On Wednesday, 28 July, the first meeting of the ROMACTED II Support Team was held in Belgrade, organised by the Council of Europe ROMACTED team in Belgrade and the Support organisation BFPE for a responsible society, at the premises of the Roma Education Fund. The event was attended by 15 facilitators selected in the second phase of the ROMACTED Programme in Serbia.

On behalf of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the participants were greeted by the State Secretary Mr Stevan Gligorin, who spoke about the importance and the means of institutional support in overcoming the problems that the Roma community is facing in Serbia. Afterwards, BFPE President Ms Sonja Licht spoke about the significance of activism and perseverance in the fight for Roma rights, with special emphasis on the importance of preserving Roma identity and history, but also the valuable contribution of Roma to the communities they live in.

The regional manager of the ROMACTED II Programme, Ms Marina Vasić, discussed the results achieved in Phase I, and presented the methodology of Phase II, while the Focal point, Ms Svetlana Stefanović, presented and further discussed the roles and responsibilities of the facilitators.

The opportunity was also used to pay a visit to the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture Serbia - ERIAC Serbia and learn more about the Roma Resistance exhibition.