The European Union has launched its new Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion – a strategy which will influence policy and funding on integration for at least the next seven years. This new plan takes on board a number of the IRC’s recommendations. These include providing funding for projects and supporting service providers that help refugees overcome obstacles to integration, including through building partnerships with local communities and sharing best practices and resources.

The latest article by the International Rescue Committee presents the views of several leading experts on European integration, including Mariana Stoyanova of the Bulgarian Red Cross and Desislava Petkova of Caritas Sofia.

The IRC article is available online.

The responsibility for integration policies lies primarily with the Member States. However, the EU has established a large variety of measures to incentivise and support national, as well as regional and local, authorities and civil society in their efforts to promote integration. The current action plan proposes concrete actions, gives guidance and delineates funding for initiatives meant to bring inclusion for all.

The main actions include:

Inclusive education and training from early childhood to higher education, focusing on easier recognition of qualifications and continued language learning, with support from EU funds.

Improving employment opportunities and skills recognition to fully value the contribution of migrant communities, and women in particular, and ensure that they are supported to reach their full potential. The EC will work with relevant stakeholders to promote labour market integration, support entrepreneurship and make it easier for employers to recognise and assess skills.

Promoting access to health services, including mental healthcare, for people with a migrant background. In addition to dedicated EU funding, the action plan seeks to ensure people are informed about their rights and recognises the specific challenges faced by women, in particular during and after pregnancy. The action plan also supports Member States to exchange best practice.

Access to adequate and affordable housing funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund Plus (ESF +), Asylum and Migration Fund (AMF) and Invest EU, as well as an exchange of experience at local and regional level on fighting discrimination on the housing market and segregation.

What is new:

The document builds upon the successful 2016 action plan (see an interactive overview here), targeting the same main areas of integration.

Its scope expands to include the integration of EU citizens of migrant background, in addition to third-country nationals (TCNs).

The current plan also bring additional focus on:

Ensuring inclusion for all, including through targeted and tailored support.

Enhancing migrant participation, including through the recent formation of an Expert Group on the views of migrants with the EC.

Mainstreaming gender and including women.

Building more partnerships with various integration stakeholders.

Closer cooperation with regional and local authorities.

More emphasis on long-term integration, including through funding.

The document is available online.

We present to your attention the Fourth issue of the Academic Bulletin “Refugees: Today and Tomorrow”.

The fourth issue of the academic bulletin “Refugees: today and tomorrow” is dedicated to the topic of the public attitudes towards refugees in Bulgaria. The results and the analysis show the extent to which Bulgarians are afraid or willing to participate in the integration of asylum seekers and refugees. The issue presents the newly established Refugee Advisory Board, whose main goal is to strengthen the relationship between refugees and the local society and to create a platform for the expression of refugees’ experiences through their own voices. The bulletin also examines the draft of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, which aims to propose a new vision for a common European asylum policy. In this issue you will find information related to access to healthcare of asylum seekers and refugees in Bulgaria which relates to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new feature entitled “Countries of Origin”, you will learn more about the culture, everyday life, customs and challenges of the people in Afghanistan. Another important focus of the bulletin is the analysis of the situation of stateless persons, which is supplemented by the story of Dr. Sagir Al-Anezi. We have also taken into account the opinion of the field experts from the Council of Refugee Women in Bulgaria who have been helping asylum seekers and refugees for years. “A glance over the Border” feature is dedicated to Romania. Moreover, you will find opportunities for participation in conferences for both the academics and the refugee community. In this issue, you will learn about the experience of the University of Malta which offers a free specialist course for cultural mediators, as well as information about the InSPIREurope project which seeks to support researchers at risk through transnational cooperation.

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The responsibility for integration policies lies primarily with the Member States. However, the EU has established a large variety of measures to incentivise and support national, as well as regional and local, authorities and civil society in their efforts to promote integration. The current action plan proposes concrete actions, gives guidance and delineates funding for initiatives meant to bring inclusion for all.

The main actions include:

Inclusive education and training from early childhood to higher education, focusing on easier recognition of qualifications and continued language learning, with support from EU funds.

Improving employment opportunities and skills recognition to fully value the contribution of migrant communities, and women in particular, and ensure that they are supported to reach their full potential. The EC will work with relevant stakeholders to promote labour market integration, support entrepreneurship and make it easier for employers to recognise and assess skills.

Promoting access to health services, including mental healthcare, for people with a migrant background. In addition to dedicated EU funding, the action plan seeks to ensure people are informed about their rights and recognises the specific challenges faced by women, in particular during and after pregnancy. The action plan also supports Member States to exchange best practice.

