entrepreneurs. Even in those businesses, the number of employed returnees is in the dozens rather than hundreds. Many among them are employed as seasonal workers only. There is a significant gap between the economic strength of the majority of the war-affected areas – Areas of Special State Concern as compared with other regions in Croatia. Education level of the rural population Data on the level of educational attainment of the Serbian ethnic groups in the Areas of Special State Concern, which represents a significant factor for the successful reintegration, additionally reveal the level of disparities within the country. Education level of the rural population (expressed as the number of illiterates and school graduates) points to the fact that the Croatian rural areas are generally lagging behind the urban areas. In early nineties, 5.3% of the rural population was illiterate. More than one third has not finished the elementary eight-year education, and only 3.1% of that population graduated from the non-university or university colleges. The 2001 Census data on formal education of the Croatian rural population show also a comparatively high share of population without any or with incomplete basic schooling (28.3%) and a small share of graduate groups (4.7%). Although the school system in Croatia provides programs for general and professional education of adults, these institutions are usually located in towns, and to some extent programs are offered in some elementary and professional high schools. At the same time there are no alternative forms of education in rural areas (if they exist, they are fairly modest and related to agricultural production). This makes it difficult to organise professional education for rural population, for alternative employment and self-employment. The policy of lifelong learning is insufficiently developed and there are poor opportunities for additional training and advanced studies for unemployed persons Unstable agricultural policy During the transition period, socio-economic transformation in the Areas of Special State Concern, particularly rural areas, has developed with different dynamics and with geographically differentiated effects. Polarized development of rural regions (as a result of socialist system, additionally aided by war and transition process difficulties) and unfavourable biodynamic characteristics of rural population, have contributed to rapid decrease in agricultural population. In the period between two censuses (1991-2001), active contingent of agricultural population has diminished. The differences in the concentration of work potential and its biodynamic characteristics (older and uneducated population) indirectly influence the usage of agricultural resources in the sector of family agriculture. ). Because the spatial component of development was neglected, usually at the expense of rural areas, many of these areas today are faced with economic and social problems and they offer very limited work potentials and conditions for development. This results in high unemployment and further depopulation, especially of young and educated people. In Croatian agriculture there are two parallel production systems: business subjects (agricultural companies and cooperatives) and family farms. In the last ten years (1995-2004) the fall in the number of people employed by agricultural companies and cooperatives is evident, largely due to unsuccessful restructuring and privatisation of former state farms.
3. Objective(s):	The following overall objectives of the programme, based on the SDF-s vision and the main objectives, have been formulated by economic development working group members: Better access to the labour market for the unemployed members of the Serbian community in the war-affected - Areas of Special State Concern through provision of professional services; Provision of human and financial resources to the SDF as a support to the community’s economic development; Establishment of cooperation and partnership at all levels with the aim of economic development programme implementation. Specific objectives: Development of cooperative capacities; Development of family farm capacities and entrepreneurship development; Development of partnership with local authorities and awareness-raising of the need to preserve rural areas development; Economic development programme oriented training of the local self-government personnel (capacity building); Design of the financing criteria alleviation proposal through cooperation with the state and local government bodies; Taking care of systematic implementation of the National Minority Act; Support in implementing European standards of the agricultural production; Establishment of the SDF Education Centre; Capacity development and continuous training of SDF human resources
4. Target ethnic group(s):	Serbian ethnic group: Returnees, refugees, displaced persons and immigrants for the other countries; Unemployed persons, persons working on the family farms/co-operatives, potential entrepreneurs, elderly people without basic social welfare; Young persons, women and other vulnerable-socially excluded groups The programme takes place in the following counties/municipalities: Požega-Slavonija County: Pakrac, Lipik, Brestovac; Brod-Posavina County: Okučani, Gornji Bogićevci, Dragalić, Karlovac County: Vojnić, Karlovac, Plaški; Sisak-Moslavina County: Petrinja, Dvor, Kostajnica, Glina; Lika-Senj County: Korenica, Vrhovine; Šibenik-Knin County: Knin, Kistanje, Biskupija; Zadar County: Benkovac, Gračac
5. Involvement of ethnic group in:
Scoping	N/A
Implementation	Apart from acting as direct beneficiaries (training activities), the Serbian ethnic group is actively involved in the implementation of other soft activities of the programme (advocating, awareness raising campaigns)
Assessment	Surveys, interviews with the beneficiaries, participatory approach and involvement of the members of the wider local community.
