DOCSLIB.ORG

Middlebury College Davis Peace Project Proposal Immersion

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Middlebury College Davis Peace Project Proposal Immersion Middlebury College Davis Peace Project Proposal Immersion Summer Language and Leadership Academy (ISLLA) Maggie Nazer ‘17 (Team Leader), Eva Bod ‘20, Lee Garcia Jimenez ‘19, Keenia Shinagawa ‘17, Isabella Carey ‘17.5 1.07.2016-31.07.2016, Bulgaria Context: Situated in the eastern Balkans, Bulgaria has undergone a slow and painful transition since 1989 from communism to a market economy. Despite EU membership, GDP growth of around 3%, and positive developments in entrepreneurship and the IT sector, 40% of the population remains at risk of poverty and social exclusion1. Bulgaria’s demographic crisis is also being deepened as an already ageing population is affected by an immigration flow that increases 30-40% annually2 with 55% of immigrants in 2013 being young people between 20-39 years old according to the National Statistical Institute. Additionally, Bulgaria has been greatly affected by the inflow of Syrian refugees beginning in 2011. While nationalism has been somewhat historically characteristic of the Balkans, in the last five years nationalism in Bulgaria has intensified. At both an institutional and individual level, Bulgarians struggle to tolerate, peacefully acknowledge, and accept the existence of multiple faiths, cultures, and lifestyles. Since integration has not been a priority for the Bulgarian government, identities deemed ‘other’- refugees, Muslims, Roma, LGBTQ people- are perceived as a threat and targeted through repressive policies, biased media, and various forms of violence. The Problem: The role of education in peacebuilding and conflict resolution has been highlighted by both theorists and practitioners3. The current Bulgarian educational system does not prepare youth for the challenges and responsibilities of living in an evermore interconnected world and being part of a cosmopolitan community. Bulgarian education is largely ethnocentric and nationalist, emphasizing differences with others through value judgements and failing to engage learners in adequate exploration and critique of multiple perspectives. High school and university education are largely mechanistic, reductionist, and ideologically oppressive. Students are taught what to think instead of how to think. Bulgarian youth lack the critical and creative thinking skills needed to engage in democratic processes, and therefore struggle to understand issues of national and global importance. In an interrelated world, failing to understand the global effects of local actions hurts our collective ability to affect change. Peace building education foregrounds the importance of informed current events and develops critical thinking skills and a desire for lifelong learning. Paulo Freire’s participatory pedagogy—which inspires our program—emphasizes dialogue as the main instrument for action, collaboration, and collective reflection which fosters responsible, active, and justice-oriented citizens. Our Solution: The Immersion Language and Leadership Summer Academy is a 3-week full-immersion program offered to 40 youth, aged 16-23. Given the ageing of the Bulgarian population, youth are of great importance to driving social change and reform in the country. Participants will be recruited through an open application with the help of partner organizations. The Immersion Academy will take place between 9-21st of July 2017, at a selected hotel in the Rila mountain. The Immersion Academy has three main goals. First, we will create an engaging learning environment in which participants will significantly improve their English proficiency skills by communicating entirely in English. Participants will also be exposed to media, text, and on-site facilitators who are native English speakers. Second, we will support the development of critical thinking skills by modeling how to frame problems from different perspectives, access and evaluate information, and create and communicate effective arguments. Third, we will support our students in their process of self-empowerment and promote the ideal of active citizenship and change-making through diverse forms of leadership. To accomplish these tasks, our educators will be trained in cultural awareness, lesson design, discussion leading, curriculum development, and more. In the months before the workshop, educators will participate in biweekly 2-hour workshops. Upon arrival the team will partake in a 40-hour practical training led by our Director of Curriculum Development and Assessment. The project team members come from different ethnic backgrounds and have navigated diverse international environments, overcoming and embracing difference in the process. We believe that this will be an asset for relating to and inspiring our international participants. At the same time, we recognize that the world our students will enter is not the same as the one that grounds our own education. Language learning is a productive, receptive, and interpretive action which engages the concepts of culture, identity, 1 People at risk of poverty or social exclusion. (2015). Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statisticsexplained/index.php/People_at_risk_of_poverty_or_social_exclusion 2 Alpha Research (2015). Study on Bulgarian Labour Migration. Retrieved from http://bulgaria.nlembassy.org/appendices/study-on-bulgarian-labour-migration---desk-research.html 3 UNICEF. The Role of Education in Peacebuilding.(2011) . Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/files/EEPCT_Peacebuilding_LiteratureReview.pdf and understanding4. Whereas the learners’ first languages allow them to critically engage in local contexts, learning English as a second language allows them to utilize their critical awareness in a global dialogue5. The Academy promotes peace by facilitating young people’s use of English to reflect on their relationship to the world and their ability to affect change in their communities. By using the medium of language learning to address these questions, we embrace the principle that “…every time language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with their interlocutors; they are also constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world"6. During the program, participants will be introduced to a set of essential questions7 during daily class sessions. In addition to class activities and discussions, participants will be asked to do their own research, identify issues of interest to them, present them to their peers, brainstorm, and collaboratively reflect on possible strategies for action. All groups will use multimodal learning tools, including audio-visual material, simulations, discussions, group projects, blogging, ethnography, and presentations. Each class will be led by a native speaker with the support of a local assistant. During the final week of the program, working individually or in small groups, participants will select social issues that are relevant to them to develop projects on. Another important component of the program will be participant-led workshops. Program participants and staff members will offer a variety of daily workshops to share knowledge, skills or otherwise meaningfully engage with their peers. This will be a way to practice leadership, learn from and with others, and build leadership repertoire and exposure. With an improved ability to express themselves, communicate with others, and access information, we anticipate that participants will become ambassadors of intercultural understanding in their communities. They will be able to advocate for human rights and conflict prevention and resolution locally and internationally. Through a multimodal framework that foregrounds sociocultural issues in language learning and leadership development, the Academy will enable participants to actively and positively shape future opportunities for subsequent generations, facilitating their inclusion through the development of inclusive identities, cultures, and knowledge construction in their local contexts. Our Vision: A generation of empowered youth who use English as a tool to access information and communicate with people outside of their country. They are motivated to be lifelong learners, to reflect on their position in the world, and to act as agents of change through both individual and collective action. Our Mission: To support the development of youth as creative, critical, and cosmopolitan thinkers and contribute to the establishment of a transnational attitude toward problem solving and personal and community development. Impact Measurement: Our language, critical thinking, and leadership impacts will be measured against our learning objectives through diverse monitoring and evaluation tools such as pre- and post-program surveys, evaluations, and other quantitative and qualitative methods, developed by our Director of Curriculum Development and Assessment. Sustainability model: ISLLA is not a one-time initiative but the pilot for an international social enterprise founded by Maggie Nazer. The initial summer program will be used to inform and establish similar full and partial immersion programs throughout the calendar year throughout Bulgaria. We aim to soon be able to offer immersion programs to youth from all over Europe via funding through participation fees, corporate sponsorships, and donations from relevant EU institutions. Team and Support Network: The project team is comprised of Middlebury students, advisors, and external affiliates with established interest and experience in education, youth empowerment, and social
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cooperation Between Police Forces and LGBT Organisations in Europe
    Richard Polaček Joël Le Déroff Joining forces to combat homophobic and transphobic hate crime Cooperation between police forces and LGBT organisations in Europe Joining forces to combat homophobic and transphobic hate crime Cooperation between police forces and LGBT organisations in Europe Written by Richard Polacek Joël Le Déroff August 2010 Written by Richard Polacek and Joel: Le Déroff The European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association (ILGA) rue Belliard straat 12 Brussels B-1040 Belgium Telephone: + 32 2 609 54 10 Fax: + 32 2 609 54 19 [email protected] www.ilga-europe.org Layout: Silja Pogule, www.siljadesign.lv Printer: Corelio Printing, www.corelioprinting.be ISBN 978-92-95066-04-5 This Guidelines is supported by the Directorate-General for Employment, social affairs and equal opportunities of the European Commission. Its funding is provided for under the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity PROGRESS (2007-2013). For more information see: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/progress/index_en.html The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission. The research was financially supported by the Dutch Government within the frame of a project Working with the police and challenging hate crimes in Europe 2008-2011. THIS DOCUMENT IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN LARGE PRINT ON OUR WEBSITE: WWW.ILGA-EUROPE.ORG Joining forces to combat homophobic and transphobic hate crime Welcome In the past years, we have witnessed some positive developments of the legal environment to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation in the European Union Member States, although a lot still remains to be done.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgaria's Perpetual Stagnation Due to Its Negative National Narrative
    Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CMC Senior Theses CMC Student Scholarship 2021 Maledictum Bulgaricus: Bulgaria’s Perpetual Stagnation Due to its Negative National Narrative and Political Nostalgia Yoana Sidzhimova Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Sidzhimova, Yoana, "Maledictum Bulgaricus: Bulgaria’s Perpetual Stagnation Due to its Negative National Narrative and Political Nostalgia" (2021). CMC Senior Theses. 2645. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2645 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you by Scholarship@Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in this collection by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Claremont McKenna College Maledictum Bulgaricus: Bulgaria’s Perpetual Stagnation Due to its Negative National Narrative and Political Nostalgia submitted to Professor Zachary Courser by Yoana Nikolaeva Sidzhimova for Senior Thesis Full Year Thesis 2020 – 2021 May 3, 2021 1 Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank Professor Courser for his guidance throughout my entire journey at CMC. From sitting in his office for our first ever advisor meeting freshman year, having the pleasure to learn and work alongside him in CMC’s Policy Lab, and, finally, completing my thesis with his guidance, my experience at CMC would not have been the same without him there. Thank you for always pushing me and helping me understand the value in a ‘Big Think,’ having my best interests as a both a student and individual at heart, and, most importantly, reminding me the value in slowing down and taking a breather. I have learned so much from you in the past four years.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights Information Bulletin – No
    Human rights information bulletin – Recent titles No. 85, November 2011- April 2012 ISSN 1608-9618 – H/Inf (2012) 2 (2012) Human rights Human rights of Roma and Travellers in Europe ISBN 978-92-871-7200-6, €15/US$30 of Roma Human Rights writings In many European countries, the Roma and Traveller populations are still denied basic human rights and suffer blatant racism. They remain far behind others in and terms of educational achievement, employment, housing and health standards, and they have virtually no political representation. Travellers In many European countries, the Roma and Traveller populations are still denied basic human rights and Anti-Gypsyism continues to be widespread and is compounded by a striking lack of knowledge among the general population about the history of repression of Roma in Europe. In times of economic crisis, the tendency to direct frustration against scapegoats increases – and Roma and Travellers appear to be easy targets. This report presents the first overview of the human rights situation of Roma and in Europe suffer blatant racism. This report aims to encourage a constructive discussion about policies towards Roma Travellers, covering all 47 member states of the Council of Europe. Its purpose is to encourage a constructive discussion about policies towards Roma and Travellers in Europe today, focusing on what must be done in order to put an end to the discrimination and marginalisation they suffer. and Travellers in Europe today, focusing on what must be done in order to put an end to the discrimination www.coe.int The Council of Europe has 47 member states, covering virtually the entire continent and marginalisation they suffer.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgaria 2000
    Welcome to Bulgaria 2000 ISTANBUL, Turkey May, 1999 By Whitney Mason With his stylishly coifed hair and well-cut clothes, Giorgi Kuzmov, known as "George" to his many foreign friends, might not look like someone interested in international affairs. My old friend Frederic, working at the French Embassy in Sofia as the attachd audiovisuel, had introduced me to George because, as one of Bulgaria's top TV executives, he knew a lot of Bulgarians who spoke English and most of them happened to be beautiful young women. But one of the joys of the Balkans, for a reporter, is that here politics is not a subject of interest only to specialists but a universally fascinating aspect of the drama of everyday life. And so it was perfectly natural that night, as Giorgi and I drove through Sofia's pot-holed streets in his Dodge Voyager van, that he brought up the sub- ject of Kosovo, where NATO would begin air strikes a few weeks later. Wasn't it hypocritical of the U.S. to moralize about Kosovo, Giorgi asked rhetorically, while never raising any opposition to Turkey's oppression of the Kurds? Since then, I have heard that question repeated many times; I have never had a re- sponse to offer. A cool acid jazz tune by US3 was playing loudly when we walked into E1 Cabana. Giorgi introduced me to three beautiful friends and ordered gin and tonics all around before segueing seamlessly back to Kosovo. "What would Americans say if blacks in New Orleans (where he'd just spent ten days) de- clared that they wanted independence?" Giorgi asked.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgaria 2018
    Monitoring the Right to Free Assembly Pavleta Alexieva Aylin Yumerova Margarita Kaloyanova Radina Banova Nadya Shabani 2017 Bulgaria 2018 #right2freeassembly A TIME TO PROTEST: THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY IN BULGARIA Research report on citizens’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law, 2017 - 2018 “... a group of shrill women who wanted to capitalize on Authors: Pavleta Alexieva, Aylin Yumerova, Margarita Kaloyanova, Radina Banova (Bulgarian Center their children, manipulating society, bringing these – presumably for Not-for-Profit Law) sick – children out in the scorching sun and in the rain, without a Editor: Nadya Shabani (Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law) hint of a motherly feeling of care for them...”, Published in May 2019 spoken by Valeri Simeonov, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Demographic Policy in the Third Government of Boyko This publication has been developed within the framework of the “Support to Civil Society Organizations Borissov, on occasion of the protest of mothers of children with Continued and Expanded” Project implemented by the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law and disabilities in 2018. financed by America for Bulgaria Foundation. The content and views expressed in this publication belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of America for Bulgaria Foundation. The monitoring report was conducted as part of the ‘Monitoring the Right to Free Assembly’ regional The Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL) is a foundation registered under project, managed by the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) The project is made possible the Bulgarian law in 2001 as a non-profit public-benefit legal entity.
