Equality Summit opens in western Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
14.11.2011 15:30
The 5th European Equality Summit has opened in Poznań, sponsored by Poland’s six-month EU presidency.
Roma children, photo:A.Skieterska
The delegates will be debating equality as a factor in regional development, developing regional and local partnerships and the use of EU funds for the implementation of anti-discriminatory policy in relation to minorities, including the Roma and Sinti communities.
Elzbieta Radziszewska, the Polish Government’s Plenipotentiary for Equality, has said that the Roma population in Poland numbers some 12, 000 people. Most of the Roma families are in the low-income bracket.
The parents want to send their children to special schools for children with learning problems in order to get financial support, even though they should attend ordinary schools. According to Radziszewska, this is a major problem in Poland.
The Equality Summit is one of the events of the Polish presidency in the European Union. A joint declaration is to be adopted tomorrow, in which EU countries will commit themselves to introduce anti-discriminatory measures at regional and local level.
The summit is attended by delegations from the 27 member EU states, representatives of the European Commission and of NGOs. (mk)