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In this chapter, Andrea Óhidy discusses some pivotal issues of the book. Firstly, she shows the common challenges for current and future EU-member states to increase the participation and success of Roma people in education and lifelong learning. Then she discusses policy strategies and measures for Roma Inclusion in the Western Balkan states Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. They try to improve the social situation of Roma people but also to promote minority languages and cultures. She found the main cause of the similarities concerning the strategies and concrete projects for possible solutions in the adaptation of the EU Roma inclusion policy in the Western Balkan states as part of their negotiations for EU membership. She considers the implementation of these policy measures and also the educational attainment and success of Roma in the Western Balkans unsatisfactory.

Key international and intergovernmental organizations assess the size of the Roma population in Serbia to be around 4–600.000, rendering Serbia among the five countries in Europe with the highest percentage of Roma population. Although Roma in Serbia have a long history of self-organization, cultural and media organizations, and are formally recognized as national minorities with a National Council of the Roma National Minority as a body with political decision-making influence, the Roma community in Serbia, as in most other European countries, is the most disadvantaged and underprivileged group in the country, often living in underdeveloped neighbourhoods with limited access to social services, especially education and health.

The educational attainment of the Roma population in Serbia, as in other countries in Europe, is far below the attainment of the general population. The education indicators are showing a developing trend, albeit slow. Roma integration policies evolved in Serbia from the early 2000s in the general policy framework of Equity of Education and Inclusive Education and a comprehensive education reform agenda, promoted and legally endorsed by the 2009 Law on the Foundations of the Education System. As the consequence of such an approach, the Roma integration policies intertwined and mutually reinforced with other reform policy areas. The most important post-2000 policies supporting the integration of Roma students into education are the introduction of pedagogical assistants in elementary schools and preschool institutions as a profession, paid from the budget, abolishing the system of school readiness assessment, introducing individual education plans and intensifying affirmative action and scholarships for enrolment in secondary and tertiary education.

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.

In this chapter, Natascha Hofmann discusses the policy measures for improving the (education) situation of Roma in Europe. It concentrates on the post-war turning points and corresponding discourses before reviewing aims, outcomes and legacies of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 proclaimed by the European Union (EU). According to Hofmann the past decades reveal a shift in the discourse of how Roma living conditions and perspectives are perceived in Europe. Reasons for that can be seen in processes referring to fields of bottom-up movements of Roma organisations, top-down approaches of the EU and its member states, shifting borders and the implementation of human rights. Outcomes of the Decade of Roma Inclusion show the importance of educational achievements, but also the importance of educational work of mentors and mediators within the communities and within the regional and national societies. Regarding the bottom-up movement of Roma organisations there seems to be a generation change not only regarding educational achievements but also by dealing with being visible as Roma and by promoting new narratives of being Roma.

In this chapter, Natascha Hofmann discusses the policy measures for improving the (education) situation of Roma in Europe. It concentrates on the post-war turning points and corresponding discourses before reviewing aims, outcomes and legacies of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 proclaimed by the European Union (EU). According to Hofmann, the past decades reveal a shift in the discourse of how Roma living conditions and perspectives are perceived in Europe. Indications that underpin that argument can be found in processes referring to fields of bottom-up movements of Roma organisations, top-down approaches of the EU and its member states, shifting borders and the implementation of human rights. Outcomes of the Decade of Roma Inclusion show not only the importance of educational achievements, but also the importance of educational work of mentors and mediators within the communities and within the regional and national societies. Regarding the bottom-up movement of Roma organisations, there seems to be a generation change not only regarding educational achievements, but also by dealing with being visible as Roma and promoting new narratives of being Roma.

This paper aims to identify the successful strategies, through literature review, to be used in Kosovo to help integrate the Roma community and to reduce the community’s overall social exclusion. This paper further examines the gaps between strategies and implementation results in reducing the social exclusion of the Roma through experiences of other European countries with similar political and socio-economic history as Kosovo.

This paper uses a literature review and further examines the experiences of other European countries, with similar political and socio-economic history as Kosovo and their strategies in eliminating the social exclusion for Roma communities. A holistic socio-ecological approach is used as a recommended model to be used for the development of a strategy to reduce social exclusion among Roma Communities in Kosovo.

The social and economic implications are extremely negative for countries with large Roma minorities, such as Western Balkan countries and the European Union (EU) as a whole. Roma inclusion policies both in the EU and Western Balkans contain considerable flaws and tend to ignore the variables of discrimination and antigypsyism. There is an obvious need to act more urgently to prevent the exclusion of Roma and to create strategies for better inclusion. Overall, gaps seem to remain between the strategies and implementation results.

This paper aims to add to the existing literature about the ongoing efforts of the international development assistance community and communities in the developing world. This paper also aims to show the gaps in ongoing efforts and provide generic recommendations that may be applicable in many diverse situations with the aim of leading communities toward a self-sufficient sustainable future.

The Kosovo anti-discrimination law protects all individuals from discrimination; however, in practice, studies show that the Roma exclusion is very high in Kosovo. This paper stands among the first to analyze comparative literature and policy reviews.

In this chapter, Andrea Óhidy 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. She 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 educational situation of Roma in the Western Balkan region and the structure of this book. Like in the books Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Central and Eastern Europe (2019) and Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Western and Southern Europe (2020), Roma are here described as a ‘hidden minority’ (Cavioni, 2020, p. 68), because despite the great number and the century-long history of Roma people on the European continent, there is still only limited information and knowledge about them, both in public awareness and scientific research. Although most members of the Roma minority have been living for centuries in their European home countries, their situation is still different from the non-Roma populations: They often suffer from socio-economic disadvantages and hate-motivated harassment and discrimination (EU-FRA, 2020a). This is not only the case in the member-states of the European Union but also in the Western Balkan region. All across Europe, there are Roma groups, which are considered to be the most disadvantaged minority, regarding their health, employment and housing and also in education. To increase their situation, European Union member states have developed common strategies, which play a part in negotiations for an EU-membership status. The so-called Western Balkan states – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – might join the European Union in the coming years. The social inclusion of the Roma minority and the protection of their minority rights in these countries were formulated as a precondition for their application for EU membership. Therefore, several goals, policies and measures were implemented there to break the ‘vicious circle of poverty and discrimination’ (EU-FRA, 2020b). Participation in education and lifelong learning have become central elements of these political measures for Roma Inclusion. This book examines the education situation of Roma across the so-called Western Balkan region.

This paper aims to compare the health status of Roma in Europe and Aborigines in Australia, examining access to health care (both primary and long‐term), administrative and communication problems, environmental risks associated with location of residences, women's health, substance abuse and mental health.

The paper discusses issues generated by cultural practices by both health care providers and the target groups.

Both Roma and Australian Aborigines have significantly poorer health status than the majority of the societies they are embedded in, and are clearly amongst the most disadvantaged members of their respective societies. Nevertheless, affirmative action programs for Aboriginal people over the last 40 years have produced some significant changes, with Aboriginal doctors and nurses, and culturally appropriate service provision being found in many areas.

Although there are considerable similarities between the health status and situation of Romanies and Australian Aborigines, clearly, there are also substantive differences. The paper suggests possible culturally appropriate service provision for Roma, based on Australian Aboriginal experiences and models.

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.