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In this chapter the authors portray the situation of the Roma population in Portugal as a changing picture. They present a description of the social situation and living conditions of the Roma people of Portugal through the systematisation of the main results obtained from research conducted recently as part of the ‘Strategy for the integration of Roma communities 2013–2020’ and give a detailed analysis of the educational dimension in various levels of education, highlighting a public policy created in 2016, the Operational Program for the Promotion of Education. This programme, inspired by a civil society project and converted into a public policy due to its innovative character, supports Roma students in higher education and is funded by the Office of the High Commissioner for Migration. The authors describe the Roma Communities in Portugal with special regard to their social situation, their culture and language. Then the authors present an analysis about the educational attainment of the Roma in Portugal and the most important policies and support programmes for Roma education, which are considered as the key to the social integration of Roma communities. Finally, they describe some successful programmes: the OPRE, RESCUR and Dreams Teens Programs.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training programmes targeting post‐graduate students.

The approach takes the form of a case study of an entrepreneurship training programme, to assess its effectiveness. For this purpose the paper concentrates on the number of firms created and industries chosen by individuals. Additionally, attention is focused on non‐starters, analysing the main reasons behind the decision not to set up a firm. Several sources were used to accomplish the objectives: an assessment report provided by the deliverers of the programme, an interview with the person responsible for the programme and interviews with programme participants.

Two editions of the programme “Começar” are closely scrutinized, including a self‐assessment made by developers of the programme. Results show a success rate of 41 per cent, but non‐starters benefit from the competencies developed in the programme, allowing them to change their careers or to increase their effectiveness in the labour market.

The paper presents some limitations. First, this programme is not compared at the same level of analysis, against others. The literature concludes that the entrepreneurial context is relevant in assessing the level of entrepreneurship. Second, a control group who had an idea but did not benefit from entrepreneurship assistance is not followed. Third, the timeframe of analysis is not too long. A longitudinal study will overcome this problem.

The case study can help promoters to design more effective programmes, especially those targeted at postgraduates. Combining classes with experience in the field could help young graduates to overcome their vulnerability which is due to their youthfulness and lack of work experience.

The paper identifies good practice in entrepreneurship training programmes. Additionally, it analyses the effectiveness of these programmes, measured by perceived effectiveness from the point of view of participants and by the number of firms created, an area so far characterized by scant research.

In this chapter, the author provides an overview of some central issues of the book. First she shows the similarities in the challenges to increase the participation and success of Roma people in education and lifelong learning in the selected European countries; then she discusses their policies and support programmes, which on the one hand try to improve the social situation of the Roma while promoting minority language and culture on the other hand. The author finds the reason for their similarities regarding the wording, defining and communicating and also concerning the main ideas and concrete projects for possible solutions, in the Roma inclusion policy of the European Union in the frame of the Open Method of Coordination, which has been introduced within the Lisbon Strategy, linked to the idea of lifelong learning. She considers the realisation of these policy measures at national, regional and local levels to have shown only unsatisfactory results until now.

This introduction from Andrea Óhidy and Katalin R. Forray provides a brief overview of the social and education situation of European Roma and also about the structure of this book. Roma are here described as a ‘hidden minority’ (see the country study about Italy from Valeria Cavioni), because – although they are the largest minority group living in Europe for more than a hundred years – we still know very little about them. Although most of the Roma people have been living for centuries in European countries, their situation is still different from the non-Roma population; they often suffered from poverty and exclusion. There is a host of Roma, especially in Southern and in Eastern Europe, who is considered to be the most disadvantaged group in European societies, for example, regarding their (1) health situation, (2) on the labour and (3) on the housing market and (4) also in education. Questions of education are the central elements of politics making the situation of Roma better. To fulfil these requirements some European countries have taken determined steps. As Natascha Hofmann in the country study about Germany wrote, we are in the phase of the ‘dawn of learning’ because there are more and more policies and programs to develop attainment and success of Roma in European education and lifelong learning. This book gives an overview about retrospective and prospective tendencies in the situation of European Roma in education and lifelong learning.