Access to adequate and affordable housing funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund Plus (ESF +), Asylum and Migration Fund (AMF) and Invest EU, as well as an exchange of experience at local and regional level on fighting discrimination on the housing market and segregation.

What is new:

The document builds upon the successful 2016 action plan (see an interactive overview here), targeting the same main areas of integration.

Its scope expands to include the integration of EU citizens of migrant background, in addition to third-country nationals (TCNs).

The current plan also bring additional focus on:

Ensuring inclusion for all, including through targeted and tailored support.

Enhancing migrant participation, including through the recent formation of an Expert Group on the views of migrants with the EC.

Mainstreaming gender and including women.

Building more partnerships with various integration stakeholders.

Closer cooperation with regional and local authorities.

More emphasis on long-term integration, including through funding.

The document is available online.

On November 18, 2020, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants in partnership with UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency and Multi Kulti  Collective held a National Forum  Protection and integration of refugees in the context of COVID-19.  Representatives of international organizations, government bodies and public institutions, municipal officials, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations participated in the event. The event provided a forum to share lessons learned, commitments, and perspectives in response to the challenges for refugee protection and integration in the context of the Covid-19, as well as to discuss policies, practices, and insights. The Agenda of the Forum included topics, related to the international and national dimensions of the pandemic. Dr. Mihail Okoliiski from the office of the World Health Organization in Bulgaria, Dr. Angel Kunchev – Chief State Health Inspector, and Suzanne Klink from the UNHCR Bureau of Europe were the main speakers on the topic.  Mariana Stoyanova,  Head of the Refugee and Migrant Service of the Bulgarian Red Cross, and  Ivan Cheresharov,  Head of the Migration and Integration Department of Caritas Sofia, presented the Bulgarian response and the experience of the non-governmental organizations for protection and integration of refugees in the context of Covid 19. Stanislav Georgiev from the Sofia Regional Educational Authority presented the challenges for the education system, and the measures taken to respond and to address the gaps.  Anelia Dimitrova from Katro Bulgaria has shared the involvement of the private sector.  Dr. Sager Al-Anezi from the UNHCR Refugee Advisory Board has focused his intervention on the role of the refugee lead and refugee organizations for identifying and addressing the obstacles and the challenges for refugee integration during the pandemic. Dr. Vania Ivanova from the Bulgarian Academy of Science spoke about the role of academia in the development of a supportive environment for refugee protection and integration. The Bulgarian Council for Refugees and Migrants presented and disseminated a Collection of Materials Protection and Integration of Refugees in the Context of COVID-19, prepared and published for the Forum.

The National Forum was organized under the Advocacy for Refugee Integration in Bulgaria Project, funded by the UNHCR, and under the NIEM – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism Project,  financed under the AMIF of the European Commission.

On October 31, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants in partnership with Multi Kulti Collective, the UNHCR Representation in Bulgaria and the Association of Bulgarian Language Teachers as a Foreign held a seminar on “Bulgarian as a Foreign Language in a Pandemic. Communication and integration of refugees and migrants. The program of the event included the topic of university training in Bulgarian language for foreigners in a pandemic, presented by Assoc. Prof. Galina Kurteva – Chairperson of ABLTF, training in Bulgarian for foreigners in Caritas Sofia and the Bulgarian Red Cross, presented by Vladislav Damyanov and Radost Sabeva. An highlight was also placed on the practice of teaching Bulgarian language for refugee children at the “Ivan Vazov” Primary School in Harmanli, presented by Svetla Georgieva. The seminar provided an opportunity to identify good practices and challenges in teaching Bulgarian as a foreign language in a pandemic, as well as to exchange ideas and suggestions for future initiatives. The Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants actively supports the Association of Teachers of Bulgarian as a Foreign Language as part of the strategic efforts to develop the capacity of civil society structures for the integration of refugees and migrants in Bulgaria. The event was organized in the framework of the implementation of the project “NIEM – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism” where the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants and Multi Kulti Collective are national partners.

