As the Roma RISE project approaches its final stage, more than 40 participants joined the project’s International Online Roundtable on 30 September 2026 to reflect on its achievements, exchange experiences and, most importantly, discuss what should come next.
The event brought together Roma activists, civil society representatives, experts, project partners and other stakeholders from across Europe. Moderated by Envina Xhemi from ANOA, the roundtable opened with a welcome from Dr Béla Kardon of RCISD, coordinator of Roma RISE.
The roundtable gave space to personal and professional reflection. Dr Argyro Moumtzidou shared what participation in Roma RISE had meant from the perspective of ARSIS and the Roma community it works with, while Nikolay Kirilov and Béla Rácz contributed keynote reflections and questions that opened the wider discussion among participants.
Throughout Roma RISE, training and international exchange have been accompanied by communication activities, engagement with Roma role models and opportunities for young people to make their voices more visible. The project has sought not simply to bring young people together, but to encourage them to take knowledge and experience back to their national groups and communities — moving from learning, to sharing, to action.
The International Roundtable offered an opportunity to look back at this journey, but also to look beyond the formal end of the project. The training materials and methodology can be reused; the experiences can be shared; and, most importantly, the relationships and networks created through Roma RISE can continue. The project may be approaching its end, but the voices, knowledge and connections created through Roma RISE do not have to end with it.
