During 8 years of Advocacy and Participation programs, IRCA achieved to build friendly, trusting relationships; to empower Roma in particular youth by equipping them with skills to speak up for themselves and to start to make choices in the society, building their confidence and capacity to be an equal participant in discussions and decisions with state and non state institutions providing their professional inputs on laws, decisions, strategies, studies, reports etc
As a result, our staff and beneficiaries have achieved to develop policy briefs and provide recommendations through IRCA staff and Roma Mediators, to ministries and local governments on areas concerning youth, employment, civil registration and housing, education and intercultural dialogue which have been guiding the governments work for example for preparing the Youth Strategy, the Housing strategy, Law of Volunteerism, preparing the National Action Plan for Roma integration 2016-2021, and Local Action Plan For Roma in regions of Fier, Korca, Berat and Gjirokastra. We have been working closely and provided inputs and working closely with the National Committee for Minority and with 3 Roma Youth, which were members of Municipality Councils in Fier, Berat and Elbasan.
Our staff and associated partners and beneficiaries have been involved in organizing important Conferences, meetings and Open Lectures inviting the relevant actors from central and local governments with the supports of EU Delegation, USA Embassy etc, to attract the attention of media and institutions on the problems affecting Roma.
One of our main program was “Roma Local Mediator: implemented from 5 years in 8 Roma neighborhoods in Fier region with the support OSFA, USA Embassy and WEBER Program. The idea of Roma local mediator was to build a bridge between Roma communities and local institutions and to facilitate Roma access in public services, and in April 2017, IRCA with this project get the first prize by the European Commission between the Roma organizations, under the Roma Award in Western Balkans and Turkey.