On October 24, 2023, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science, the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers and SU “St. Kliment Ohridski” orgabised the Academic Forum “Social and Educational Inclusion of Refugees”.
The Academic Forum is a logical extension of the Bulgarian Council for Refugees and Migrants’ strategic efforts to engage the academic community in the field of refugees in response to the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR), par. 43: a global academic network on refugees, other forced displacement and statelessness will be established, comprising universities, academic alliances and research institutions, together with UNHCR and other relevant stakeholders, to facilitate research, training and opportunities for scholarships that lead to concrete results in support of the goals of the global compact. Efforts will be made to ensure regional diversity and expertise from a wide range of relevant subject areas.
The event was attended by leading representatives of the academic community and university lecturers, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science. The event was opened by Mariana Tosheva – Chairperson of the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers, Dr. Kina Sabeva – Chairperson of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, Associate Professor Dr. Vanya Bozhilova – Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogy of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and Ana Radulesko, vice-president of the International Federation of Social Workers, president for the Europe region.
During the event, the following academic papers were presented, which will be published in a collection:
- Functions of social work with refugees
Prof. Dr. Siika Chavdarova – Kostova, Faculty of Pedagogy, Department of “Theory of Education”
- Social inclusion of persons seeking international protection residing in the registration and reception centers of the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers
Mariana Tosheva, Chairperson of the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers
- Socio-pedagogical reading of the vulnerability of refugees
Prof. Dr. Maya Cholakova, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Arts, Department of “Social Pedagogy and Social Work”.
- Sleep quality in asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in a social work perspective.
Prof. Dr. Ginka Mekhandzhiyska, Faculty of Pedagogy, Department of Social Work.
- Quality of social work with refugees – why, what, how
Assoc. Dr. Rositsa Simeonova, Faculty of Pedagogy, Department of Social Work
- Approach to social work with refugees who have experienced trauma
Ch. Assistant Professor Teodorina Milusheva, Ph.D., Faculty of Pedagogy, Department of Social Work.
- The war through the eyes of children (with a focus on the museum of childhood during the war, Sarajevo)
Prof. Dr. Vladislav Gospodinov, Faculty of Pedagogy, Department of “Theory of Education”.
- Good practices for educational integration of refugee children
Ch. assistant professor Ekaterina Tomova, Ph.D., Faculty of Pedagogy, Department “Theory of Education”.
- Social integration of refugee children through education – specifics and challenges
Kristina Gologanova, PhD student, Faculty of Pedagogy, Department of Social Work
- Armenian refugees – an (un)solved problem
Dr. Alexander Hristov, Faculty of Pedagogy
- Reflective picture of students’ work with refugees
Prof. Violeta Kotseva, Kremena Yordanova, assistant professor, Faculty of History