6. Main activities:	Initial entrepreneurship training, training on modern technology application, cooperative organization and cooperative production, study visits and workshops, individual consultancy and mentorship. Entrepreneurs’ training through forums and seminars for development of family farms in local communities with the accent on strengthening of the role of women in entrepreneurship; Establishment of a consulting agency providing professional support to business plan design, legal and administrative support, and application of new technologies; Training provision for the members of family farms from the aspect of introducing innovative techniques and technologies and from the organizational/legal aspect; Merging of family farms and forming cooperatives (production operation plan design, managerial capacity development and application of modern technologies, business ideas development, investment into capacity enlargement); Implement cooperative capacity monitoring, establishment of new cooperatives, restoring of existing cooperatives, development of cooperative management, design of cooperative development plans, support in cooperative networking into clusters and development of cooperative products; Advocating with local and regional authorities with the purpose of agriculture subsidy introduction, lobbying for introduction of agriculture production incentives, lobbying with local and regional authorities with the purpose of family farms’ development in areas of special state concern; Establishing of cross-sectoral co-operation between NGOs, agricultural sector, local authorities and local institutions, joint actions in accordance with specific action plans; Conducting information workshops dealing with agricultural development, entrepreneurship promotion, establishment of cross-sectoral cooperation with the purpose of users’ and institutions’ partnership, the family farm registry, VAT system and taxation procedures, subsidy system, Croatian Government operational programmes, commercial banks’ credits, international funds and possible partnership with business entities; Awareness raising campaign of the needs for partnerships, compatibility of SDF’s economic revitalisation programme with ROPs/HRD Strategies, project management cycle training - information workshops on EU and Croatian Government funds and grants.
7. Duration of the project:	2005-2007, 2007-2009
8. Main results:	Improvement of social conditions in target groups as a result of transparent action of local authorities, business and NGO sector; Improved integration and reintegration of target groups as a result of employment and self-employment; Active cross-border cooperation (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and positive attitude in the Republic of Croatia will motivate the return of displaced persons; Family farm members in the areas covered by this Programme trained for drafting business plans and their placement with commercial banks; Family farm members trained to gain practical knowledge and skills related to production management and improvement of technical/technological level of production which will in turn result with production expansion, joint ventures and product marketing; Training programmes, production expansion and profit making will result in efficient, rational and sustainable agricultural production; Application of new knowledge and skills will result in business operation stability, economic strength and credit capability of family farms; Merging of family farms into agricultural cooperatives will create stable exchange of commodities and product competitiveness of family farm products; Agricultural cooperative management training will result in joint performance of family farms at the market, better marketing and cheaper raw input; Agricultural cooperatives with better professional and technical capacities will ensure professional help and support to family farms in the production process; Educated and trained agricultural cooperative human resources will become generators of family farms’ development and also cooperative members and subcontractors at local levels; By application of new knowledge and skills family farms will expand existing production and introduce new capacities, improve their economic power, and influence the development of other family farms in their environment; Agricultural cooperative organizational model will be adjusted to the European standards and applicable to other Croatian areas.
9. Total budget and sources of funding:	3.0 million Euro Sources: USAID; EC pre-accession funds; Foreign Embassies in Croatia; Line ministries of the republic of Croatia; National Foundation for the Civil Society Development; Other Croatian and international foundations; The government of the Republic of Serbia.
10. Assessment of effectiveness:	In line with the EC project cycle management standards, the programme is measured against the verifiable indicator at the level of activities, results and specific objective. A qualitative impact – which is very difficult to prove, but still is present – is that a certain percentage (estimated in between 30 to 40%) of the displaced / returnee families who received a credit would most probably have left again the region if they had not been given the opportunity of starting an income-generation activity.
11. Sustainability:	SDF is one of the largest and most important non-governmental organizations in Croatia and region. Organization has grown stronger and gained greater influence in society in last 10 years, ever since it become main implementing partner of USAID and UNHCR in programs of repatriation and reintegration of refugees and revitalization of war affected areas. This fact created conditions for a sustainable development of the programme (financial and organisational sustainability, sustainability at the policy level) Among other activities, the EU CARDS Programme is supporting the development of the Regional Operational Programs (ROPs) as well as Human Resource Development Strategies (HRDS) at the county level. ROPs and HRDS are standard planning instruments for identifying development vision and public investment/HRD priorities in a given regional unit and are prepared in line with the principles of EU structural funds. The sustainability of the programme has been by all means increased by the adoption of the of those documents in relevant counties.
