The aspect of culture in the social inclusion of ethnic minorities: evaluation of the impact of inclusion policies under the open method of co-ordination in the European Union ; assessing the cultural policies of six member states ; final report Czech Republic

Abstract

'The social exclusion of members of ethnic minorities is viewed as a serious political problem that carries the potential danger of escalating ethnic violence. Consequently, EU member countries are looking for tools to help to prevent that happening. We understand social integration as a multi-dimensional process involving the integration of the individual into the broader social structures (social groups) of a given society and culture. Current social integration NAPs appraise differences in the populations of EU member countries using socio-economic indicators (gross domestic product, rates of employment and unemployment, poverty etc.) but they usually miss the cultural dimension. As far as the Czech Republic is concerned, cultural policy is a matter for the Ministry of Culture whereas social inclusion matters fall within the competence of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. This Ministry supports research into social integration including that of ethnic minorities, particularly, as far as this report is concerned, the Roma community. Other state institutions play a complementary role within the inclusion process. Every ministry has its own concepts and distributes financial resources to projects in respective areas. The aim of this report is to provide a description of the concepts and policies towards and the current situation of national minorities and the Roma and foreign communities as regards participation, education and mass media publicity. These relatively independent populations occupy different positions in society and, in some cases, have different legal status so that different policies are required to bring about their social inclusion. Cost effectiveness analysis was limited in our report to educational policies concerning the Roma only, an approach which was agreed at the workshop in Flensburg. The measurement of cost effectiveness in the areas of participation and media policy is extremely complex due to the multilevel influences of social processes. In addition, finding the relevant indicators for an evaluation of the success of various policies in designated areas is also not an easy task. The data available for the measurement of cost effectiveness is limited and insufficient. However, the data which was available on preparatory classes, education assistants and the support programme for higher education and university students showed that the approach adopted in these areas is generally effective. Moreover, education is a value in itself and any improvement in this area is, in today's modern knowledge society, generally desirable.' (author's abstract)