Within the framework of the Joint European Union and Council of Europe ROMACTED II Programme, and organised by the Albanian School of Public Administration (ASPA) and the Institute of Romani Culture in Albania (IRCA), two training sessions on “Translating Roma Responsive Budgeting and Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Action Plans into Practice at Local Level” were held in Gjirokastër on 7-8 September 2021 and Pogradec on 9-10 September 2021, the latter including a study visit in the Municipality of Korca.

Deputy Mayors as Heads of Programme Management Teams at the local level, Directors of Budget and Finance Departments, Directors of Social Service Departments, EU Focal Points and the Roma Focal Points of municipalities of Fier, Lushnje, Roskovec, Vlora, Përmet, Gjirokastër, Pogradec, Korca, Elbasan and Cerrik contributed actively to the training.

As a result, 63 representatives from ten partner local government units of the ROMACTED II Programme in Albania have increased their capacities and consolidated their knowledge on conducting Roma Responsive budgeting and monitoring and evaluation techniques of local action plans for the integration of Roma and Egyptian minorities as important instruments in advancement of the ROMACTED Step 4 on financing and implementation.

The expected policy works on Monitoring and Evaluation Guide, user friendly version of the Roma Responsive Budgeting Guideline and Roma Responsive Human Resources at Local Level were extensively discussed during the training programme. Participants agreed on the schedule of the preparation of the monitoring reports of the approved Local Action Plans on Roma and Egyptian minorities 2019-2022 and sharing roles and responsibilities within each municipality. ROMACTED facilitators will continue to drive these processes at local level.