About Us – Team
Tano Bechev
Program Manager
Tano Hariev Bechev comes from Bulgaria and belongs to the Roma ethnic community. He has graduated B.A. in ecology from New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria in 2003. In 2005 Mr. Bechev graduated the Roma Access Program : Training in Academic English and Political Science" in Central European University – Budapest, Hungary. Tano was working form 2001 to 2005 in the Municipality of Montana, Bulgaria as an expert of Roma issues. From January 2006 till March 2006 he was an intern in Roma Education Fund – Budapest, Hungary. From March 2006 till June 2006 he was working in DG Regional Policy of the European Commission as a stagier. He was assigned to the unit responsible for Slovakia and Austria, which also has a horizontal responsibility for Roma issues in relation to Structural and Cohesion Policy. As a stagier at the European Commission, he compiled an “aide memoire” on Roma inclusion policy for EC officials. This document is recognized in the EC as very useful in advising on aspects of how to mainstream Roma inclusion in Commission programs.
From 2006 till 2007 Tano was working for the NGO Regional Policy Development Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria where he was working on DecadeWatch progress assessment of the Decade of Roma Inclusion and is an author of the Bulgaria country report. In June 2006 Mr. Bechev was invited to participate as a witness/panelist in the United States Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) on briefing: The human rights situation of Roma : Europe's largest ethnic minority. The briefing was held in Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. From 2007 till 2009 he was a Program Director of the Roma students organization in Bulgaria and was responsible for the Advocacy and Career Development programs of the organization. From 2010 till October 2010 he was working as an expert on international projects in the Centre for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities under the Ministry of Education Youths and Science, Sofia, Bulgaria. From October 2010 Tano is a Program Manager of “Role Models for Tomorrow” Program in Arete Youth Foundation, Bulgaria.
Tano Bechev has a remarkable experience in the field of education and the Roma movement not just in Bulgaria but also at international level. Mr.Bechev has been deeply invested in Roma rights advocacy in Bulgaria and is recognized in Bulgaria and abroad as an important voice in the Bulgarian Roma inclusion discourse. He is knowledgeable across the four priority areas in the Decade of Roma Inclusion and particularly in education. Tano Bechev has been involved in school desegregation work and has advised, not least in the context of DecadeWatch, on the next steps for desegregation in Bulgaria.
