The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma issues, is organising a Summit of Mayors on Roma on 22 September 2011 in the Palais de l’Europe, in Strasbourg (France).
The increasing discrimination against Roma in Europe and their social and economic marginalisation is a cause for concern. The High-Level Meeting convened by the Council of
Europe Secretary General last October highlighted the  importance of local and regional action to improve the situation of Roma.

Local and regional communities are the first to face the problems, and it is at the grassroots level where concrete and effective measures may be taken. The objective today
is to pull together the good practices and numerous activities for Roma inclusion carried out in our cities and regions.

To respond to this challenge, the Summit will bring together representatives of municipalities, regions and networks actively addressing the situation of Roma or interested in becoming involved, Roma organisations and elected representatives as well as other institutions concerned with this situation, in order to provide a cooperation framework for action in favour of Roma.

The Summit will focus on the relations between local and regional communities and Roma groups, with a particular emphasis on identifying concrete and innovative solutions to any problems encountered. The long-term objective is to create a pan-European network with the participation of the various actors, which will serve as a framework for channeling and coordinating the growing number of local and regional initiatives.