    [Show full text]
  • HUMAN RIGHTS in BULGARIA in 2013 the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Is an Independent Non-Governmental Organisation for the Protection of Human Rights
    HUMAN RIGHTS IN BULGARIA IN 2013 The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee is an independent non-governmental organisation for the protection of human rights. It was established on 14 July 1992. Chair: Krassimir Kanev Deputy chair: Desislava Simeonova Members of the General Assembly: Antoaneta Nenkova, Daniela Furtunova, Desislava Simeonova, Dimitrina Petrova, Georgi Bankov, Georgi Toshev, Iliana Savova, Ivan Bedrov, Kalina Bozeva, Kiril Ivanov, Krassimir Kanev, Margarita Ilieva, Ramadan Kehajov, Vassil Chaprazov, Valko Stanev, Yana Buhrer Tavanier. Contents Political developments in Bulgaria during 2013 5 Right to life, protection from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment 7 Right to liberty and security of person 12 Independence of the judiciary and fair trial 16 Right to respect for private and family life, home and the correspondence 21 Freedom of conscience and religion 23 Freedom of expression and access to information 26 Conditions in places of detention 33 Protection against discrimination 42 Right to asylum, freedom of movement 53 Women’s rights 60 Rights of the child 64 LGBTI rights 69 List of abbreviations AEJ Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria AIP Access to Information Programme BHC Bulgarian Helsinki Committee BNT Bulgarian National Television BSP Bulgarian Socialist Party CBS Correctional boarding schools CEM Council for Electronic Media CPA Child Protection Act ECHR European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR European Court of Human Rights ESDRA Enforcement of Sentences and Detention under Remand Act FRA EU Fundamental
    [Show full text]
  • TABLE of CONTENTS Part I Theory and Sexuality Part II Sexual Politics in the East
    TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Introduction 3 Melinda Chateauvert Part I Theory and Sexuality Is Sexuality the End of Utopia? 8 Francis Ronsin (France) The Absent Foucault: Bulgarian (Mis)uses 13 Stanimir Panayotov (Bulgaria) Mêmeté and the Critique of Sexual Difference: On Monique Wittig=s Deconstruction of the Symbolic Order and the Site of the Neuter 23 J. Edgar Bauer (Germany) Part II Sexual Politics in the East Constructing a Narrative: The History of Homosexuality in Poland 32 John Stanley (Canada) Invading Law and Public Space? The Situation of LGBT Persons in Poland 51 Patrycja Pogodzinska (Poland) The ASexual Revolution@ in Bulgarian Socialism 59 Karin Taylor (Austria) The LGBT Movement in Bulgaria 75 Monika Pisankaneva (Bulgaria) Melting the Iron Curtain: the Beginnings of the LGBT Movement in Slovenia 83 Bogdan Lešnik (Slovenia) New Social Movements in Turkey: Kaos GL as a Sexual Identity Organization 94 Mustafa Kemal Coskun and Tuba Ozkan (Turkey) Feminism and its Impact on a Couple=s Life 105 Maria Nicoleta Turliuc (Romania) 1 Part III Sexual Politics in the West The Connection Between the Squatter, Queer and Alterglobalization Movement: The Many Diversities of Multiculturalism 117 Saskia Poldervaart (The Netherlands) The Demise of Gay and Lesbian Radicalism in the Netherlands 117 Gert Hekma (The Netherlands) Antiracist Queer Politics: a Gramscian Approach 142 Nancy Wagenknecht (Germany) Walking the Streets: The U.S. Prostitution Rights Movement from An International Perspective 153 Antonia Levy (Germany) Respectability, Sexuality and Citizenship: Comparing the U.S. Civil Rights and Gay Rights Movements 164 Melinda Chateauvert (United States) 2 INTRODUCTION Melinda Chateauvert1* The essays in this anthology have been written by scholars from across Europe and North America for the sixth meeting of the Socialism and Sexuality network in October 2004.
