On 22–23 September 2026, we met in Herľany with our partner organisation, EMMA Egyesület from Hungary, to jointly plan the next two years of cooperation within the new RISE project – Respect, Inclusion, Stories and Empowerment.

During the two-day meeting, we focused on planning the project activities while also sharing our experiences of working with Roma women. We discussed how to create a safe space where Roma women can talk about their experiences, needs and the challenges they face in their everyday lives.

An important part of the project will be listening to and documenting the experiences of Roma women. These experiences will serve as a basis for further advocacy and legal work. We want to use their experiences to identify problems, inform legal analysis and advocate for the necessary systemic changes in Slovakia and at the international level.

Over the next two years, we look forward to joint work, meetings, sharing experiences and learning from one another. We believe that our cooperation with EMMA Egyesület will allow us to further strengthen the voices of Roma women and support their participation in processes that affect their lives and the exercise of their rights.

We look forward to the next two years of cooperation and to everything we will create together with our partners and, above all, with Roma women.

The RISE project is co-funded by the European Union.

The views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.