Work with the municipalities of Apatin and Vrnjačka Banja within the project "EU Support to Improvement of Living Conditions of Roma" has led to the formation of Mobile Units in these local governments. This expert advisory body was formed in Apatin by the decision of the Municipal Council at the end of November 2020 and will function as an expert body of the Municipal Council, while the Mobile Unit in Vrnjačka Banja was formed at the beginning of December 2020, as an expert body of the Mayor.
Both mobile units will work to improve cross-sectoral cooperation at the local level, in order to ensure better access to services and easier realization of the rights of Roma. Representatives of the Office for Roma Issues/ the Roma Coordinator, the Center for Social Work, educational institutions, the health center, the local branch of the NES, as well as representatives of the civil sector will be involved in the work of the Mobile Units.
Although both municipalities have been actively working to support the Roma, have experience in the field of Roma inclusion, and even experience in the implementation of projects related to inclusion, so far the municipalities have not had a Mobile Unit for Social Inclusion of Roma. By forming the Unit, as a mechanism of horizontal coordination of various institutions at the local level, support for the processes of Roma inclusion will be organized in a systematic way.
Mobile units for social inclusion of Roma will, among other things, work on preparing and implementing the local action plan for social inclusion of Roma (LAP), will be tasked with examining the needs and gathering data on the Roma community, informing the Roma population about rights before institutions, launching initiatives for social inclusion of Roma based on identified needs of the Roma community, as well as exchange information relevant for improvement of position of the Roma.
The team of experts on the project will continue to support both local governments in the coming period by working on raising the capacity of members of Mobile Units through mentoring and various trainings, and both units will have full support in preparing new LAPs.
In addition to working on establishing an institutional and strategic framework for the inclusion of Roma, the Municipality of Apatin will receive additional support - the project will prepare technical documentation for the vacuum sewer for the settlement of Sonta.