12. Difficulties and reasons of insuccess (if any):	N/A
13. Transferability:	Local economic development processes in war-affected/deprived counties is considered to be powerful tool in stimulating new social and economic activities and in reintegrating the most vulnerable members of society. Access to training and eventually employment and self-employment in local communities remains the most crucial element in regard to sustainability of the rural areas and while numerous activities and schemes are implemented, social inclusion of returnees and displaced populations with other vulnerable features (national minorities, low educational attainment, long-term unemployed, elderly people, women, women-headed households, disabled persons, unemployed returnee families with children and no income at all) is by all means possible by channelling financial and technical resources that will contribute to the development of the local economy in the regions. Given the similar circumstances in other Western Balkan Countries war-affected/disadvantaged areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo as defined by UNSCR 1244, Macedonia), these practices contain high level of transferability and are suitable for an active peer-learning. These measures could be mainstreamed into revised active labour market policies with a view of making it possible for unemployed and inactive persons to benefit from various forms of training which increase their competitiveness and facilitate their integration in the labour market, promoting self-employment in disadvantaged counties and, subsequently, comprehensive social inclusion of vulnerable groups.

For Croatia of Literacy: The Way to Desirable Future – The Decade of Literacy in Croatia 2003 – 2012
Organisations involved in the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

Initiating group/ Implementing organisation	The Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Trg hrvatskih velikana 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Web-page: www.mzos.hr Contact person: Ms Marina Crnčić-Sokol
Profile of Partners	Local governments - counties Public open universities at the county level; Primary and secondary schools accredited for the provision of adult learning at the county level.

Information about the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

1. Title:	For Croatia of Literacy: The Way to Desirable Future – The Decade of Literacy in Croatia 2003 – 2012
2. Rationale:	Following the publication of the data of the census held on 31 March 2001, Croatian public was appalled by the number of illiterate persons and persons who did not finish primary school. In Croatia, any person who has finished primary school, which is mandatory for all citizens of the Republic of Croatia, is considered literate. The obligation to attend primary school applies to all the Croatian nationals until the age of 15 (Primary School Act). In the Republic of Croatia, however, 18.62% of the population aged 15 or older did not finish the eight-year primary school. This brief account of the contextual background demonstrates why an appropriate adult learning strategy and policies are fundamental to Croatia’s continued economic and social development. The Roma, which constitute roughly 0.2 % of Croatia’s population, are considered to be the most disadvantaged and discriminated against ethnic group in the country. Authorities in Croatia estimate that approximately one third of Roma children have never take part in any form of educational activities. Social problems and lack of family support results in very high drop-out rate in elementary education (Roma children usually leave school at the third or fourth grade). Subsequently, literacy rates for the Roma are distinctly lower than for the Croatian population at large. The Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 provided additional impetus for the implementation of the measures related to improving the literacy rate of the Roma population.
3. Objective(s):	To enable adults to finish primary school and acquire some vocational skills that will help them enter the labour market.
4. Target ethnic group(s):	The target group potentially consists of all Roma people aged 15-20 who have not completed the primary school.
5. Involvement of ethnic group in:
Scoping	N/A
Implementation	N/A
Assessment	Each educational institution which carries out the programme develops internal assessment instruments. Special emphasis is laid on motivating the participants to regularly attend courses.
6. Main activities:	The programme is being implemented within the framework of Roma Inclusion Decade. The Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, as the authority responsible for education, coordinates and conducts all the activities related to the implementation of and financing the project, the adoption of the new curriculum and new textbooks. The programme is carried out by the public open universities at the county level as well as primary and secondary schools accredited for the provision of the adult learning activities. The adult education curriculum include general education contents and enable students that, parallel to completion of the basic education, also obtain vocational training for less complex and simple jobs (occupations) needed for the inclusion into the labour market. Vocational Training Attendees participating in the basic education process will also have access to vocational training for less complex occupations. Vocational training programmes are implemented through approximately 150 hours of teaching and are verified by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. A number of stakeholders are involved in the promotion of the project: counties, cities, municipalities, companies, Employment Service, education institutions (basic and secondary schools, people’s open universities) Chamber of Trades and Crafts, NGOs, media, and the TV (with its specialised education programmes) etc. They contribute to the successful implementation, in accordance with their scope of work and authority, motivate potential attendees, prepare activities (programmes, suitable premises, co-funding). Completion of basic education and accompanied initial vocational training is free for attendees so as to enable every individual, regardless his/her social and economic status, to enter the world of work. Financing of the education programme is implemented through the use of the “education vouchers”, awarded to attendees for completion of particular education term/terms. Each attendee hands out the “education voucher” to the implementing institution, which claims for reimbursement upon the student’s successful completion of the education programme. This method of financing enables each attendee to select between institutions and programmes, which suit best his/her purpose.