 Programme

On October 21, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, the Sofia Development Association and the Multi Kulti Collective organised an Information Session with representatives of municipalities and local authorities “Partnership for refugee integration in Bulgaria”. The event was attended by more than 30 representatives of  municipal  districts of Sofia Municipality , including mayors and deputy mayors of districts, as well as non-governmental and international organizations. The main focus of the event was on the integration of refugees in Bulgaria as an opportunity for development in the context of the role of local authorities, and the main goal was to strengthen the partnership, to exchange ideas for next steps and to discuss the pro-activity of municipalities in policy development of integration, and the access to European funding for refugee integration at municipal level. During the event, the Vitosha District and Oborishte District of Sofia Municipality presented their successful experience of refugee integration and partnership with non-governmental organizations. The event is part of the strategic efforts of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants to strengthen the partnership and enhance the capacity of stakeholders for refugee integration. The event  was organised under the Advocacy for Refugee Integration in Bulgaria project, funded by UNHCR, and the National Integration and Evaluation Mechanism NIEM  project, funded by AMIF of the EC.

Programme

The Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants participated in the coalition meeting for establishment of coalition for local stakeholders, organised by Sofia Development Association under the implementation of the project UnionMigrantNet, in collaboration with CITUB.

The aim of the coalition is to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, transfer of good practices and coordination of the strategic efforts of the stakeholders for integration of migrants and beneficiaries of international protection. During the meeting the progress of establishment of Information Center for third-country nationals was discussed. The Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants cooperates with local authorities and social society structures in capacity building for refugee integration, and in development of supporting environment.

We present to your attention the Newsletter “Integration of Refugees in Bulgaria: Opportunities for Development” for the period July – Septemeber 2020.

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In the publication you will find information on the following topics:

Statistics for granted international protection in Bulgaria for the period July-August 2020

Inclusion of refugee children in the Bulgarian educational system

▪Refugee children and the beginning of the school year

▪Good practices and specifics for working with children seeking and receiving international protection

Development of the potential of the civil society for integration of refugees

▪Information session “Civil society structures for the integration of refugees in Bulgaria”

▪Establishment of an Association of Bulgarian Language Teachers as a Foreign Language

Transfer and experience of good practices

▪ The new issue “Good practices for integration of refugees through education and culture”, developed by Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants

Culture as a common language

▪Aiman Al Hares Exhibition “Shivers from the East”, presented by the Bulgarian Red Cross, UNHCR and the Refugee Advisory Council

Involvement of refugees in the decision-making process and accountability to them

▪ UNHCR – UN Refugee Agency pilot for the first time an online survey of the needs of refugees by age, gender and social group

▪The Refugee Advisory Board with the first project for a campaign to counter the rumours

A new beginning for migration policies in the European Union

▪ Adoption of a new pact on migration and asylum

Participation in the development of sustainable policies at European level

▪Public consultation on the integration and inclusion of migrants and people with a migrant background continues

We present to your attention the Third issue of the Academic Bulletin “Refugees: Today and Tomorrow”.

The third issue of the Academic bulletin: “Refugees: today and tomorrow” is devoted to the topic of education of asylum seekers and refugees in Bulgaria. The thematic main article explores thoroughly the latest developments and achievements in the school system in Bulgaria, along with educational opportunities in higher education and those for adults. The analysis draws an important conclusion that the Bulgarian education system has moved the focus from access to education for all refugee children which has already been accomplished to the quality of education refugee children receive in the Bulgarian schools. This improvement is backed up by the experience shared in the interviews with the two education experts from the Ministry of Education and Sciences and the Regional Management of Education for the city of Sofia. Beside the experience with education integration in Sofia, two articles explore the situation in the town of Harmanli and the villages around and the education endeavours of school directors, teachers, local organizations and refugee communities there, all supporting the education of the refugee children in the region through formal education in the schools and non-formal in the refugee center. The bulletin breaks the news of the establishment of the Association of teachers of Bulgarian language as a foreign language.  Teaching and learning Bulgarian as a key factor for integration is also presented from the experience of the Bulgarian Red Cross and their good practice of distance learning courses since the beginning of the pandemic. The teachers’ perspective is viewed through the eyes of an Afghan teacher with long practice as a teacher and school director in three countries – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bulgaria. More about refugee education on a European level could be learned through the experience of the SIRIUS network, the European Policy Network on Migrant Education and further materials exploring different practices including parents’ empowerment and involvement in the education of their children. The new section of the bulletin “ A look into the Experience of the European Universities” features two inspiring programmes, one from the Central European University and the other called “University corridors for refugees” including 11 universities from Italy. The presented good practice “Weekend programme for refugees and asylum seekers” from the Central European University is part of a new collection “Good practices on refugee integration through education and culture” of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants. Along with the European experience, the issue is pleased to present the Bulgarian experience in two articles revealing the example of the New Bulgarian University. Voices of refugee students are also included about their university experiences and future professional aspirations. The refugee situation in the Republic of Serbia is analysed in the rubric “A Glance over the Border”. The bulletin also presents training and publication opportunities.

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