04.06.2012A conference on ‘Media and advocacy’ was held in Pomorie
Training on ‘How to coop with media and advocacy’ designed for community moderators from the Centers for Community Development in Bulgaria was held in Pomorie from May 28 to May 30. Over 30 people across the country attended the 3-day meeting whose main purpose was to give knowledge on how to behave in front of media, to give radio and TV-interviews, how to write press releases, and how to build relationships with regional and national media. The meeting was attended by the community moderators from Byala Slatina, Kameno, Etropole, Pavlikeni, Peshtera and Novi Pazar as well as by representatives of towns where centers are not officially opened yet: Knezha, Strazhitsa and Radnevo.
Besides the media issue during the meeting in the coastal town was severely affected the advocacy topic on policies related to the integration of Roma in Bulgaria. Mrs. Teodora Krumova – Vice-Chair of the Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance Amalipe, Veliko Tarnovo gave a presentation on the National strategy for Roma Inclusion 2012-2020 approved by the Bulgarian Parliament. Krumova pointed out the main priorities within the strategy. At the meeting became clear that each municipality in Bulgaria is going to develop a mandatory municipal strategy for integration of minorities, a report on the implementation of it will be presented annually to the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integrational Issues. Krumova called the community moderators from the different towns they represent to participate actively in the preparation of municipal integration strategies, since they are those who know best the specific problems of the local Roma communities.
In addition to the community moderators the meeting was attended by several representatives of Roma NGO’s such as ‘A Sun for All’ – Peshtera, ‘A New Road’, Hayredin, ‘World without Borders’, Stara Zagora, and ‘The Faithful Steward’, Burgas. Organizer of the meeting was the Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance Amalipe.
The Centers for Community Development were created in 2011 by Amalipe Center under ‘Promoting fieldwork at grassroots level among traditional and marginalized Roma communities’ project funded by Daphne Program of the European Commission.
