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Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance Amalipe joints the declaration of non-governmental organizations and citizens against the appointment of Valery Simeonov as Chair of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues. We also urged our Roma Integration Network partners and the National Children's Network to join the declaration. Amalipe was among the first organizations to react immediately to the news of the scandalous appointment (see "MC appointed Valeriy Simeonov as chairman of NCCEII" at http://amalipe.com/index.php?nav=news&id=2976&lang=2) . Why do we think all democratically thinking people have to react?

It's not for NCCEII! This structure has been out of function for a long time, it has been de-legitimized, and in this respect the appointment of Simeonov can not worsen anything there. On the contrary, the fact that a politician who described the Roma as "insolent, self-confident and brutal human beings ..." becomes chairman of the NCCEII is a clear sign that this structure is parasitic and does not deserve to exist without a cardinal reform.

It is because of European principles and morality! Talking about principles and morality sounds "old", but they are really important. The ideas and rhetoric of Simeonov regarding minorities are categorically non-European and non-human! On the election platform of his party in 2013 has been planned the creation of gypsy ghettos and tourist attractions outside the settlements. In his fiery speech in December 2015, Simeonov pleaded from the floor of the National Assembly The question remains what are the reasons part of the gypsy ethnicity to become a ruin of statehood and laws because the people who at the time of socialism, about 25 years ago, they worked and sent their children to school, contributed to the creation of public goods, and now they became naked, self-confident and dishonest men-like, wage-claiming without working, claiming social pensions, without being ill, claiming social benefits for children who play with the pigs on the street and maternity benefits for women with instincts of street bitches." These words should not be forgotten, especially since the speaker is not distinguished from them, but merely states that they were not correctly understood because they only concerned some Gypsies ...

Women are not bitches, children do not play with pigs, Bulgaria is not Buchenwald! It is therefore a matter of principle and morality to protest against the appointment of Simeonov. 

And also - because of the hope that civil society will wake up!

Amalipe left NCCEII, along with eight other organizations, on April 8, 2013. After years of trying to make it working "from inside", we were convinced that this could not be done. Our idea then was to "beat the bell" that a cardinal reform or even a completely different structure is needed because the NCCEII does not carry out either coordination between the institutions or consultation with civil organizations (its two main functions). We have pointed out that the Council is used as an alibi for governments not to do anything about integration issues (except the writing of laughing statements) and just to imitate activity. Organizations have proposed specific changes, and stated willingness to engage in talks on reform of the Council. The need for such a reform was also mentioned in reports of the European Commission. Then there were about 30 Roma and pro-Roma organizations in the NCCEII and this was used as a justification for the structure not to be reformed.

The organizations that  left in 2013 can even be "satisfied" with the appointment of V. Simeonov: it fully confirms our allegations and arguments, representing a heavy slap for colleagues who - due to lack of foresight, petty interest or simply because of sincere naive hope for change - remained in the Council and so appear co-appointers of Simeonov.

NCEII is completely de-legitimized! It is time for all organizations to leave the Council and react to this scandalous appointment. Not only the Roma organizations, but also all those who think that establishing ghettoes, calling Bulgarian citizens "brutal human beings", comparing women with bitches and children with pigs, is unacceptable.

Bulgaria is not a Buchenwald and funny images on the tops of hills should not be tolerated!

The Declaration of NGOs and Citizens against the appointment of Valery Simeonov as President of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues is available here.(in Bg) and here in Eng

Representatives of Amalipe Center participated in a peer-to-peer meeting on the RARE project - Changing Discourses. Changing Practices: Roma as a Human Resource. The meeting took place from 24 to 26 May 2017 in Bucharest, Romania. Participants were representatives of organizations from Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova - project partners.

During the meeting, the progress of the partner organizations in the first stage of project implementation was monitored, with organizational questions on preparing the forthcoming activity reports and marking the main tasks in the next reporting period.

Two thematic workshops were held. Within the first, good practices from the participants' experiences were discussed. On behalf of Amalipe Center, Desislava Stefanova presented the work of the community development centers established by the organization and their importance for the modernization and empowerment of the Roma community in Bulgaria from inside the community. Maria Barneva, a representative of Lyaskovets Municipality, an associate partner of the project, pointed out that there are about 30% of the Roma population in the region, with most of them not participating openly on the labor market. There is an obvoius tendency to develop and improve the skills of the Roma in the municipality in order to increase their competitiveness on the labor market by the Roma themselves and by local institutions.

During the second workshop, the pilot activities that the organizations will launch locally in September 2017 were discussed. The participants chose a theme of the general campaign to raise the sensitivity and tolerance that all participants will conduct locally in their countries.

It was also the first time, that the members of the Advisory Board had a meeting.

A preparatory training was included in the program to provide participants with additional information on how to use traditional and social media to promote their activities and campaigning. Partners learned from media experts the tools, techniques and methods for marketing, sensitisation and social mobilisation (incl. social media marketing, creating public awareness & social mobilisation techniques).

The trainer was Tudor MUSAT. Tudor is a broadcast journalist with nearly 25 years of experience and a certified trainer. Currently TV anchor and moderator at Digi24 national news network, Tudor was previously a talk-show host and anchor at Realitatea TV news channel, and Radio Total and Realitatea FM radio networks. He was also a broadcast journalist and producer at BBC World Service, London, for two years.As a journalism trainer, he teaches TV reporting and interviewing techniques at Media FEM and The Nest Project and is a regular guest speaker at the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Bucharest. 

More information about the project here.