Roma Toy Library Network – A Community for Roma Parents
(Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Republic of North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia)
The Roma Education Fund (REF) is an international foundation established in 2005 providing grants to reduce the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma and contribute directly to UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 on “Quality Education”. One of REF’s most successful initiatives in countries with Roma populations have been Toy Libraries. In June 2016, REF organised the first International Toy Libraries Conference for practitioners working in Roma communities and also established the first Roma Network of Toy Libraries. By 2017, REF had supported approximately 40 Toy Libraries in Central and Eastern Europe reaching around 1,450 families and 4,600 children.
This material is part of a compilation of various case studies from across Europe that show different facets of early childhood development, and the types of policies and interventions that we are promoting through the ‘First Years, First Priority’ campaign. Published in December 2020.