The Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants and Multi Kulti Collective bring to your attention an analysis WHAT MEASURES ARE IN PLACE TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN EUROPE? In this analysis, the European Web Site on Integration (EWSI) examines whether EU Member States and the United Kingdom have implemented policies and measures across various areas of life that aim to promote the long-term integration of beneficiaries of international protection and other third-country nationals.

The material is available online.

We present on your attention Newsletter “Integration of Refugees in Bulgaria: Opportunities for Development” for the period January – March 2020

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

▪Bulgaria’s progress in 2019 on the refugee resettlement and involvement of local authorities in the refugee integration process

▪Up-to-date statistics on international protection granted for the period from January to March 2020.

▪Collaboration with municipalities and local authorities to build sustainable partnerships:

Establishment of municipal center for the information and integration of third-country nationals; Information session organized by the Bulgarian Red Cross for municipalities working with resettled refugees; Refugee housing: good practices, challenges and opportunities for local authorities; The topic of refugee integration presented at the first annual meeting of public mediators in the country

▪Development the capacity of civil society structures: Creating an Association of Bulgarian Language Teachers as a Foreign Language

▪Collaboration with the academic community: Coalition Meeting “Opportunities for Cooperation with Academic Institutions on the Topic of Asylum and Refugees”; Specialized research “Opportunities for cooperation with academic institutions in the refugee and asylum field”; Academic Portal “Forced Migration and Refugees” www.academia.refugee-integration.bg;

Interactive Exhibition “Identity” presented at the American University in Blagoevgrad

▪Media and NGOs Workshop with Nick Thorpe – BBC Correspondent for Central Europe

▪Opportunities for EU-funded refugee integration activities

▪Innovations in support of organizations working with refugees and migrants: An updated EU toolkit for profiling third-country nationals

Information for organizations working in the field of refugee integration in Bulgaria

Information materials in English:

1. COVID Symptoms (Download PDF Leaflet)

2.Stop the spread of germs (Download PDF Leaflet)

3.Emerging respiratory viruses, including COVID-19: methods for detection, prevention, response and control 

4. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters

4. Information leaflets English, Arabic, Pashto, Dari and Farsi

On March 6, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, the Multi Kulti Collective, and the  UNHCR Representation in Bulgaria organized a coalition meeting “ Housing of Refugees: Good Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities for Local Authorities”. During the meeting, the UNHCR Specialization Study on Municipal Housing Policies was presented as a key factor for successful local integration. The study was focused on existing good practices and opportunities for accommodation, as well as on civic registration and funding to support the housing of refugees. Representatives of municipalities and municipal districts, state bodies, and public institutions, as well as experts and practitioners from non-governmental organizations, participated in the event. The meeting provided a platform for exchanging ideas and strengthening cooperation amongst the parties. The Coalition meeting was organized within the implementation of the NIEM – All In For Integration project – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism. Monitoring and improving refugee integration with the  Multi Kulti Collective and the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants as the Bulgarian National Partners.

More information: www.niem.refugee-integration.bg

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On March 2 and 3, the Chairperson of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants – Kina Sabeva participated in the international partnership meeting on the NIEM project – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism – Monitoring and Improving Integration. During the meeting, the coalitions formed in key areas within the project implementation in Bulgaria were presented, such as cooperation with the academic community, media, teachers in Bulgarian as a foreign language and others.  During the partners meeting, the extension of the project was also discussed to achieve longterm  results, as well as feedback from the implemented research.

On February 28, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants participated in an Information Session for representatives of municipalities working with resettled refugees, organized by the Refugee Migrant Service of the Bulgarian Red Cross. During the meeting, key activities focused on the integration of refugees were presented, as well as basic information on the legal framework related to their rights and obligations. In addition,  the cultural and social specificities of the Middle East communities were presented. The event provided an opportunity to present the experience of a municipal district that has successfully integrated refugees, as well as the history of a successfully integrated refugee in Bulgaria. The session is organized within the implementation of the ARCI project – Action of Red Cross for Integration of Relocated and Resettled Persons, funded under the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

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On February 11, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, the UNHCR Representation in Bulgaria and the Multi Culti organized a Coalition meeting “Association of Bulgarian Language Teachers as Foreign Language: Opportunities and Next Steps”. During the meeting the initiative to register a professional association of teachers in Bulgarian as a foreign language was discussed, which was proposed during the previous coalition meeting “Bulgarian language training and literacy for adult refugees in Bulgaria” held in October 2019. The aim of the event was to discuss and outline the concrete steps for the implementation of the initiative, as well as future activities, members, challenges and functioning of the Association in the context of the support of the refugees on the path of their integration into the Bulgarian society. During the forum the experiences from the Czech Republic was shared by Peter Pitlik, project manager, provide information on the establishment and functioning of the Czech Teachers Association as a foreign language. The Coalition meeting was organised within the implementation of the NIEM – All In For Integration project – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism. Monitoring and improving refugee integration with the  Multi Kulti Collective and the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants  as the Bulgarian National Partners.

More information: www.niem.refugee-integration.bg

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We present to your attention the Academic Portal, dedicated to the forced displacement, an online portal aimed to unite all the achievements on the topic of refugees of the research community in Bulgaria under one roof. This virtual space aims to serve a growing network of researchers exploring various aspects of forced migration and asylum, providing them with up-to-date information on academic projects, publications, research results, newly created programs and courses, student initiatives, and others. The portal is a kind of bridge for dialogue and knowledge transfer between researchers and organizations working on the field with asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection in Bulgaria. The Academic Portal is also the Bulgarian response to the goal set in the 2018 Global Compact on Refugees for development a global academic network for refugees, other IDPs and stateless persons […] to support research, training, and scholarships that lead to concrete results…[…]

On 22 January the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants and Multi Kulti Collective in cooperation with UNHCR Bulgaria organized a Coalition meetings with leading representatives from the academia. During the event, the specialized research “Forced displacement & academia. Opportunities  for  universities to promote knowledge  and action  refugee issues” was presented. The meeting provided a forum for discussion on upcoming programs and initiatives  implemented by Bulgarian universities and scientific institutions, as well as university professors and students. Moreover, during the event an Academic Portal on forced migration and refugees was  launched, as an innovative online tool for networking, cooperation and resource sharing amongst  the academic stakeholders. The portal is available online at www.academia.refugee-integration.bg and www.academia.bcrm-bg.org.

The Coalition meeting was organised within the implementation of the NIEM – All In For Integration project – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism. Monitoring and improving refugee integration with the  Multi Kulti Collective and the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants  as the Bulgarian National Partners.

More information: www.niem.refugee-integration.bg

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