CONTACT POINT FOR ROMA AND SINTI ISSUES    37 ACTIVITIES BUILDING TRUST AND UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN POLICE AND ROMA AND SINTI Throughout the OSCE area, Roma and Sinti are victims of hate crimes and racist violence, and face serious challenges relating to their safety and security. Lack of trust and mutual understanding between police and Roma and Sinti people negatively impacts effective protection for these communities. The Contact Point promotes trust in these relationships by training law-enforcement personnel who are directly engaged with the communities at the local level. The Contact Point developed an interactive two-day training course on Effective and Human RightsCompliant Policing in Roma and Sinti Communities. The training strengthens the capacity of police officers working in Roma and Sinti and mixed communities. It provides for effective policing strategies that are fair and responsive to the needs of the people they serve, while engaging in practices that comply with human rights standards and are gender sensitive. ODIHR piloted the course in Romania for 20 front-line law-enforcement officers, that are directly deployed to Roma communities or mixed communities, on 2 and 3 February in Bucharest, and within a training event for 16 senior police officials from 12 different countries on 17 and 18 March in Warsaw. ODIHR hosted a training-of-trainers event for 14 human rights professionals, including Roma and Sinti civil society representatives and police officers from 13 to 16 June in Warsaw. The Office also delivered training to Romanian front-line officers at the police school on 9 and 10 June in Slatina and on 30 June and 1 July in Campina, as well as to 20 law-enforcement officials on 30 November and 1 December in Odessa, Ukraine. The training evaluation throughout the year demonstrated that it was well received by participants who underlined that the interactive and practical nature of the training was useful to reflect on and challenge their own perceptions, but also to strengthen community based policing approaches and human rights. CONFRONTING “ANTI-GYPSYISM” Persistent racism and discrimination against Roma and Sinti remain the main obstacles to political, economic and social inclusion of Roma and Sinti in society. The international community (through the OSCE, as well as the United Nations and Council of Europe) have increasingly called on political leaders to take pro-active and responsible leadership to promote equality, Roma inclusion and to stand up against racism and discrimination, and anti-Roma rhetoric in public discourse. In order to strengthen networks and raise the awareness of political leaders of their responsibilities to counter racism and discrimination against Roma and Sinti, the German OSCE Chairperson-in-Office hosted