groups and ensuring the right to life, justice and comprehensive reparation through robust State legislation is a critical backdrop to educational initiatives for minority women; education must be defined broadly: declarations of intent towards ‘education for women’ must be replaced by concrete programmes and substantial resource allocation; prioritizing of adult and continuing education in the overall education agenda is vital; new media tools should be employed to reverse the existing forms of discriminatory access to information and to power.; for minority women’s leadership to be advanced, there is a need to create for minority girls a global public environment that legitimizes aspiration towards true excellence and the highest possible intellectual endeavours; there is a need to shift from referring to access to schooling, to the right to an education that is dignified and empowering; that does not harm the child’s sense of self or dignity; and which gives outcomes of both expanded minds and expanded job opportunities; A comprehensive anti-discrimination law, with focused attention to education, must be among the key mechanisms to guarantee in substantial measure the rights of minority women. Ms. Beata Bislim Olahova, Grants Programme Manager at the Roma Education Fund in Slovakia, provided an overview of the barriers that Romani women face, stressing that many lack the education they need to find jobs, have shorter life expectancy and reside in poor-quality housing. When seeking to improve Roma inclusion in education, it is essential that the actions at the local level be aligned with appropriate national policies and to ensure adequate institutional and financial means so that national policies can actually be implemented. Furthermore, local initiatives must receive sufficient support from local institutions, such as schools, the education inspectorate, municipalities and teachers’ trade unions. In many cases, policies and programmes fail to have an impact because of the absence of an adequate policy framework or because they underestimate the very strong negative incentives built in to the education systems and the level of institutional changes that are needed. In the case of Roma education, Roma participation is essential for a number of reasons; including the need to empower Roma communities, create commitment, trust and confidence as well as increase parents’ involvement. She concluded with recommendations, including: cooperation among teachers, authorities and parents should be encouraged to promote girls’ continued education; make scholarships available or provide subsidized fees, free transportation and required school materials for marginalized and poor families at all school levels, with special attention to excluded Romani families and ensure that scholarships target Romani girls and young women; Adult education and literacy programmes should be carried out with a specific focus on Romani women’s participation; motivate Romani parents to enroll their children, especially daughters, in education; Promote the Romani culture and traditions in the educational system as a significant contribution to general culture and erase negative stereotypes about Roma and Romani women from text books. Ms. Hannan Elsaneh, from Israel, made a presentation focusing on “Bedouin Women in the Naqab: Interaction of Poverty, Marginalization and Gender discrimination”. She indicated that residents of so-called “Unrecognized Villages” endure an absence of basic 9