7. Duration of the project:	2003-2012
8. Main results:	In the course of 2005-2006, 67 members of the Roma completed the programme. Currently, approximately 100 members of the Roma are attending the programme. In the realisation of the programme significant efforts are being invested in inclusion of special categories of the population such as: minorities (Roma in particular) and immigrants, prisoners and inmates of correctional facilities. In individual local communities with a substantial share of the Roma, local authorities have been able to achieve quite a cooperation with the representatives of the Roma to include them in the literacy project in greater numbers (on average approx. 20 % of all the attendees). The decentralised implementation of the project greatly helped the inclusion of particular social groups among the population, including the Roma. There is also the cooperation with Croatian Employment Service in order to include as many registered unemployed persons of a Roma origin as possible. The approaches envisaged under the programme have by all means brought an added value to the existing Governmental programmes by further developing their capacity to enhance the employability of the Roma people. In particular, the programme has implement training in line with the needs of the labour market, while taking into account the particular traditional working and vocational attitudes prevalent in the respective Roma groups.
9. Total budget and sources of funding:	National budget - unrestricted, pending on the number of the programme participants; Project EC CARDS 2004 Adult Learning - % of the total budget (1.5 MEUR)
10. Assessment of effectiveness:	Within the framework of the EC funded project “CARDS 2004-Adult Learning”, launched in August 2007, a comprehensive evaluation of that programme will be undertaken. Furthermore, possible learning outcomes for a “start qualification” for adults shall be defined in line with the best EU practices.
11. Sustainability:	The development of an adult learning strategy in Croatia has to be seen in the context of the country’s future accession to the EU and the agreed EU lifelong learning policy and European Employment Strategy, which should provide a backcloth to Croatia’s own adult learning strategy. Complemented by the The sustainability of the programme will be by large determined by the EC CARDS 2004 project as the basic skills programme shall be redesigned and implemented on a pilot basis in line with evaluation findings and covering also publicity, course development, teacher training, partnership-building and outreach activities, relevant individual support measures, evaluation mechanisms, etc. Trainers in adult training shall learn how to liaise with partners and clients, how to assess prior learning skills of adults, how to design, plan & deliver relevant, tailor-made courses, how to use suitable adult learning techniques, how to monitor learning progress and assess skills of specific target groups, including socially excluded adults. The co-ordination of the programme will be gradually taking over by the Agency for Adult Education, a public institution established by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Croatia in May 2006.
12. Difficulties and reasons of insuccess (if any):	It has been found that the weakest link is the inclusion of female population in the literacy programme, including the Roma female population. Of the total number of attendees, 77.63% are men which indicate that it will be necessary to invest additional efforts in motivating female population to finish primary school. State administration offices have, therefore, been acquainted with this issue and encouraged to put in extra effort to motivate female population. In some cases, irregular attendance by the Roma has been perceived through standards stereotypes (irresponsibility, immaturity), although the reason for skipping some of the classes or even withdrawing of the programme was of a different nature, e.g. lack of money for travel expenses.
13. Transferability:	State administration offices actively engage in informing and involving attendees in the programme. Many counties (e.g. Međimurje County, Koprivnica-Križevci County, Osijek-Baranja County) have invested great efforts in the promotion of the programme in their midst. Although this is actually a nation-wide initiative, many at the local level have found their roles and understood the benefits for their communities, including for the members of the Roma communities. It was for this reason that state administration offices initiated cooperation with other interested social partners, as well as with employment offices, representatives of local authorities and businessmen. The purpose was to create a positive climate in local communities for the inclusion of Roma adults into literacy programs and to provide to attendees, in joining forces with the local community, the opportunity to obtain education and, eventually, a job. Many state administration offices, in cooperation with the institutions for the education of adults, have already achieved quite a lot in this regard. Different aspects of the transferability, including special features of the programme related to the Roma population will, to a great extent, depend on the comprehensive evaluation of the programme within the framework of the EC CARDS 2004 project.

