A series of local meetings with Roma Calderas communities was organized in four municipalities of Romania. Topics discussed ranged from how to preserve cultural practices as part of group identity while confronting the influence of modernity, to how early marriages affect the education levels of Roma girls and boys. The last decade has seen a continuation of inadequate living conditions for many Roma and Sinti communities living in countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Romania, and Slovakia. They often lack secure land tenure, are subject to forced evictions, and have no access to adequate alternative housing. Secure residence is often a necessary condition to exercise other social and political rights. Without an address, it can be impossible to register for public services and earn a living in a lawful way. The ODIHR has launched a number of project initiatives that deal specifically with legalizing informal settlements. This has included commissioning a report that analyses the obstacles to integrating Roma and Sinti settlements into urban plans, engaging local authorities to provide public services to Roma and Sinti settlements, and ensuring that Roma and Sinti residents are registered with the proper civil authorities. The report recommends including Roma and Sinti in the conceptual and implementation phases of housing development, including the upgrading of existing informal settlements where minimal living conditions need to be met. The ODIHR will follow up on this report with the publication of best-practice guidelines. Lack of civil registration has a negative impact in a number of areas, including access to public services, trafficking in human beings, and political participation. In conjunction with the Serbian Government and the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, the ODIHR organized a regional conference on the civil registration of Roma in South-Eastern Europe in late 2005. Participants discussed the legal and administrative obstacles Roma and Sinti encounter when attempting to register and put forward recommendations to overcome them. The Office plans ANNUAL REPORT 2005 MILAN OBRADOVIC Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues to set up task forces in the participating States of South-Eastern Europe that will work with local and national authorities to implement these recommendations, and it has already established a task force for the particular issues confronting the Roma and Sinti communities of Kosovo. A young child wearing an oversized shoe walks through the muddied streets in the Roma settlement of Deponija, Belgrade. III. Enhancing participation in public and political life Roma and Sinti populations do not have a long history of political participation, either as voters or as candidates for office. This is partly a result of the severe discrimination they continue to face and their general marginalization in society. But another factor is a lack of awareness among Roma and Sinti both of how to exercise their political rights and of the influence that political participation can have on their own lives. Although such communities have begun to participate more actively in society in recent years, participation in elections remains disproportionately low. By encouraging Roma and Sinti to take part in elections and make informed choices at the ballot box, the Office aims to increase their representation in political and public institutions, as well as to ensure that Roma and Sinti issues are put on the agendas of mainstream political parties. 77