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ÿíóàðè 2004 Sofia Annual MISSION To promote, Report help develop and sustain the 2004 values, attitudes and Supported practices Projects of the Initiatives open Open Society Institute society in Bulgaria OOPENPEN SSOCIETYOCIETY IINSTITUTENSTITUTE SSOFIAOFIA OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE SOFIA 2005 MISSION To promote, help develop and sustain the values, attitudes and practices of the open society in Bulgaria Democratizing public life in Bulgaria Extending and guaranteeing civil liberties Strengthening civic sector institutions Developing public debates and policies on crucial issues for Bulgaria European integration and regional cooperation of Bulgaria The Open Society Institute – Sofia is registered as a public benefit organization AANNUALNNUAL RREPORTEPORT 22004004 OOPENPEN SSOCIETYOCIETY IINSTITUTENSTITUTE SSOFIAOFIA Open Society Institute — Sofia FOUNDER George Soros Board of Trustees Stefan Popov – Chairman Haralan Alexandrov Sasha Bezuhanova Kina Chuturkova Marin Deltchev Petia Kabakchieva Juliana Nikolova Svetlana Vassileva Ombudsman Prolet Velkova Executive Director Rayna Gavrilova Financial Director Veliko Sherbanov Program Directors Ivanka Ivanova Assya Kavrakova Neda Kristanova Cveta Petkova Kalin Tsekov Elena Zlatanova Open Society Institute — Sofia Annual Report 2004 CONTENTS 2004....................................................................................................................................4 Financial Profile 2004 ....................................................................................................6 Public Debate Program ...............................................................................................10 European Integration and Regional Stability Program........................................13 Law Program .................................................................................................................15 Governance and Public Policies Program ...............................................................20 Civil Society Program..................................................................................................23 Roma Program ..............................................................................................................26 Education Policies Program .......................................................................................28 Network Scholarship Programs ................................................................................33 Public Health Program................................................................................................35 Network East–East Program.......................................................................................41 Open Society Institute — Sofia Annual Report 2004 2004 In the context of OSI–S strategy for development, the year 2004 was a key one in the efforts of Open Society Institute – Sofia to strengthen its position as an organization committed to developing and implementing new public policies, based on the principle for utmost protection of public interest. This role was operationalized primarily through experts’ work in a variety of areas: legal system, central and local government, public health, education, integration of Roma, civil society. Mobilizing its potential and attracting in a close partnership a large number of experts and organizations, OSI–S elaborated and presented a series of papers: long-term and visionary strategies for the country’s development (“Bulgaria 2005–2010: Sectoral Policies”), as well as targeted and highly specialized expert analyses on decentralization, regional planning, EU accession, etc. Some of the outputs of this expertise were immediately implemented in the practice of both public administration and NGOs who serve as a corrective of the official public policy. OSI–S sees its mission first and foremost as being an active agent of change. To this end, the “hidden” cabinet work of our expert teams in all cases evolved into public discussions, organized in a variety of formats: from focus groups to presentations on the national media. Public discussions and efforts to change public attitudes are always complemented by limited in number and scope, but targeted projects, which test the feasibility of certain practices. Regardless of whether they are meant to assess readiness for conducting reforms in education (“Developing a Secondary School Monitoring System in Bulgaria”) or in state administration (“Distance Learning Program for State Administration Officials”), these initiatives are targeted primarily to identifying possibilities for improving public environment and public policies. Convinced that an open society is built on the principles of rule of law and unfaltering respect for human rights, the Open Society Institute – Sofia launched several strategic initiatives imposed by the dynamics of public processes. Some of them are traditional for the Institute’s profile: support for organizations defending the rights of minorities, refugees and disadvantaged groups, while other propose and introduce innovative approaches to solving law enforcement problems: Access to Justice Project, Community Policing Project. 