20 Years of successful Roma integration in Spain supported by the ESF+

The Fundación Secretariado Gitano, the implementer of the Acceder Program since 2000 in Spain, has organized an event to present the impact evaluation of its program. The event, titled “20 years promoting the employment for the Roma community with the European Social Fund (ESF)”, took place in Brussels on June 6, 2023.

The organizers presented the results and described their work’s positive impact on improving the lives of Roma people. The aim of the event was to share keys to success and lessons learned that other project implementers could learn from.

Funded by the ESF 20 years ago, Acceder currently promotes the advancement of Roma people in 14 regions and 61 communities across Spain. According to the recently-published evaluation report presented during the June 6 event, the EU-funded program boasts impressive results in helping Roma people find and maintain quality employment and improving their quality of life and autonomy in Spain. The program gives Roma people access to the labour market by developing a personalised support model to create equal opportunities. As a result, over 82 000 people have been enrolled in labour-market inclusion pathways, with over 32 000 people (around 40 per cent of participants) finding a job. Through awareness campaigns, nearly 16 000 companies, private organizations and public authorities have collaborated to improve job opportunities and the quality of life for Roma people across the country. 

Agnė Buividavičiūtė, EURoma Network Coordinator at the European Competence Centre for Social Innovation, says: “The Acceder program is the perfect example of how awareness-raising and building equal opportunities through the development of a personalized support model can give tangible results and become an example.” 

The ESF and now the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) focus on social transformation and awareness of the needs of vulnerable groups, such as Roma people, enabling tailored responses to the needs of each group. ESF+ funding allows many organisations to continue their work on guaranteeing equal opportunities for people facing barriers to social inclusion and employment.