On the eve of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and the first Convention of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion on 17 October 201, AGE and ERIO have launched a joint paper which looks in detail at those obstacles encountered by older Roma to access education, work-related training or employment, attain an adequate income in old age or to provide themselves with decent housing conditions and the health care and social support they need as they grow older.
This paper builds on existing work done by AGE and ERIO to raise awareness of the problems and difficulties that older Roma face in today’s society, drawing on a series of interviews carried out in 2010 for AGE by a Roma researcher, Maryana Borisova, carried out a study for AGE among older Roma living in four European countries where varying socio-economic conditions prevail: Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, and Poland. A few Bulgarian older Roma living in Belgium were also interviewed
AGE and ERIO believe that the various political levels can each play a different but complementary role in supporting the inclusion and wellbeing of older Roma. As a key step towards this objective, we stress the importance of ensuring that older Roma are integrated within all EU initiatives on Roma inclusion and considered as part of the target groups in the forthcoming 2012 European Year on Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations.
For further details, please contact Rachel Buchanan, Policy Officer for Employment and Non-Discrimination, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The position paper is available here.
Last Updated on Friday, 14 October 2011 17:12
