A representative cross-section of Bulgarians endorsed policies to integrate the Roma, an outcast ethnic minority, in a Deliberative Poll that took place April 14-15 in Sofia. After the deliberations a significant number of the 255 participants changed their views, in favor of steps to foster integration across a major social cleavage, similar to the results of a DP on education in Northern Ireland that took place in January. As the New York Times reported,
[The results] appeared to indicate that most Bulgarians were more willing to support measures to integrate Roma into society, even though nationalist politicians use increasingly hostile language towards them. 'The general feeling from the debates,' [Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev] said, was that 'there is a high level of tolerance, which is the most important condition for their integration.'
For a full report on the DP, click here. For information on DPs from Northern Ireland to China to Texas, visit the Center for Deliberative Democracy.
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