1. Inclusion of Roma communities:
Issues and research directions
Migration Research Seminar
Manchester Metropolitan University
Monday 9th July 2012
Philip Brown
The University of Salford

2. This presentation
Who are Roma
The situation of Roma across the EU
Research currently being undertaken
Emerging issues

3. Who are Roma?
New term – chosen at the World Romani
Congress held in 1971
Describes a diverse range of communities
Ancestors originating from northern India but
also indigenous groups such as Irish Travellers
and Yenish communities from France and
Switzerland
Inclusive and homogenising

4. Who are Roma?
Four different types of Roma communities (EC,
2010) namely:
• Those living in disadvantaged, highly concentrated (sub)urban districts,
possibly close to other ethnic minorities and disadvantaged members of
the majority;
• Those living in disadvantaged parts of small cities/villages in rural
regions and in segregated rural settlements isolated from majority
cities/villages;
• mobile Roma communities with citizenship of the country or of another
EU country;
• mobile and sedentary Roma communities who are third-country
nationals, refugees, stateless persons or asylum seekers (p.3-4).

5. Numbers of Roma
Difficult to know with any robustness
Largest ethnic minority groups in Europe with
more than 10million people
Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, the Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and
Hungary - Roma people make up between 7%
and 10% of the total population.

6. Social exclusion of Roma
Deep social exclusion characterised by combining a lack of
involvement in:
• democratic and legal systems,
• the labour market,
• the welfare state
• familial and (local) community networks
Commins (1993)
General agreement that this applies to Roma across Europe
(Bartlett, Benini, and Gordon, 2011: ERIO, 2010)
Several key domains with a context of social policy: housing,
segregation, health, children and education, work and welfare

7. Key issues to note
Widespread social exclusion and discrimination in many nations
across Europe.
A lack of mixing between many Roma and non Roma people.
Entrenched mistrust and hostility towards Roma among sections of
the majority populations across Europe.
Indications of mistrust from Roma populations towards non Roma
officials and members of the non-Roma population.
Varied (and variable) response in respect of policies designed to
tackle the social exclusion of Roma and / or the promotion of
integration between Roma and non-Roma populations across EU
states
An increased awareness of, and commitment to, challenging the
problems faced by Roma at the European level.

8. Research currently being undertaken
Roma SOURCE (Sharing of Understanding Rights and
Citizenship in Europe)
• Two year project (2011-2013) co-funded by the European
Union’s Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme.
• Largely practice based project lead by Migration Yorkshire
• Our research component:
– Policy review
– Empirical research (focus groups with Roma and non-Roma
in 6 EU states)
– Health, housing, integration and mixing, education, work
and welfare

9. Research currently being undertaken
Roma in the UK
• One year project (ends 2013) funded by the Joseph
Rowntree Charitable Trust
• Collate what is known about Roma (population size,
origins, approach by local authorities and areas) across the
UK
• Comprehensive survey approach to all UK local authorities
supported by key informant interviews to provide:
– A comprehensive data source
– Understand local strategies
– Identify barriers and gaps
– Development of UK Roma Network

10. Next steps and key deliverables…
Initial Roma SOURCE interim report already available
from http://www.romasource.eu/
Interim findings from survey due early August
Final report due in Autumn
Network currently being developed (by partners
Migration Yorkshire)
Final Roma SOURCE report and papers due March 2013

11. Contact
Philip Brown
Salford Housing & Urban Studies Unit
The University of Salford
Joule House
+44(0)161 2953647
p.brown@salford.ac.uk
@shusuphil
http://drphilbrown.com/
Thank You!