Roma Population on the Peripheries of the Visegrad Countries [antikvár]

FOREWORD'Roma population on the peripheries of the Visegrád countries' is the title of the project initiated by the Department of Social Geography and Regional Development Planning in the University of Debrecen (Hungary), the Institute of Sociology in the University of Miskolc (Hungary), the Department of Geography in the University of Presov in Presov (Slovakia), the Institute of Geography and Spatial Management in the Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Poland) and the Department of Geography in the J. E. Purkinje University in Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic). The one year project was financed and supported by the Standard Grant (no. 21120080) of the International Visegrád Fund (IVF). This co-operation of partners would not have been realized without the help of the IVF and this is a possibility to express our thankfulness to the Fund.The research project aimed to illustrate the spatial distribution and social status of Roma people in the peripheral areas of the Visegrád countries with attention to the potential breaking points. The experiences about the situation and particular problems of the Roma population in the investigated territory were discussed in international conferences within the framework the project. Common research methodology was harmonized by the different aspects of inquiry. The contents of the presentations were published and disclosed to the public society in the form of volumes (like this copy) in order to support the closing up of the population living in the peripheries of the investigated territory.The closing conference of the project took place in Miskolc-Tapolca (29-30 October 2012), where the experiences of the researches were presented and discussed. In the current volume, not only the written forms of the presentations were edited, but some more studies were collected in order to make the analysis of this issue more comprehensive. Some case studies tried to focus on the possible solutions of the social problems (mainly the deep poverty that often creates a vicious circle for complete communities and generations). More studies listed the most important elements of the integration of the Roma population. The current volume will not solve these problems, but it provides additional basis for further steps and it represents some case studies of successful initiatives that might be installed somewhere else on the peripheries of the Visegrád countries.The Respected Reader can find basic studies in connection with the presentations about the following topics in the current volume: 'Integration Issues'; 'Identity and Advocacy' and 'Possible Solutions'. These analyses try to support the decision-makers and stakeholders of the 'close' and 'distant' Europe as well in order to make established and appropriate steps to change the situation of the peripheries and especially its Roma population in the Visegrád countries.