GOOD PRACTICE 26 SERBIA - PROVIDING INNOVATIVE EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS FOR ROMA: SWIFT SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE

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1 GOOD PRACTICE 26 SERBIA - PROVIDING INNOVATIVE EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS FOR ROMA: SWIFT SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE Region Belgrade Municipality Zvezdara Action type Providing innovative employment solutions for Roma people excluded from the formal labour market through a sustainable waste management initiative, and assisting these persons in obtaining identity cards and their full enjoyment of citizenship rights, while also addressing environmental protection issues related to waste. Level of the good practice demonstrated

2 Contact organisation WHO Project Office Serbia Sumatovacka str Belgrade Republic of Serbia Themes Environment, Documents, Citizenship, Employment, Health Keywords ID documents, job creation, participation, recycling, Social cooperative Duration (start/end) Nov dec 2012 In progress Non Scale local Context Informal waste collectors; New waste management legislation; Organised as a social cooperative; 4 Roma settlements on the territory of Zvedara municipality as a primary target audiences with wider inclusion of people from other Roma settlements on the territory of Belgrade; 179 Cooperative members and members of their families directly included; The project also affected wider Roma population through advocacy for systematic solutions for access to health insurance and documents. Description Innovative employment solutions for Roma people excluded from formal labour market Obtaining identity cards and citizenship rights (access to health, education, employment & social protection) Addressing environmental protection issues related waste Social Determinants of Health Top down/bottom up and cross sectoral Additional documents available Oui Partners Civil society, including Roma community, European institutions, governmental, local or regional If the action was developed within the framework of a European project SWIFT 1 is a pilot project that was completed in December 2012 was financed by the Norwegian government. SWIFT 2 and 3 that are currently being implementedare are financed by the EU IPA funds and Swedish government. Does the policy respond to a EU request and/or refer to EU Directive? Non Method used

3 - Establishment of a formal waste recycling centre (SWIFT Centre) Integration of current informal waste recycling into regional waste management plans and developments Improvement in management and organizational capacity Improvement of efficiency and recycling rates Upgrading the social, health, educational, personal documentation and working conditions of those involved. Technical resources 4 Human resources 5 Financial resources 4 Participation Roma people were founders of the Cooperative and are now 95% of its members. All employees at this moments are Roma and the director of the Cooperative is Roma. Members of local Roma NGOs and representatives from the communities were engaged in the assessment phase and later in the social mobilization. Also, bodies for Roma issues in local government level were taking part in Project Coordination Unit. Several Roma consultants were hired in different phases of the project. Results obtained 38 people (24% women) have been employed with the Cooperative on a permanent, temporary and ad hoc basis for 327 months (end September 2012) 22 on permanent (294 months) 10 on temporary (28 months) 6 on adhoc (5 months) 105 people (33 members/ 72 Non members, 16% women) are engaged in buyback with the cooperative where they provide waste materials for fair purchase rates, while also being encouraged to join the cooperative and being provided with assistance on social matters. Gender positive discrimination is applied 5 women are/were permanently employed. 1 woman temporarily employed 3 women on ad hoc employment. As of September 30th 2012 the cooperative has 179 members who at any time can come to the cooperative for assistance with documentation and access to services issues. These persons are offered employment opportunities as they arise. Long-term perspectives and sustainability of the action Currently, the SWIFT Cooperative is self-sustainable in terms of covering expenditures, including salaries.

4 Sustainability of the project appears to be very strong considering following items: Lessons learned from this pilot project will feed into expansion of the project activities through SWIFT 2 and 3 and in neighboring countries Support of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Environment and Spatial Planning Support of the City of Belgrade SWIFT Technical Advisory Boards are well represented with key and relevant partners in the government, City and community Further expansion of potentially six more centers in Serbia SWIFT is in alignment with all legal and policy requirements SWIFT supports all the Millennium Development Goals and EU accession priorities. As a replication of SWIFT 1, three projects have been developed: SWIFT 2 : Initially planed 2 additional recycling centres on the territory of Belgrade, but due to the problems with the allocation of land now one centre( in Palilula municipality) and eight collection points will be established. They will cater to informal waste collectors resettled from former slums Gazela and Belvile and people from host municipalities where those were resettled. Centre and collection points will be established until the end of SWIFT 3: 4 recycling centres and 20 collection points will be established through 2013 and 2014 outside of Belgrade. Establishment of centres already started in the municipalities Surcin and Sremska Mitrovica and one collection point is operational. Shortly work on the establishment of other two centres (Novi Sad and probably Nis) will continue. While not under SWIFT, similar project is being developed (and WHO took part in it) in Novi Pazar (south-west Serbia), where, among other activities that target vulnerable populations, recycling centre will be established in This centre will be placed in Roma settlement Blazevo (suburb of Novi Pazar) where native Roma and internally displaced people from Kosovo live. What are the keys to success of this action?

5 Top down and bottom up approach involving multilateral stakeholders from Government, NGOs, UN, local governance and the Roma community. What were the main difficulties encountered? Waste management legislation still not fully implemented, creating unequal position on the market for companies that comply with regulations. Legislation on social cooperatives still not in place that would support business run by people from vulnerable populations. What would you recommend to those carrying out a similar action? Good Business plan and market research. * Identification of reliable and suitable founding members * Professional management for the business * Extended support not only for initial phase, but throughout the following phases until the Cooperative reach maturity Evaluation process External evaluation performed in December Action validated as a good practice by The project has been validated by the General Secretary of the United Nations and has been submitted as a good practice by the World Health Organization (WHO) Office in Serbia. Validated by Other More The project has been validated by the Secretary General of the United Nations and by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Diffusion resources Material, Publication or report, Website Internet Publication or report Final Report of the Social Exclusion Vulnerability & Disadvantage Task Group Review of social determinants of health and the health divide in the WHO EURO region Due for publication Material SWIFT movie available on Action type

6 Powered by TCPDF ( Providing innovative employment solutions for Roma people excluded from the formal labour market through a sustainable waste management initiative, and assisting these persons in obtaining identity cards and their full enjoyment of citizenship rights, while also addressing environmental protection issues related to waste. COE Good Practices and Policies Wednesday, January 16, :26