    [Show full text]
  • On Fundamental Rights
    Fingerprint - State of art Report - 2013 STATE OF ART REPORT on Fundamental Rights A youth perspective on the practical application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy and Portugal. Edited in 2013 - European year of Citizens 1 European Charter on Fundamental Rights - PORTUGAL index 04 ::: General Introduction 06 ::: Portugal 24 ::: Estonia 38 ::: Italy 58 ::: Bulgaria 2 Fingerprint - State of art Report - 2013 3 European Charter on Fundamental Rights - PORTUGAL General Introduction In 4 countries... 4 organizations are committed to the identification of several obstacles that citizens find in their daily life considering their fundamental rights as Europeans. 4 Fingerprint - State of art Report - 2013 The present document is a State of Art Report on the practical application of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights specifically in these 4 countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy and Portugal. Organized in 3 chapters, we will focus first on an overall review of the European Charter considering the national laws of each country, secondly we will introduce 40 real life cases of citizens from these countries that have recently found some obstacles to the fulfilment of their rights as European citizens. Finally, you can find some references that will link you to national and European institutions, projects, departments that can help us all work together and contribute to defending our fundamental rights. According to the Eurobarometer spring 2012 survey. On European Citizenship, the attachment of citizens to the European Union suffered a significant deterioration since the spring 2010 survey, Europeans who are attached to the European Union are now in the minority, more specifically we have:BULGARIA (53%); ITALY (45%); ESTONIA (43%) and PORTUGAL (42%).
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights in Bulgaria in 2014
    HUMAN RIGHTS IN BULGARIA IN 2014 Annual report of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee April 2015 2 The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee is an independent non-governmental organisation for the protection of human rights. It was founded on 14 July 1992. This report was produced with the support of the Open Society Institute – Budapest and the Oak Foundation. Human Rights in Bulgaria in 2014 Sofia, March 2015 The report can be freely quoted upon condition that the source is acknowledged. Authors: The report was written by: Antoaneta Nenkova, Atanas Atanasov, Desislava Ivanova, Gergana Yancheva, Dilyana Angelova, Elitsa Gerginova, Zhenya Ivanova, Iliana Savova, Kaloyan Stanev, Krassimir Kanev, Margarita Ilieva, Radoslav Stoyanov, Slavka Kukova, Stanimir Petrov, Yana Buhrer Tavanier. The access to information section is based on materials provided by the Access to Information Programme. English language editor: Desislava Simeonova Publisher: Bulgarian Helsinki Committee 7 Varbitsa Street, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria Tel. 3592 944 0670 www.bghelsinki.org BULGARIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE HUMAN RIGHTS IN BULGARIA IN 2014 3 Table of contents 1. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN BULGARIA IN 2014 ................................................................... 4 2. RIGHT TO LIFE, PROTECTION FROM TORTURE, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT ... 6 3. R IG H T TO LIBERTY AND SECURITY O F P E R S O N ........................................................................ 13 4. INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY AND FAIR TRIAL .............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgaria About This Guide
    Expeditionary Culture Field Guide Varna Veliko Tarnovo Sofia Plovdiv Bulgaria About this Guide This guide is designed to prepare you to deploy to culturally complex environments and achieve mission objectives. The fundamental information contained within will help you understand the cultural dimension of your assigned location and gain skills necessary for success (Photo: Souvenir vendor in the old part of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, courtesy of CultureGrams, ProQuest). The guide consists of 2 parts: ECFG Part 1 “Culture General” provides the foundational knowledge you need to operate effectively in any global environment with a focus on Eastern Europe. Bulgaria Part 2 “Culture Specific” describes unique cultural features of Bulgarian society. It applies culture-general concepts to help increase your knowledge of your assigned deployment location. This section is designed to complement other pre-deployment training (Photo: USAF and Bulgarian senior NCOs discuss enlisted force development concerns). For further information, visit the Air Force Culture and Language Center (AFCLC) website at http://culture.af.mil/ or contact the AFCLC Region Team at [email protected]. Disclaimer: All text is the property of the AFCLC and may not be modified by a change in title, content, or labeling. It may be reproduced in its current format with the express permission of the AFCLC. All photography is provided as a courtesy of the US government, Wikimedia, and other sources. GENERAL CULTURE PART 1 – CULTURE GENERAL What is Culture? Fundamental to all aspects of human existence, culture shapes the way humans view life and functions as a tool we use to adapt to our social and physical environments.