4 Open Society Institute — Sofia Annual Report 2004 One of the remarkable achievements of the Institute was that it managed to win the trust of representatives of political parties, organizations, public institutions, and think-tanks from the entire political spectrum. This not only legitimizes the activity of OSI–S in society, but also contributes to formulating clear and transparent positions on certain issues, as well as reaching consensus whenever possible. The Civil Convent for Amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution, for example, emerged as the most powerful factor in changing the attitude of constitutionalists and the general public on the need for and the type of necessary constitutional reforms. For the Open Society Institute – Sofia supporting meaningful and consistent reforms and providing targeted technical assistance to public institutions does not invalidate the need for conducting persistent civil control. Monitoring the activity of the Sofia Municipal Council, analyzing the independence of television stations in Bulgaria, and collecting information on cases of violence during detention are only a few examples of the tools that OSI–S employs in an effort to guarantee transparency and efficiency in those institutions, which are responsible for democracy to work. Rayna Gavrilova Executive Director 5 Open Society Institute — Sofia Annual Report 2004 Financial Profile 2004 I. Income The recognized contribution income, verified based on reported expenses for achieving the goals of each grant, amount to 4.8 million US dollars. The reduction, compared to previous years, results from the implementation of the strategy for transforming OSI–S into a public policy institute and the ensuing decrease in the core budget of the Open Society Institute – Sofia from 5.5 million US dollars in the year 2000 to 2.2 million in 2004. 8 000 7 000 6 000 5 000 7914 7424 6131 5687 4637 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Pursuing its strategy to broaden funding sources, the Open Society Institute – Sofia has increased its income from EU programs and other donors outside the Soros Network from 171 thousand US dollars in the year 2000 to 672 thousand US dollars, which includes also resources attracted under projects of consortia led by OSI–S. No Donor Project Amount OSI–S Priority in USD Open Society Institute – Sofia 1 Phare Raxen Program National Racism and $21,062 Civil Society – Xenophobia Monitoring Center Antidiscrimination 2 Freedom House Monitoring Elections in Ukraine $21,044 Rule of Law 3 Canadian International Community Policing $60,660 Rule of Law Development Agency (CIDA) 4 Friends of Bulgaria, Supporting the Activity of $20,883 Children in Socially London Residential Social Institutions Disadvantaged for Children Position 5 Small grants from third $11,897 parties 6 Open Society Institute — Sofia Annual Report 2004 6 Ministry of Foreign Transparency and NGO European Integration Affairs Participation in Fulfilling Bulgaria’s Commitments to $69,650 NATO 7 Ministry of Regional Elaborating a Regional $18,000 Public Administration Development and Public Development Plan for the Works Northwestern Region of Bulgaria $223,196 Consortia led by OSI–S 1 Phare Program - BG Access of Roma to Public $376,000 Roma, 0104.02 Health Public Health Ensuring Minority Access to Healthcare – Improving Access to Healthcare, Bulgaria 2 Commissioned Projects $72,000 European Integration under the Communication Strategy for Bulgaria’s Accession to the European Union $448,000 Total grants $671,196 II. Expenses In 2004 program expenses amounted to 4.1 million US dollars, which according to the International Accounting Standards and the Foundation’s accounting policy include current liabilities on contracted grants, which have not been paid, totaling 2.2 million US dollars as of December 31, 2004. By way of comparison, in 2003 program expenses amounted to 5.2 million US dollars. Program Expenses in 2004 (in thousand US dollars) Program Area 2004 Share in % 2003 2002 Public Debate 543 13.1% 662 567 European Integration and Regional Stability 290 7.0% 179 343 Legal Program 1,072 25.9% 652 862 Public Administration 374 9.0% 823 620 Civil Society Development 247 6.0% 219 242 Open Society Partners Network in Bulgaria 79 1.9% 76 72 Roma 176 4.3% 222 316 Education and Youth 636 15.4% 711 860 Public Health 430 10.4% 319 492 Women’s

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