While it is still too early to talk about the ultimate impact of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, OSI’s EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP) invited independent authors to assess experiences to date and the lessons that can be learned. Two rounds of papers are now available that analyze the merits and flaws of the Roma Decade so far. The scope of the seven papers includes comparative analyses and presentations of national case studies.

Part I, "Learning from the Past: A Critical Look at Policy Experience and the Prospects for the Roma Decade," comprises the following three articles, which are available for download below.

• "The Decade of Roma Inclusion: Between Hopes, Glitches, and Failures," Valeriu Nicolae, Deputy Director, European Roma Information Office (ERIO)
• "The Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Romani Communities: From Form to Substance?" Eben Friedman, Regional Representative, European Centre for Minority Issues/Macedonia
• "The Missing Link: Monitoring and Evaluation of Roma-Related Policies in Slovakia," Martina Kubánová, Coordinator, Slovak Governance Institute (SGI)

All papers can also be accessed at www.eumap.org/journal/features/2005/romadec.