SOFIA DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION was founded as non-profit organization with the decision 348
of the Sofia Municipal Council to work for the sustainable development of the capital.
THE AUDIENCE CHOSE ITS WINNER IN THE HACKATHON "BEYOND BORDERS: BREAKING STEREOTYPES, BUILDING BRIDGES"
On June 23 we saw the results of the teams' work from the hackathon "Beyond Borders: Breaking Stereotypes, Building Bridges", funded by UNHCR Bulgaria and organized by the Sofia Development Association.
The teams that won the first four places in the competition presented the progress of their projects. A few weeks ago, they shared their ideas with the jury, which evaluated their projects and awarded each team a place in the competition and a cash prize to carry out their project.
Today "Wizards for a Better World", "Pupe6", "Fight Club EG" and "Citizens for a United World" gathered again at SofiaLab and shared with the jury and the other participants their progress in implementing their projects.
Today's event started with a public discussion with Bistra Ivanova from Multi Kulti Collective on topics related to hate speech and public attitudes towards refugees and migrants. She told the attendees about the activities of the organization, various statistics related to refugees and migrants in Bulgaria and Europe, the integration of third-country nationals as a national competence, etc.
First to present the progress of their project was the team "Citizens for a United World", who in the last few weeks have managed to establish partnerships with numerous organizations and companies, including Arms Wide Open, whose office the team visited to meet with refugee children.
The team said that they have also prepared an exhibition showing the lives of those people we define as refugees and migrants.
Second were team Pupe6 with their Connectify app project, who showed the progress of the website they are creating as well as the informational materials they’ve prepared as part of the project.
Team Fight Club EG presented the “Behind the Curtain” project and the interviews they have carried out with refugees and migrants that are translated into several different languages. They also talked about the celebration of World Refugee Day and their progress in developing a website and social network profiles of the initiative.
Last to present their project were the “Wizards for a Better World” team from 37. Raina Knyaginya Secondary School, who talked about the school drawing competition titled "One Story - Many Paths", as well as the short film they made together with students, teachers and refugee children.
Voting followed, where the audience had the opportunity to choose their favourite team to win a special prize. Out of 266 people who voted, 53% supported the “Citizens of One World” team, who won the People's Choice Award of £1000.
All the teams are continuing their work on their campaigns.
The hackathon "Beyond Borders: Breaking Stereotypes, Building Bridges" was funded by UNHCR Bulgaria and organized by Sofia Development Association under the "Support for Integration of Refugees in Sofia” project.
THE FINAL OF THE COMPETITION PART OF THE HACKATHON "BEYOND BORDERS: BREAKING STEREOTYPES, BUILDING BRIDGES" TOOK PLACE
Today the final of the competitive part of the hackathon "Beyond Borders: Breaking Stereotypes, Building Bridges" was held, which is implemented under the "Support for Integration of Refugees in Sofia” project and was funded by UNHCR Bulgaria, the UN Refugee Agency, and organized by Sofia Development Association.
The 4 teams that signed up for the competition participated in the final, which took place at the SofíaLab, and presented their projects to a jury. Their challenge was to create an online campaign that opposes the use of discriminatory language and hostile attitudes towards refugees and migrants.
They were evaluated by an expert jury including Boris Cheshirkov from UNHCR Bulgaria, Denitza Lozanova from Sofia Development Association, media expert Polly Zaharieva, journalist Nadia Obretanova and Sara AlKaf, interior architect and member of the Refugee Advisory Board.
The team "Wizards for a Better World" presented their project, which includes making a video with refugee and migrant children and celebrating different dates (International Day for the Protection of Child Victims of Aggression and World Refugee Day) through a number of events and visits.
Team Pupe6, on their part, introduced the jury to their idea for the online platform Connectify, which aims to connect refugee children with organisations, volunteers and companies in Bulgaria, giving them the opportunity to develop and reconnect in a new environment.
The team, under the title "Citizens for a United World", talked about the project "A United World Beyond Borders", which includes a photo exhibition, the organisation of various events, and a social experiment related to building connections between people, regardless of their ethnicity or nationality.
Team Fight Club EG shared their idea for the "Behind the Curtain" campaign.
After evaluation by the jury, the team "Citizens of One World" was chosen as the winner and they received a prize of 3 000 BGN for the implementation of their idea.
They were followed by “Fight Club EG”, “Wizards for a Better World” and “Pupe” who came second, third and fourth respectively in the competition and also received cash prizes to bring their concepts to reality.
