2019 signaled the close of the Montenegro representative office. The branch office (along with REF Serbia) was instrumental in managing a multi-year joint project that has achieved high levels of success and institutionalization of all core activities.
In 2012, REF Montenegro branch office joined a consortium established by Help (Help – Hilde zur Selbsthilfe e.V), which aimed to increase the complex integration process of Podgorica Konik Camps’ inhabitants. In the context of three programs entitled “Assistance Program for Integration and Return of RAE and Other I / DPs Residing in the Konik Area” Phase I and Phase II and “Promotion and protection of human rights of RE and other vulnerable groups” REF designed and implemented a set of actions aimed at achieving desegregation and educational integration of Roma and Egyptians (RE) children living in the Konik Camp area in Podgorica and Montenegro. The program was financially supported by both the European Commission’s Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds, the government of Montenegro and with significant financial support from REF.Six months into the implementation of the project, REF branched out to include RE living in the wider area of Podgorica and in the two municipalities of Nikšić and Berane. By the end of 2018, all three phases of the project were successfully implemented through the application of REF’s five models of inclusion: 1) ECD and TL Program, 2) Literacy program for mothers, 3) Primary Education and Desegregation, 4) SSMP and 5) Adult Education.
The Project component integrated practical assistance and effective and efficient mechanisms to combat discrimination and the creation of conditions in which RE can exercise all minority rights, with a focus on the education and employment systems. The project was also innovative in its approach of women empowerment as a lead in supporting the processes for developing the knowledge and skills of Roma mothers as women and as parents, in order to indirectly support their children’s education. In its work, REF applied a two-line approach: a) Gender mainstreaming in all its programs and activities and b) Gender-specific programming aimed at reducing specific gender inequalities.
As a result of the activities implemented by REF and its partners in Montenegro, the access of RE children and youth to education has significantly improved, the number of RE children enrolled in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools increased, and the gap between education of RE and non-RE children has decreased in all involved municipalities. For the full list of achievements per areas of interventions please click here (page 3).
REF MNE used the last months of implementation of the EU program to lobby the relevant institutions in the country and EU Delegation towards making the project components institutionalized. REF MNE managed to institutionalise the following components of the program: SSMP was taken over by the Ministry of Education; the REF-supported kindergarten is now financed by the city of Podgorica; the two implemented toy libraries were taken over by the schools in which they facilities were originally hosted.
Despite the closure of the REF Representative office in Montenegro, REF has continued monitoring project related actions in the country in order to ensure that institutionalization was successfully carried out and is sustainable. In this regard, REF remains open for technical support and cross-country knowledge exchange as part of its phasing out strategies.
For a detailed overview of implemented activities and achievements, please click here.
