inclusion Archives

The right to education of minorities

The right to education of minorities: overview of States’ measures reported in the 10th Consultation on the 1960 Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education

Diversity in education should be seen as an asset as it has a great role to play for better cohesion, cultural diversity, economic benefit and inclusive societies. While their inclusion in society is key, persons belonging to minorities are often at risk of having their human rights violated and experiencing multiple discriminations.

As highlighted in the Vision Statement of the Secretary General during the Transforming Education Summit in 2022, the most vulnerable and marginalized – including persons belonging to minorities, are being left behind. As social tensions rise, minorities become more and more excluded from society because of persistent discrimination and exclusion – including exclusion from education.

However, access to inclusive and equitable quality education within a lifelong learning perspective is central to their effective and full inclusion in society. The target 4.5 of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 explicitly calls on States to ‘ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations, which includes minorities.

This document is part of a series of thematic reports on the implementation of the right to education, prepared by UNESCO based on the findings of the Tenth Consultation on the implementation of the 1960 Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education conducted in 2020-2021. It is intended to serve as a practical tool for both information sharing and advocacy.

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How to guarantee that the European Child Guarantee efficiently tackles Roma children’s poverty and inequality gap?

This European Network on Roma Inclusion (EURoma Network) reference document identifies critical aspects to consider in the context of the Child Guarantee National Action Plans and of the 2021-2027 programming period of the European Cohesion Policy Funds 2021-2027 (notably ESF+ and ERDF) in order to guarantee that they contribute to efficiently tackle the poverty and inequality gap currently faced by Roma children.

The explicit mention of Roma children as one of the groups facing particular disadvantages and, therefore, requiring special attention, in a mainstream instrument such as the Child Guarantee is an important step forward and and opportunity that should not be missed. It acknowledges the particular levels of inequality and disadvantage that this group faces across the EU and the need for a targeted commitment.

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Diveristy+ Charter: First steps towards diversity positive services

With the aim to support ECEC settings, leaders and professionals to identify and overcome these challenges, the Diversity+ project has launched the Diversity+ Charter: a set of minimum requirements that ECEC services and institutions have to meet to accommodate different types of diversity and be classified as inclusive and diversity positive (Diversity+).

Following the Council Recommendations on High Quality ECEC, the Diversity+ Charter is organised around five key areas: Access, Workforce, Curriculum, Monitoring and Evaluation and Governance for diversity inclusion. Each area contains a set of indicators defining what should be in place for Diversity+ ECEC.

The Charter invites ECEC managers and professionals to engage in a continuous discussion and critical reflection on their existing policies with the aim to ensure that all children, their families, and ECEC staff feel welcomed, valued and respected.

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Roma and Travellers in Six Countries

Category: Roma and Travellers | Types of resource: Survey Results | Year: 2020 | Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights |

Roma and Travellers living in western EU countries are less often in the limelight than those living in central, eastern and southern EU countries. While they represent a smaller proportion of the population in the west, they also face problems with social exclusion, marginalisation and discrimination.

This report presents findings from the survey conducted by FRA in 2019 covering Roma and Travellers populations in Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The survey included interviews with almost 4,700 Roma and Travellers, collecting information on more than 8,200 individuals living in their households. The findings present a bleak, but familiar, picture of discrimination and deprivation fuelled by anti-Gypsyism. Almost half of the Roma and Travellers surveyed felt discriminated against and experienced hate-motivated harassment, in the year before the survey.

The survey results presented here show the urgent need for the post-2020 Strategic EU Framework for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation to accelerate Roma inclusion efforts that can break the vicious cycle of social exclusion, discrimination and poverty that contributes to such disturbing results.

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Roma Early Childhood Inclusion + Bulgaria Report (2020)

The Republic of Bulgaria has endeavoured, over the last three decades, to address the stark injustices evident in the socioeconomic situation of the majority of its Roma citizens and as evidenced in the country’s National Roma Integration Strategy 2012–2020. These efforts have accelerated since 2007, when Bulgaria became a full member of the European Union (EU). At present, Bulgaria is making important steps towards creating a national framework for early childhood development, a goal that remains high on the national agenda, and towards developing a more integrated approach to support parents and children in the early years. This RECI+ Report carries the explicit intention of providing Bulgarian authorities and civil society with a timely and informed account of the situation of Bulgarian Roma children during early childhood, and, in so doing, supporting government and other relevant actors to ensure equal and unhindered access to inclusive and integrated quality education, health, and social care for young Roma children and their families.

Read the policy brief in English here.

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Inclusive Early Childhood Education Environment Self-Reflection Tool

This tool is intended to help improve settings’ inclusiveness and can be used by all professionals and staff to reflect on their setting’s inclusiveness, focusing on the social, learning and physical environment.

The tool was developed as part of the Inclusive Early Childhood Education (IECE) project, conducted by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education from 2015 to 2017 . The project’s overall goal was to identify, analyze and subsequently promote the main characteristics of quality IECE for all children.

Download on the Agency’s website in 26 languages.

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Balkan Barometer 2019

Category: ECD and Services | Types of resource: Research | Year: 2019 | Age focus: Three to six |

The Balkan Barometer is an annual survey of regional perceptions and attitudes across a wide array of social, political and economic factors impacting life in South East Europe (SEE). It includes comparable data on pre-primary education in different countries of the region.