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.
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SOFIA MARKS UKRAINIAN WAR ANNIVERSARY WITH A CAMPAIGN “SUPPORT A FRIEND, START FRIENDSHIP”
On February 24, we mark the first year since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. As a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and all those people fleeing the military conflict that has torn apart millions of families, as well as in recognition and gratitude to Sofia citizens who have joined the process of their integration into the city, Sofia Municipal Council has decided to open the doors of the Municipal Cultural Institute “Scientific and Educational Children's Center "Muzeiko" and Sofia Zoo for all children under the age of 18 on February 25 and 26.
The two-day campaign will be held under the theme "Support a friend, start friendship". The promoters are municipal councilors from different political parties, and the organization was initiated by the chairman of the Commission for Education, Culture, Science and Cultural Diversity in the Council Mrs. Malina Edreva, Sofia Development Association and the Bureau for Information and Services for Third-Country Nationals.
THE IN(VISIBLE) CITY ANIMATION MASTER CLASS COMES TO SOFIA
IN(Visible) City is Portuguese animation director and arts scholar Pedro Serrazina’s animation masterclass. Serrazina is coming to Sofia on the invitation of the New Bulgarian University under the Erasmus+ programme, between 8th and 11th March 2023.
The theme of his masterclass is integrating urban spaces through animation. During the class participants will focus on Sofia’s urban landscape, rather that concentrating only on different characters, as most animations do. For the purpose of the masterpclass two iconic locations in Sofia have been chosen – “Malko Tarnovo” street and Sofia’s Central Mineral Bath.
Through this we will question the spirit of the place (genius loci) that many architects discuss and we look at the city with a critical eye. The end result will consist of animated interpretations through which we will rediscover emotions and the personal view point in the urban space.
The first meeting of Pedro Serrazina with the participants will be held in the SofiaLab space on March 8, and for the next 3 days we will take place in the "Laboratory of Animation Cinema" at the Radio-Television Center of NBU.
Partners in the project are New Bulgarian University, Universidade Lusófona de Lisboa, the Sofia Development Association and the "Culture" Program of Sofia Municipality.
THE PILOT COURSE FOR BUSINESS BULGARIAN FOR TCNS IS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED
The participants in the pilot business language course in Bulgarian for third-country nationals received their certificates this Saturday, Feb. 18, in an event hosted by SDA. The business language course is part of the financial training program for TCNs, developed under the project PLOUTOS. The language course is implemented in cooperation with the Arms Wide Open Foundation. The course participants, mainly beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine, shared their views and spoke candidly about the challenges to settle in Bulgaria, to learn Bulgarian, find a job and take care of their families. Courses like this one are highly needed, as learning Bulgarian and getting to know the financial system in the country is important for the integration of refugees and migrants. The project PLOUTOS will soon launch a financial literacy course, followed by a training practice business program.
As a member of the international consortium of PLOUTOS, SDA has an opportunity to make these educational resources available to the target groups and thus to support their successful integration in the economic and social life of the city.
PLOUTOS is implemented with the support of the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
MENTORSHIP OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS, HYDRIB CENTRES AND NETWORKING – PART OF THE MAIN SUBJECTS OF THE CENTERS FOR COMPETENCE DESIGN SEMINAR IN PLOVDIV
Mentorship for social entrepreneurs and innovators as a service that the competence centers provide, on-site and online hybrid activities and initiatives, and networking between all stakeholders - these were just some of the main opinions of the participants in the "Design of an Institutional Model of Competence Centers in the Field of Social Innovation - Structure and Main Functions" seminar. The event was held on February 16, 2023 in Plovdiv, the organizers being the Sofia Development Association and the National Alliance for Volunteer Work - Plovdiv. The workshop is part of the activities within the "Social Innovations Plus - Competence Centers" project.
The event, that included more than 20 representatives of organizations and social enterprises from Plovdiv and the region, began with a presentation of the concept for a Competence Center in the field of social innovation. Denitza Lozanova, Program Director of Sofia Development Association, shared with the participants good practices from other countries in the European Union, the main approaches to the functions of this type of centers and what good examples of such centers there are within the European community.
