“Dosta !-Congress Prize for Municipalities”
The “DOSTA!-Congress Prize for municipalities” was launched in 2007 by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Dosta! Campaign as part of their ongoing work to strengthen the role of local authorities in the field of Roma and minority rights’ protection. “Dosta” is a Romani word meaning “enough”.
This Prize is awarded every two years to municipalities from Council of Europe member states that have implemented innovative and creative initiatives to effectively ensure the long-term integration of the Roma communities within their borders, while respecting the diversity of these communities and ensuring their active participation in local democratic life.
The top three projects receive the Dosta!-Congress Prize for Municipalities during a ceremony organised on the occasion of the Congress Plenary Session which takes place at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Winners
The 1st edition of the Dosta!-Congress Prize was held in 2007 and opened to South-Eastern European members only. Three cities were rewarded for their involvement in favor of Roma inclusion:
- Vitez (Bosnia and Herzegovina) : 1st Prize
- Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) : 2nd Prize
- Novi Sad (Serbia) : 3rd Prize
Since its 2nd edition, the Dosta!-Congress Prize has been opened to all the municipalities from the 47 Council of Europe member states. Thus, for the 2008 edition of the Prize, four municipalities were rewarded :
- Mostar and Prijedor (Bosnia Herzegovina) : 1st joint Prize
- Volos (Greece) : 2nd Prize
- Lom (Bulgaria) : 3rd Prize
The 3rd edition of the Dosta!-Congress Prize was held in 2011 and again four communities have been awarded for their involvement:
- City of Jyväskylä (Finland) and Surčin, City of Belgrade (Serbia) : 1st joint Prize
- Comunidad de Madrid (Spain) : 2nd Prize
- Southwark Council, Greater London (United Kingdom) : 3rd Prize
In 2013, the 4th Dosta!-Congress Prize has been awarded to three local and regional authorities which were distinguished for their participatory and innovative work in combating anti-Gypsyism and promoting the inclusion of Roma in political and social life. Winners were :
- Obrnice (Czech Republic) : 1st Prize
- Heraklion (Greece) : 2nd Prize
- Regional authority of Kocaeli (Turkey) : 3rd Prize
The 5th edition of the Dosta!-Congress Prize will be held in 2015. Awarded authorities will receive their Prize during a ceremony on the occasion of the Congress’ 29th Plenary Session which will take place at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in October 2015.
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