Over the next two weeks, all teams will aim to implement their projects, with the presentation of the results, as well as the effects of the campaigns already created in the affected communities, taking place on June 23.
The Hackathon is part of the project " Support for Integration of Refugees in Sofia " and is funded by UNHCR Bulgaria, the UN Refugee Agency, and organized by Sofia Development Association.
CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES JUNE 2023 IN THE BUREAU FOR INFORMATION AND SERVICES FOR THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS
In May, over 100 people used the services provided at the Bureau for Information and Services for Third Country Nationals. Legal consultation remains among the top sought services, along with the accompanying service and applications for financial assistance.
On the official website of the bureau, a program is offered every month, in which the various services are described by days and hours. The content of this program is in several languages: Bulgarian, English, French, Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic and Persian.
You can find the program for June in Bulgarian HERE.
You can find the program for June in Ukrainian HERE.
You can find the program for June in English HERE.
You can find the program for June in French HERE.
You can find the program for June in Russian HERE.
You can find the program for June in Arabic HERE.
You can find the program for June in Farsi HERE.
The project Support for the Development of Integration Policy Framework and Service Provision for Refugees in Sofia is supported by UNHCR – Bulgaria.
INFORMATION MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR (CPAB) AND THE CHILD PROTECTION DEPARTMENTS OF THE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE DIRECTORATES OF SOFIA MUNICIPALITY
On May 29, 2023, an information meeting was held with representatives of the ICBCCMN and the Child Protection Departments of the Social Assistance Directorates of Sofia Municipality. The meeting is organized within the project "Support for the development of integration policies and services for refugees in Sofia", funded by UNHCR.
The main topic of the event was related to the development of social skills of children and young people, including children and young people with refugee and migrant backgrounds, and the prevention of violence and anti-social behavior. Dr. Maria Shisheva from UNHCR spoke about the profile of refugees arriving in Bulgaria and what are the main problems when working with unaccompanied children. Prof. Ingrid Shikova presented interesting opportunities through civic education at school to "learn to live together" and to be tolerant to others. Snezhina Gabova from SDA focused on the need to prevent discrimination through awareness-raising campaigns and trainings related to online hate speech.
The meeting is part of the project activities aimed at creating institutional and expert capacity to work with refugees and migrants within Sofia Municipality.
The project Support for the Development of Integration Policy Framework and Service Provision for Refugees in Sofia is supported by UNHCR – Bulgaria.
CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES FOR MAY 2023 IN THE BUREAU FOR INFORMATION AND SERVICES FOR THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS
In April, over 60 people used the services provided in the Bureau for Information and Services for Third Country Nationals. Legal consultation and applications for financial assistance remain among the leading sought services. Requests for humanitarian aid also take the lead in submissions from foreign nationals.
A program, that describes the various services by days and hours, is offered each month to facilitate the requested assistance. The program can be found in several languages: Bulgarian, English, French, Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic and Persian.
You can find the program for May in Bulgarian HERE.
You can find the program for May in Ukrainian HERE.
You can find the program for May in English HERE.
You can find the program for May in French HERE.
You can find the program for May in Russian HERE.
You can find the program for May in Arabic HERE.
You can find the program for May in Farsi HERE.
The project Support for the Development of Integration Policy Framework and Service Provision for Refugees in Sofia is supported by UNHCR – Bulgaria.
THE BUREAU FOR INFORMATION AND SERVICES FOR FOREIGN CITIZENS IN SOFIA RECEIVES RECOGNITION AS GOOD PRACTICE BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The Bureau for Information and Services for Foreign Citizens is recognized as a good practice by the European Commission and the integration community. The news is published onThe European Website on Integration (EWSI), an initiative of the European Commission under the Directorate-General Home Affairs and Migration, and the only EU-wide source bringing up-to-date information and good practices on migrant integration for policy makers and practitioners.
The Bureau for Information and Services for Foreign Citizens, founded in September 2021, is a collaborative initiative led by Sofia Municipality to establish a service centre providing up-to-date information and services to refugees and migrants, third-country nationals, NGOs, employers, and stakeholders. Sofia Development Association manages the Bureau together with the Bulgarian Red Cross and the support of UNHCR, Bulgaria. Over the past year and a half, the Bureau has established itself as an important source of information and coordination of integration-related services in the city, following the one-stop-shop approach.
Click here to read more about the good practice on EWSI.
Click here to find out more about the Bureau and the services offered.