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Partners-Bulgaria
Local Name: Partners
Bulgaria Foundation
Director: Daniela Kolarova,
Ph.D.
# of Staff: 20
Center since: 1998
Contact Information:
66, Ljuben Karavelov St., Floor 2, Sofia 1000
Tel: (359-2) 963-26-77
or 963-26-88
Fax: (359-2) 963-47-99
Email: partners@partnersbg.org
Web: www.partnersbg.org
Partners-Bulgaria was established in 1998 to work with
governmental institutions, municipalities, social institutions,
civil organizations, and the private sector to develop a
strong and sustainable civil society in Bulgaria. The Center
specializes in working with Roma and other marginalized
groups to promote tolerance and implement collaborative
projects, promoting the rights of children in schools and
the larger community, and providing mediation services to
resolve neighborhood, family, business and other disputes.
Highlights from Partners-Bulgaria’s programs include:
Ethnic Conciliation & Integration.
Partners-Bulgaria is implementing a holistic program in
Lom, Vidin and Kjustendil to decrease violence, reduce negative
stereotypes and build tolerance and cooperation across diverse
groups through concrete community initiatives. Through building
sustainable conflict resolution institutions and projects,
the first year of the program has resulted in nearly 300
new jobs, new educational opportunities, and improved social
services for Roma and other minorities in Bulgaria. Click
here for a case study.
Children’s Rights. Through a series
of initiatives, Partners-Bulgaria works to promote the rights
of children. The Center provides legal consultation to parents,
teachers and children, and trains educators and social workers
on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through
its Child’s Rights Information Center; the My Rights,
My Duties program educates teachers on the human rights
of children; Partners-Bulgaria’s Day Center provides
vocational, career, legal, health, and psychological support
for youth in transition from state care to independent life.
Click
here for a case study.
Mediation Services. Partners-Bulgaria
provides mediation services to individuals, organizations
and corporations, and is promoting a legislative initiative
on the possibilities for inclusion of mediation in Bulgarian
law. In addition, in collaboration with Bulgarian National
Television, Partners-Bulgaria prepared a popular educational
TV series on mediation, “I Win, You Win,” and
established a Mediator’s Club to develop professional
and ethical standards.
Mediation in Bulgarian Prisons. Partners-Bulgaria
implemented a program to foster prison reform and resolve
conflicts among prisoners and penitentiary workers. In this
year-long initiative, the Center trained prison security
officers, administrators, social workers and psychologists
in conflict prevention and resolution, and then worked with
penitentiary staff to apply mediation skills to their daily
activities in prisons across the country. Click
here for a case study.
Environmental Issues. Partners-Bulgaria
worked with elected officials, local NGOs, and environmental
and health experts in the highly polluted town of Vratza
to identify common interests and mitigate conflicts resulting
from poor health and environmental conditions. A permanent
Citizens’ Forum was established for ongoing information
exchange and negotiation, and is now developing strategic
programs and partnerships to clean up pollution while promoting
local development.
Academic Courses. Partners-Bulgaria conducts
academic courses in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
in the Law Faculties of Bulgarian universities, and has
published a textbook on ADR, in order to promote the study
and development of this growing field.
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