The Education for Social Justice Programme
Organisations involved in the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

Initiating group/ Implementing organisation	Public Open University Step by Step Ilica 73, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Tel: ++385 (0)1 4854 935, 4854 936 Fax: (++385 (0)1 4854 022 E-mail: [e-mail] Web-site: www.korakpokorak.hr Contact Person: Ms Nives Milinović, Director
Profile of Partners	Primary schools and other public institutions/NGOs at the local level

Information about the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

1. Title:	The Education for Social Justice Programme
2. Rationale:	Various issues of ethnic status and recognition of Roma in continue to challenge Croatia. Since the Roma commonly use social distance in their «communication» with the non-Roma environment, they had in a certain manner managed to preserve their specifics and their cultural identity from the processes of assimilation. Despite a number of initiatives concerning the systematic measure that would enable individualised education of the Roma, changes in educational institutions have been slow and sporadic. Since the pre-school education is decentralised, the network of services and their availability is unequal. There have been a number of compensatory models including half-day play schools within Roma settlements, but these models are again characterised by the limited contact with the non-Roma children. Complemented by the specific structure of the households and families, the prejudice within the Roma community itself to the lack of confidence in the educational system which “pull away” children from the very system and slows down their integration into society in general. The method “lets give the Roma a fish-hook, instead of a fish” which prevails in many of the education and/or employment oriented projects for the Roma communities aimed at self-assistance has its logical justification. However, the several features are often missing. A work with the majority community, which even in case of the significant improvements of the Roma community towards the acceptable socialisation, proves to be an obstacle and refuse relevant changes as well as regular monitoring on behalf of the external experts in relevant field. Despite efforts at the local/national level that may support integrated educational settings, resistance always exists on the part of majority population parents to having their children attend classes with Roma children. This may equally reproduce the aforementioned concerns of the Roma parents about their children’s safety and well being in integrated settings. On the other hand, there are a number of individual cases observed by the external experts which clearly indicates that some classroom teachers (grades 1 through 4) working with Roma children, receive that role as a “punishment”. Others continue to believe that Roma children are not capable of academic achievements, leading to low expectations of children. All those teachers do not have exposure to experiences that would provide basis for behavioural and attitudinal changes. School directors and staff members lack the motivation – incentives – to make schools more welcoming to Roma children and families. Additional factors aggravating education are intolerance and bullying by non-Roma children. Hence, Roma children run away from the environment not inclined toward them, or the one they do not feel pleasant in.
3. Objective(s):	To support the promotion of rights of disadvantaged groups based on nationality, religion and social background for equal opportunities in all segments of education and social life; To strengthen the struggle against discrimination in different educational settings.
4. Target ethnic group(s):	In line with the lessons-learned from other countries, upgrading the teaching profession with regard to professional development and working conditions (including equipment) is a key element in an attempt to improve the integration of the children from ethnic communities. Apart from the pre-school and primary school teachers that belongs to the majority and/or ethnic community (Roma, Serbian) and other school staff/stakeholders who work in multi-ethnical communities (NGO and local public institutions representatives), the programmes provides tailor-made activities to the children from the majority community and Roma/Serbian children, parents and families. The activities within the programme have so far taken place in Osijek-Baranja County and Knin-Šibenik County, where mixture of nationalities, cultures and religions, combined with the poor economic situation, makes social relations very tense and complicated.
5. Involvement of ethnic group in:
Scoping	The Roma/Serbian teachers and other stakeholders at the local level are normally consulted prior to the commencement of the educational activities
Implementation	The means of implementation assumes active involvement of the target groups in the majority of the activities.
Assessment	Evaluation of the workshops and other training activities encompass the following evaluating techniques: evaluation forms and interviews. They primarily measure: Reaction – participants thought and feelings concerning the training activity/event; Learning – knowledge, skills etc. obtained by teachers, children, parents and families; Behaviour – new information and attitudes used by teachers, children, parents and families; Efficiency – level of usage of acquired knowledge and skills by teachers, children, parents and families.
