Bulgaria: Advocacy Meeting on Refugee Integration

On June 14, 2022, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, in partnership with the UNHCR and the Multi-Culti Collective, held a meeting on advocacy for refugee integration in Bulgaria.

The meeting was attended by representatives of NGOs, the Council of Ministers, local authorities, and the academic community. A Manifesto for the Integration of Refugees in Bulgaria was presented for discussion and consultation at the meeting. The Refugee Integration Manifesto is the result of a six-month process of joint development by representatives of all stakeholders as well as the refugees themselves.

The document is being developed with the aim of being a key program advocacy document for creating an effective integration system and supportive environment for the reception, inclusion, and integration of refugees in Bulgaria.
The Manifesto highlights the leading role of the state and local authorities and the importance of the participation of the civil sector in the refugee integration system. The Manifesto presents a model where both refugees and local communities can benefit from a two-way integration process.

The advocacy meeting and the creation of the Manifesto are part of the strategic activities of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants to develop the capacity to build an effective mechanism for the integration of refugees in Bulgaria as an opportunity for social and economic development at the local and national levels.
The meeting and the development of the Refugee Integration Manifesto were organized within the framework of the projects “Advocacy for Refugee Integration in Bulgaria”, funded by UNHCR, and “National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM)”, funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.