The delegate of the Government in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, today highlighted the commitment of the Government of Spain to the integral promotion of the Roma community and the fight against the discrimination that this group continues to suffer.
Gómez de Diego has participated in the presentation of the results and impact of the Calí Program for the equality of gypsy women, a program funded by the European Social Fund, the Government of Spain and the Obra Social "la Caixa".
The delegate congratulated the Fundación Secretariado Gitano for the development of this program, which has already improved the socio-labor integration of almost 5,000 Gypsy women and combat the multiple discrimination they suffer.
During his speech, Gómez de Diego also highlighted the importance of the evaluation of public programs, as a tool to assess their real impact and improve their effectiveness. In this regard, he pointed out that the Government of Spain is working to promote the culture of evaluation in the public administration.
Memory and Reconciliation with the Gypsy People
As part of the Government of Spain’s commitment to the integral promotion of the Gypsy community, the Government delegate recalled the recent creation of a Working Commission on Memory and Reconciliation with the Gypsy People in Spain.
The objective of the commission will be to prepare a report on the measures necessary to apply principles of truth, justice and reparation in relation to the historical situation of the Gypsy people in Spain.
Gómez de Diego pointed out that the creation of this commission is "one more step to restore the dignity of the gypsy people and ensure that there are equal opportunities and freedom for all." “For the Government of Spain, it is a priority to continue advancing rights for the gypsy people and we will continue to do so with the participation of this community in the institutional spaces,” he said.
Finally, the Government delegate reiterated the commitment of the Government of Spain to the fight against discrimination and social exclusion suffered by Roma citizens, and stressed that the Executive of Pedro Sánchez will continue to work to address the historical and current injustices faced by the Roma people and to build a more just and egalitarian society.
The institutional inauguration of the event was attended by the territorial director of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, Rosa Pérez; the general director of Social Inclusion, Family and Equality, Tamara González, and the territorial manager of Cantabria Fundación “La Caixa”, Irene Agudo.
Calí program
The Calí Program is a statewide initiative that seeks to improve the socio-labor inclusion of Roma women in situations of social vulnerability. It is implemented thanks to a team of 32 professionals, techniques in equality mostly of gypsy ethnicity, together with a team of 2 professionals of state coordination, and it is developed in 14 Autonomous Communities and 30 localities.
The recipients of this intervention are Gypsy women, plural and diverse, who are at greater disadvantage and especially at risk of discrimination, so that they are affected by barriers where different factors converge, such as gender and ethnicity, low educational levels, social and economic circumstances of special vulnerability and high family burdens, all of which generate situations of intersectional discrimination.