6. Main activities:	The Education for Social Justice Programme is normally organised around 4 main components to be pursued concurrently: Teacher training in child-centred methods of teaching Teacher training ‘Education for Social Justice – Programme for Adults’ Teacher training ‘Education for Social Justice Classroom Activities’ Mentoring Teacher training in child-centred methods of teaching is focused on active participation of children in the learning process, cooperation with parents and families, and individualized teaching. Basic training is a 40-hour seminar and advanced training is a 32-hour seminar. Teacher trainings ‘Education for Social Justice – Programme for Adults’ is designed for teachers working in multi-national communities, specifically working with Roma students in order to: Enhance their knowledge and understanding of mechanism that create and perpetuate structures of power and domination towards disadvantage groups Develop capacity for change on personal, and future professional and institutional level; Gain capacity for living in a multi-cultural society. Specifically for their future work teachers: Learn to establish successful communication with children, and teach children to stand for those who suffer injustice because they are 'different'; Develop personal understanding of differences that exist in their community, understand how these differences influence children's development and academic achievements, and develop high expectations for all children; Learn to stand for children who are 'different'; Learn to understand difficulties that parents experience and to build allies with parents in order to ensure better conditions for education of their children; Learn to build allies with their colleagues Learn that the attitude 'I can't change the way things are' is wrong and that 'small' actions can contribute to the positive climate and respect for differences among people in kindergarten, school, and local community. Training of teachers ‘Education for Social Justice Classroom Activities’ is designed to help teachers acquiring additional knowledge and specific tools for working more successfully with language and learning differences, for ensuring that Roma/other ethnic students felt comfortable and capable at school, and working with parents who distrusted schools. Teachers learn to: Use learning materials and activities that reflect the diversity that exists in their communities, countries, and the world and that promote respect and appreciation for differences in people Strengthen student capacities for cooperation, negotiation, and critical thinking by providing students with opportunities to gain experience with a variety of perspectives and by modelling respect for different points of view Develop their own awareness of inequalities that exist in their communities, how those inequalities affect education, and how to be advocates for those affected by a society’s inequitable norms Develop their students’ awareness of inequalities that exist in their communities and how to advocate for those negatively affected by such inequalities Where applicable, the specific workshops are attended by parents, families and other members of the local communities/stakeholders. Mentoring is based on the ISSA Pedagogical Standards for quality of teaching (ISSA - International Step by Step Association) which covers seven areas of teachers’ work. One of the areas is Social Inclusion. The aim of mentoring is helping teachers implementing child-centred methods of teaching with the emphasis on social inclusion. Teachers in the primary school are involved in the mentoring process in the course of the one school year. Teacher who successfully complete the overall programme are awarded ISSA Certificate for quality of teaching. The competency for each workshop, irrespectively of the component is defined as the ability for performing particular tasks according to necessary standards needed for innovative approaches in the education for social justice. The details of the each seminar/workshop agenda are be defined in line with: Already existing curriculum on general aspect of the topics developed by the experts; Specific needs of the selected educational settings / communities where the programme take place in line with previously developed programme; Potential added value for target groups in terms of developing core interpersonal/specific professional skills and, subsequently, improving their chilled centred methods.
7. Duration of the project:	The programme is being implemented on a continuous basis
8. Main results:	Developed by early childhood experts from countries transitioning to democracy, the programme offer a unique perspective on the connections between early childhood education and smooth integration of the ethnic minorities. These tested methods and materials have particular relevance for programs seeking actions of the teaching staff, young children, their families, and their communities (both majority and minority). Core Principles of the Programme Education for Social Justice are: Equal access to education and care opportunities; Child-centred, individualized teaching and learning Development of skills for life-long learning and participation in a integrated educational settings; Teachers as facilitators; Parent involvement; Community engagement in public education; Culturally appropriate learning environments and approaches; Ongoing professional development
9. Total budget and sources of funding:	170,000 EUR. Sources of funding are: OSI; USAID; EC pre-accession funds; Foreign Embassies in Croatia; Line ministries/institutions;
10. Assessment of effectiveness:	The following standardised ISSA standards are used for assessing the effectiveness: 1. Individualization Teachers use their knowledge of child development and their relationships with children and their families to understand the diversity of each class and to respond to each child’s unique needs and potentials. 2. Learning Environment Teachers promote a caring, stimulating, and inclusive classroom by organizing the environment in ways that best facilitate children taking learning risks, practicing democracy, and working both cooperatively and independently. 3. Family Participation Teachers build partnerships with families to ensure optimum support for children’s learning and developmental needs. 4. Teaching Strategies for Meaningful Learning Teachers design and implement varied strategies to promote conceptual understanding and to encourage innovation, creativity, independent inquiry, social cooperation, and exploration within and across the disciplines. 5. Planning and Assessment Teachers create plans based upon national standards, programme goals, and individual needs of children and use a systematic approach for observing and assessing each child’s progress. 6. Professional Development Teachers regularly evaluate and strengthen the quality and effectiveness of their work and collaborate with colleagues to improve programs and practices for young children and their families. 7. Social Inclusion Teachers model and promote values and behaviours that support human rights, social inclusion, and the foundation of open democratic civil societies, including protection of the rights of all minorities The sub-indicators for social inclusion are: Teachers use learning materials and activities that reflect the diversity that exists in their communities, countries, and the world. They promote respect and appreciation for differences in people including: gender, race, ethnic origin, native languages, religion, family structure, socioeconomic class, age, and physical and cognitive abilities. Teachers strengthen student capacities for cooperation, negotiation, and critical thinking by providing students with opportunities to gain experience with a variety of perspectives and by modelling respect for different points of view. Teachers develop their own awareness of inequalities that exist in their communities, how those inequalities impact education, and how to be advocates for those who experience inequalities. Teachers develop their students’ awareness of inequalities that exist in their communities and how to advocate for those who experience inequalities.
