An online conference on Good Practices and Approaches in Child Protection was held in early March. The conference was organized by the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF), in partnership with the State Agency for Child Protection and the Education Trade Union of Podkrepa Confederation of Labour, as the final event of the Strengthen project, aimed at building the capacity of professionals from the fields of social services, education and police. The project is co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union.
The conference, which lasted for more than 3 and a half hours, brought together 94 representatives of different organizations from the country that work with children. The focus of the conference was the topic of good international and Bulgarian practices aimed at the protection of children victims of violence and possible approaches and measures for the prevention of violence against children.
Exactly such examples were shared and discussed by the panelists at the meeting - foreign and Bulgarian professionals from different units in the child protection system who apply a strengths-based approach to supporting victims of violence, as well as use restorative justice methods to resolve family conflicts that threaten children's safety.
The conference was opened by Iliyana Nikolova, WCIF Executive Director. "Driven by an understanding of the importance of increasing knowledge and skills, a civil society organization, a government agency and a trade union have joined forces in a joint initiative aimed at increased cooperation between different parts of the national child protection system, as well as an improved understanding of the long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences on the lives of children and young people. We have conducted 28 trainings within the framework of this common project of ours, which have tried to increase the effectiveness of the child protection system in our country and to change public attitudes and build zero tolerance towards violence against children."
The Chairperson of the SACP, Dr. Eleonora Lilova, also shared a few words with the participants in the conference: "I believe that we will all unite around the fact that we need to continuously increase the capacity of people who raise, educate and care for children. It is the professionals who work with children, and the teachers who prepare them, who help us achieve our common goal of ensuring the well-being and right of every child to grow up in a family environment, to have the necessary access to education and health care, and to grow up happy and supported “.
According to Dr. Yuliyan Petrov, Chairman, teachers' trade union "Podkrepa", the meetings have helped Bulgarian teachers to understand that they are not alone, they can look for support from all other institutions, municipal and state, when they have to protect a child.“
In the discussion on the possible future needs and solutions for prevention and protection of children at risk, the panelists were Bulgarian and foreign representatives of institutions, international organizations, civil society, including Ph. Velina Todorova, Vice-Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Deputy Minister of Education Maria Gaidarova, George Nicolaides from the Institute for Child Health in Greece, Delia Popp, Director of Tanya's Dream Fund, Switzerland, representatives of UNICEF, General Directorate for fighting organized crime, Ministry of Education and Bulgarian NGOs involved in the topic - "Lachezar Tsotzorkov" Foundation, Institute for Social Activities and Practices, Safenet, "Hope and Homes for Children", branch Bulgaria.