OSCE grants for Roma Integration (BPRI) project.

5 September 2013 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),
visited a Roma settlement in Gračanica/Graçanicë in central Kosovo today, to meet with municipal and Roma community representatives and discuss efforts to promote Roma integration and improve access to public services.

During the visit to Brnješ/Bërnjesh, Lenarčič also met with Roma families benefiting from a new wastewater collector built in the settlement with a grant from the Best Practices for Roma Integration (BPRI) project. The project is funded by the European Commission and implemented by ODIHR and OSCE field missions in the Western Balkans. The grant was one of 20 awarded under the project to improve living conditions for Roma communities in the region.

“This is an excellent example of what can be achieved when local governments, civil society and the community work together to improve the
situation of Roma in the region,” Lenarčič said. “When implemented not just for, but with the participation of Roma communities, projects of this
type can generate tangible improvements in living conditions.”

“Given that this is a small, developing municipality, every initiative, regardless of its size, is of immense value when trying to improve the
integration of the Roma community” said Edi Ibraimi, the Head of the Gračanica/Graçanicë Municipal Office for Communities and Return. “Now
that people have seen the difference this has made in people’s lives here, other organizations and individuals have been working on similar proposals and projects. This is the kind of knock-on effect we were hoping for.”

The new sewage system currently serves 15 Roma households, and was constructed in such a way as to allow further homes to be connected in the
future. The construction was carried out by the municipality of Gračanica/Graçanicë, which provided the remainder of the funding.

The 5,000 Euro grants were awarded to applicants who demonstrated that their projects would promote co-operation among local self-government bodies, Roma communities and civil society, and foster integration and improvements in Roma living conditions.