Rumen Donev, State Expert at the Living Standards, Demographic Policy and Social Investments Directorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, told the participants about the support for social enterprises in Bulgaria on the national level.
After the first panel two group sessions, facilitated by Hermina Emiryan, were held. During the first participants had to identify the most urgent activities and priorities for these centers, as well as write out a plan for the first few years of their activity.
In the second session, several other key components of the work of the centers were also discussed - their legal model, their management structure and the pros and cons of all its forms.
During the group work, other highlights also emerged - the inclusion of local business and universities in the pr ocess, support in the search for funding for certain candidates, constant and consistent promotion of various social innovations, and others. The full results of the work process will be published on Sofia Development Association’s website very soon.
The next step in the project is to finalize a plan for the establishment of the Competence Center in Bulgaria, in order to start real work on the realization of such a space.
The project is funded by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, the European Social Fund and European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation.
SI PLUS’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT NETWORK HELD ITS SECOND MEETING
On 15th February 2023 a second meeting of the “Social Innovation Plus – Competence Centres (SI Plus)” “Sustainable Development“ network was held online.
The meeting began with an inspiring presentation by Blazhka Trepetanova – founder of Blazhka’s Kitchen – the first zero-waste restaurant in Bulgaria. She told participants about her zero-waste business and the ZeroWaste cause that aims to make resources from waste.
The seminar continued with an energy efficiency training conducted by Zsuzsanna Pál, designed for social enterprises and non-governmental organizations. Sonja Zumpfe from Baukarussell – a consortium supported and managed jointly by industrial enterprises and the city of Vienna, told participants more about the platform. It is mainly focused on compliance with new regulations in urban construction and more specifically planned demolitions.
The meeting has a few main objectives, amongst which to bring together stakeholders from different fields and start a discussion on how the National Competence Centres for Social Innovation can integrate sustainable development into their Agenda, enhance mutual learning and exchange of experience, discuss the opportunities that the green transition entails and establish a discourse on sustainable development in the social innovation scene.
The seminar continued with an energy efficiency training conducted by Zsuzsanna Pál, designed for social enterprises and non-governmental organizations. Sonja Zumpfe from Baukarussell – a consortium supported and managed jointly by industrial enterprises and the city of Vienna, told participants more about the platform. It is mainly focused on compliance with new regulations in urban construction and more specifically planned demolitions.
The event was facilitated by Barbara Willsberger from Jörg Mirtl L&R Social Research. The Sofia Development Association was represented by Denitza Lozanova – coordinator of the project.
The SI PLUS project is funded by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, European Social Fund and European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation.
ANOTHER INFO DAY ABOUT THE NEW PUBLIC ON DEMAND TRANSPORTATION SERVICE IN SOFIA WAS HELD THIS WEEKEND
During the weekend, another information meeting was held with the citizens of the "Manastirski livadi - West" district, which aimed to further explain to the residents of the area the pros and details surrounding the launch of the public on demand transportation service - a pilot project for the city of Sofia. The innovative concept, which is currently being implemented in the capital, is part of the Innoair project.
The information meeting started with a tour of the neighborhood with one of the electric minibuses, that are part of the service, in which the citizens who came were also able to get on and see exactly how the system will work. They learned about the taxation methods, how they can signal to the driver that they want to get off the vehicle at a location of their choice, and where all the drop-off and pick-up points will be.
After the tour, the residents of the neighborhood held a more in-depth discussion with the representatives of the civil organization "Manastirski livadi - West", the deputy mayor of Sofia Municipality Doncho Barbalov, and the head of Sofia’s "Transport" Directorate Ivan Nikolov, who answered their questions about the service.
The attendees were also able to get acquainted with the BUSINN mobile app, through which they will be able to order a minibus to pick them up, see the movement of the minibuses in real time and check for a nearby drop-off or pick-up point.
BUSINN is now available for download from the App Store and Google Play.
INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. This is the first Bulgarian project selected for funding by UIA.
