DORI: Goals, Challenges, and Cultural Sustainability
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Date
2014-12
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MA in Cultural Sustainability
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Abstract
This research explores the Decade of Roma Inclusion initiative, with special attention given to the Hungarian government's initiatives as part of the Decade. The Decade of Roma Inclusion (DORI) is a transnational initiative which focuses on creating socioeconomic inclusion for Romani communities. Specifically the DORI focuses on the areas of housing, healthcare, education, and employment for Romani the participating nations. Along with a general exploration of the DORI, an analysis of its successes and failures in relation to its outlined priority areas is included in my research. I explore the possibility of using the core tenets of cultural sustainability as both a tool to gauge Roma agency and as a possible framework for future inclusionary policy work. I outline the key tenets of cultural sustainability as being the recognition of diversity as a strength and the use of culture as a tool for community well-being and as a lens in which to view socioeconomic considerations. Furthermore, I link cultural sustainability with social justice for Roma and, in turn, a new sense of cultural agency and representation. In applying a cultural lens to the Decade of Roma Inclusion, I determine that the initiative lacks in substantive cultural goals and indicators, which hinders the cultural well-being of Romani communities and further exacerbates the issues of racism, discrimination, and ingrained biases, which have led to exclusion. This research seeks to use a cultural sustainability paradigm to gauge both the effectiveness of inclusion as currently implemented and explore a new framework in which social justice, cultural diversity, and cultural sustainability are key priority areas.