On June 9 and 10, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants in partnership with the Multi kulti collective, and the UNHCR Representation in Bulgaria UNHCR organised a Laboratory for Cooperation. The Enhancement of the Capacity of Civil Society Structures for the Integration of Refugees and Migrants. Representatives of non-governmental organizations from all over the country and municipalities took part in the event, expressing interest in cooperating on the topic. The event was attended by NL Narasimha Rao – the new UNHCR Representative in Bulgaria.
The current picture and the development in the field of integration of refugees were presented within the Laboratory for Cooperation. Using the method of an interactive workshop, a map was made of the opportunities, initiatives and needs of the civil sector for the integration of refugees. Good practices of European non-governmental organizations for integration of refugees were presented. In the main part of the Laboratory for Cooperation in the Open Space Method, the representatives of the non-governmental organizations had the opportunity to develop and present ideas on specific issues and topics related to the integration of refugees.
The Cooperation Laboratory is a logical continuation of the program of the Bulgarian Council for Refugees and Migrants to support the development of the capacity of civil society structures in the field of forced migration, international protection and integration of refugees, thus preparing a network of organizations to be a reliable partner of state bodies, local authorities and all other stakeholders in the process of protection and integration of refugees.
The event was organized within the framework of the implementation of the project “Advocacy for refugee integration in Bulgaria” and project “NIEM – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism”, funded by AMIF of the EU.
