The elimination of housing segregation and the improvement of the life quality of those living on estates were the topics of the international conference held on Thursday and Friday in Madrid, which was also attended by Zoltán Kovács, Minister of State for Social Inclusion at the Ministry of Human Resources, the State Secretariat told Hungarian news agency MTI on Friday.
Based on the communication, international examples were shared and experiences were exchanged by representatives of the countries concerned regarding the prevention of housing segregation and the management of already existing estates at the conference entitled Segregated Housing as a Human Rights Challenge.
The Minister of State stressed in his contribution that similar initiatives can only be successful with the involvement and partnership of stakeholders. Zoltán Kovács said that there is also a complex estate programme ongoing in Hungary at present, and cooperation-based initiatives have been launched to assist the residents of segregated estates.
The complex estate programme conducted as part of the New Széchényi Plan provides services for the entire locality which promote the inclusion of disadvantaged people and help their integration into the community’s life.
According to the communication, the programme has funding in excess of HUF 8 billion, and applicants are awarded funding in the magnitude of HUF 110-150 million on average for the implementation of their projects. With the aid of these programmes, the situation of hundreds of families living in segregated conditions may be improved. With the improvement of housing conditions, it is now possible to implement complex interventions, the communication reads.
(MTI – State Secretariat for Social Inclusion)
