Brno, Czech Republic wants to transform its excluded localities with a new Action Plan targeting Roma and involving their organizations
As many as 8,900 people live in socially excluded areas in Brno, the Czech Republic's second-largest city. The city has therefore adopted a new, three-year social inclusion Action Plan to help people at risk of debt, housing loss, and poverty.
The document, approved by the local assembly, is intended to pave the way for EU subsidies worth up to CZK 189 million [EUR 7.6 million] to flow to Brno. It also emphasizes specific support for Romani people, whose social exclusion has long been linked to their discrimination on an ethnic basis.
In terms of the country’s Index of Social Exclusion, Brno, with over 400,000 people, falls into the category of municipalities with the highest rates of social exclusion. The proportion of people in collections proceedings is also above the national average there.
The topic of social inclusion is being addressed by many Brno stakeholders who, under the leadership of the municipality, contributed to drafting the Action Plan. The result is a document that outlines steps for this year, next year, and the year after.
The aim is to integrate people from socially excluded localities into the general population. The Action Plan was created on the basis of the Memorandum of Cooperation within the Coordinated Approach to Social Exclusion 2021+ concluded between the statutory city of Brno and the Agency for Social Inclusion, which operates under the Ministry of Regional Development.
“The basic indicators of social exclusion are material poverty; long-term unemployment; dependence on welfare benefits for those in material need; low-quality, precarious housing; difficulty in accessing quality education; high levels of debt; the occurrence of risky behavior and crime; and high levels of migration,” Adam Bedřich of the Agency for Social Inclusion writes in the analytical part of the plan. The Action Plan explicitly works with ethnicity as one of the determining factors of social exclusion.
In the Czech context, the Romani community is typically affected by a combination of debt, insecure housing, low levels of education, and material poverty. “It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to resolve the situation for that group of people without external aid,” Bedřich said.
The Action Plan develops individual aspects of social exclusion into specific measures intended to aid with resolving the problems of socially excluded people. One such measure will ensure greater connectivity between stakeholders and services in the areas of access to affordable housing and employment, sharing examples of good practice and experiences.
The plan also addresses the prevention of social exclusion, both for adults and for children and youth. The document mentions that in the first quarter of 2025, 6.9 % of Brno residents, as individuals, were involved in collections proceedings, while the national average is 6.6 %.
The further development of debt counseling should contribute to the change. The measure also includes the expansion of psychological assistance.
Key activities are being directed toward the city districts of Brno-sever and Brno-střed, where excluded localities occur, as well as to other districts. It is in Brno-sever that the Desegregation in Education project is being developed, the aim of which is to support the educational inclusion of children from socially excluded localities, especially Roma.
Romani NGOs such as IQ Roma Service, Romani Hub, and the Romani Community of Moravia, as well as DROM – Roma Center, a municipally-funded organization, are also participating in the implementation of the plan. Community work will continue in what is termed the “Brno Bronx”, the Zábrdovice area, with the aim of empowering the Romani community there and improving communication between the authorities and the residents.
The measures include expanding programs aimed at combating antigypsyism and discrimination, including legal support and an online campaign. The aim is to increase the legal literacy of Romani people, reduce majority-society prejudices against Roma, and strengthen Romani trust in institutions.
Thanks to the document, the city, its contributory organizations, and non-profit organizations should be able to draw as much as CZK 189 million [EUR 7.6 million] from Czech and EU funding sources, Interior Ministry programs, and Labor and Social Affairs Ministry programs for the next three years.
