BULGARIA
Association
for Contacts and Cooperation, East European Self-Support – ACCESS
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
Bulgarian Society
for Regional Cultural Studies – BSRCS
Inter-Ethnic Initiative for Human
Rights
Sofia University, Unesco Civic
Education Chair
ASSOCIATION
FOR CONTACTS AND COOPERATION, EAST EUROPEAN SELF-SUPPORT – ACCESS
ACCESS is involved in several international projects. The ‘Balkan regional dialogue and networking’ programme includes field trips and a socio-political survey in Macedonia, an international conference on nationalism in the Balkans, and an international symposium on nationalism and collective identity.
The recent programme ‘Cross-Border Information Exchange on Balkans’ aimed at improving cross-border information on national stereotypes and dominant modes of prejudice toward neighbouring nations.
Other programmes are: ‘Intercultural dialogue and education’, involving seminars, exhibitions, film festivals, documentary films on the theme of ethnic tolerance; ‘Together’, an intercultural project to promote mutual tolerance and better understanding of multicultural diversity in Bulgaria.
ACCESS publishes the newsletter Balkan Neighbours for the benefit of the media in the various countries of the region. Regular monitoring of the mainstream media in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey serves to provide material for the newsletter. ACCESS is also working to extend the project to cover Albania and Romania with the goal of contributing to mutual understanding, thus combating existing stereotypes.
BULGARIAN SOCIETY
FOR REGIONAL CULTURAL STUDIES – BSRCS
In 1993 the BSRCS was engaged in two main projects, the first concerning various minority groups in Bulgaria, the second concerning the study of town market places from the point of view of non-conflictual ethnic interaction. In 1994 the BSRCS realised another project in connection with the two mentioned above, to help disadvantaged minorities in their effort for economic survival, with a focus on the Roma.
The BSRCS participates in the Utrecht University project ‘National and Ethnic Stereotypes in Eastern Europe’.
INTER-ETHNIC INITIATIVE FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS
The organisation aims to encourage civic participation by members of various ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic communities. It seeks to promote their political, social, economic and cultural rights through a variety of programmes. It has developed projects in cooperation with other organisations both within Bulgaria and elsewhere.
SOFIA UNIVERSITY, UNESCO CIVIC
EDUCATION CHAIR
Institute for In-Service Teacher Training (CIUURK)
Sofia University
Boul. Tsar III N 224, BG-1619 Sofia
Tel./ Fax: ++359 2 574921
E-mail: osfoem@bgcict.bitnet
Director: R. Valchev
The Centre carries out research concerning human rights education in multi-ethnic societies and currently works on ‘Human rights in Bulgarian education’. The Centre’s International cooperation programme includes: an academic exchange programme, joint research programmes, exchange of information and documentation. The Human Rights Teaching and Intercultural Education at School offers courses on: international standard setting instruments – universal instruments and regional instruments (Council of Europe); verification and control procedures for human rights: the United Nations and its specialised agencies; human rights education; protection of special groups: rights of the child, women’s rights and minority rights.