11. Sustainability:	The absence of a more comprehensive policy framework for social inclusion of Roma means that the programme is considered to fall outside the mainstream functions. However the mainstreaming potential is more than obvious. As there are in general limited teacher pre-service and in-service training opportunities, not only in child-centre pedagogy, but also in areas such as ethnic groups’ cultures, second language teaching methodology, parent involvement and school improvement, the practice has firm potential for continuing in the future, including the obvious possibilities for the extension of the activities, which may, apart from the national/local partners, involve partners (schools and/or other institutions) from other EU countries. The programme clearly ensures that ensure that every child regardless of gender, race, religion, nationality or ability has the opportunity to develop to his or her full potential. It promotes the rights of all children to a quality education and reaches out to children of ethnic families, children with disabilities, refugee children, and children in poverty. It enables teachers to take initiative, act in a self-guided way and continuously upgrade their related knowledge and skills upon the completion of the programme.
12. Difficulties and reasons of insuccess (if any):	Despite the tested effectiveness of the programme, the feedback from the teams engaged in the implementation underscored the extreme sensitivity, complexity and challenges inherent in creating high quality integrated settings appropriate for the education of the Roma children.
13. Transferability:	In thirteen countries with significant Roma populations, Step by Step programme, including programme Education for Social Justice is proving that Roma children can succeed in supportive educational environments. In Step by Step classrooms, Roma children are treated like all other children, and given the opportunity to reach their full potential. As a result of high expectations, Roma children achieve academic outcomes similar to their mainstream peers. Roma teaching assistants are placed in classrooms to facilitate the learning of the majority language, to serve as a bridge between the school and the Roma community, and to bring the Roma language and culture into the classroom. Governments have acknowledged the success of Step by Step’s Roma initiatives, often resulting in major Roma education policy changes. Hence, the programme is suitable for the peer-visits and peer-learning. Given the current stage and pace of the educational reforms in Croatia in comparison with other European countries, relevant methodologies has firm potential in terms of ensuring horizontal and vertical transferability: Effective building on existing structures (e.g. existing thematic Teacher County Councils) and school personnel while recognising teacher training as a pivotal point of improvement when it impacts on classroom and relevant practice; Embedding the changes within the other factors that contributes to the successful integration of the ethnic minorities in various educational settings, including the general education on democracy/human rights issues Action orientation - the programme is proposed to go beyond the issues of the Roma/Serbian children integration; Inclusiveness - active involvement of a wide range of stakeholders Mutual learning - a key dimension of the project will be to provide a platform for a more ample exchange of information and good practice experience between the Croatian schools as well as those schools with in the EU countries;

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Roma Education Programme
Organisations involved in the project/programme/measure/policy (as the case):

Initiating group/ Implementing organisation	Foundation Open Society Institute - Macedonia Bul. Jane Sandanski 111 P.O. Box 378 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia phone: [phone] fax: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail]; web site: www.soros.org.mk contact person: Suzana Pecakovska, Roma Education Programme Co-ordinator
Profile of Partners	The project is implemented by the Foundation Open Society - Macedonia in cooperation with the Step by Step Foundation and five Roma Educational Centres, established and run by the local NGOs: “Vrama Si” and "Kham" from Kumanovo, "Aid for the Handicapped and the Poor" from Prilep, “Soncogledi” and “Dendo Vas” from Skopje.