E/CN.4/2000/16/Add.1 page 30 4. Cultural measures 131. The Government, in association with Roma organizations, has drawn up some programmes to raise awareness of Roma culture and to have it more widely accepted as an integral part of the Hungarian cultural heritage. Cultural programmes are broadcast on the television and radio. A box of CDs of Roma music has recently been produced by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. 132. The National Roma Information and Cultural Centre, run by the autonomous national Roma government, was established in autumn 1998. The central State budget provided 180 million forint for the establishment and operation of this institution. The Centre hosted the first national conference of Roma writers, poets, journalists and artists in April 1999. More than a dozen multifunctional Roma community centres established with State funds have started operating. They play an important role in strengthening local communities and safeguarding Roma culture. 5. Police measures 133. The Government considers that law-enforcement officers should be taught about the social, historical, cultural and sociological background of the Roma. To that end, the Minister of the Interior invited representatives of Roma organizations to discuss the relationship between the police and the Roma population, and a programme on Roma ethnicity, traditions, culture and lifestyle was subsequently launched with their cooperation. Training in techniques to manage and prevent conflicts arising from prejudice has also been included in the education and training provided for law-enforcement bodies at middle- and senior-manager level, with the involvement of foreign and national organizations specialized in conflict management. D. Action by civil society 134. Several non-governmental organizations are taking effective action to improve the situation of the Roma in Hungary. A number of them enjoy financial support from the Soros Foundation, which has set up a comprehensive programme to support activities to help the Roma in the areas of education, the media and legal assistance. A total of 198 million forint was allocated to this programme in 1998. Organizations such as the Roma Civil Rights Foundation, the Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities, the European Roma Rights Centre, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Roma Parliament, which are very effective in the field, have benefited from this assistance. 135. The Roma Civil Rights Foundation, which is committed to the civil and political emancipation of the Roma, points out that during the four years it has been in operation it has established successful and indispensable civil institutions and programmes, including the network of fact-finding, crisis-managing and legal defence offices, the Roma Press Centre, the “invisible college” and Free University programmes of Romaversitas, and the Roma Community Centre in Budapest-Ertébetváros. Since 1995, the Foundation has regarded as one of its main tasks the creation of a network of legal defence offices that contribute to the emancipation of the Roma in Hungary by giving legal advice and providing free legal aid and also by taking a resolute stand against all forms of discrimination affecting the Roma.