    [Show full text]
  • INT CAT CSS BGR 29219 E.Pdf
    ALTERNATIVE REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT (CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE) BULGARIA TORTURE AND MISTREATMENT 1 The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) was established on 14 July 1992 as an independent non-governmental organisation for the protection of human rights. The objectives of the committee are to promote respect for the human rights of every individual, to stimulate legislative reform to bring Bulgarian legislation in line with international human rights standards, to trigger public debate on human rights issues, to carry out advocacy for the protection of human rights, and to popularise and make widely available human rights instruments. The backbone of the committee's activities is systematic monitoring of the human rights situation in the country. It gives us information on the state and development of human rights domestically and supplies our legal defence programme with cases of human rights violations for litigation before the domestic and international courts. In addition, the committee reports on human rights violations with a special emphasis on the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, refugees and asylum-seekers, rights of the child, protection from torture and ill-treatment, freedom of expression and association, problems of the criminal justice system. BHC offers free legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses. The committee also works in the sphere of human rights education, organises conferences, workshops, public actions and other forms of public activities aimed at bringing the concept of human rights to the attention of the general public. Contact information: BULGARIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE 7 Varbitsa Street, Sofia 1504, Bulgaria Tel: +3592 943 4876 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.bghelsinki.org Contact person regarding the report: Slavka Kukova, senior researcher, e-mail: [email protected] Sofia, July 2017 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Bulgarian Criminal Code does not criminalize torture.
    [Show full text]
  • History the Land That Gave Birth to the Legendary Orpheus and Spartacus, Bulgaria the Shortest History Is a Country with a Long, Tumultuous and Fascinating History
    © Lonely Planet Publications 31 History The land that gave birth to the legendary Orpheus and Spartacus, Bulgaria The Shortest History is a country with a long, tumultuous and fascinating history. It has been of Bulgaria by Nikolay invaded, conquered and settled by Greeks, Scythians, Romans, Byzantines Ovcharov runs quickly and Turks, all of whom left their indelible marks on the landscape. Bulgaria’s through the highpoints of medieval ‘Golden Age’, when the Bulgar Khans ruled over one of the larg- Bulgaria’s past, cramming est empires in Europe, was bright but brief, while 500 years of subsequent, a lot of interesting facts brutal Turkish domination isolated the country from the rest of Europe. into just 70 brightly More recently, Bulgaria spent four decades as a totalitarian Soviet satellite, illustrated pages. again leaving this small Balkan nation in the shadows as far as the Western world was concerned. It’s no wonder, then, that Bulgarians are so passion- ate about preserving their history and their culture, which has survived so often against the odds. In the last years of the 20th century Bulgaria began opening up, and is one of the newest members of the EU. BEGINNINGS Excavations of caves near Pleven (in the Danubian plains in northern A Concise History of Bulgaria) and in the Balkan Mountains have indicated human habitation Bulgaria by RJ Cramp- as far back as the Upper Palaeolithic Period around 40,000 BC. However, ton is a scholarly and archaeologists now believe that the earliest permanent settlers, arriving comprehensive overview around 6000 BC, were Neolithic people who lived in caves, such as at of the country’s history Yagodina in the southern Rodopi Mountains ( p162 ) and later, between from prehistoric times up about 5500 BC and 4500 BC, in round mud huts.
    [Show full text]