Pledge to make a difference, together.
The Bulgarian Platform for International Development is the national network of civil society organizations from the sphere of development cooperation. It was created in 2009 as a part of the TRIALOG project in cooperation with CONCORD and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. BPID strives to make the dialogue between the EU and the Global South easier. The Platform unites hundreds of experts and advocates from 16 non-profit national organizations working in the fields of social justice, EU and Bulgarian development policy, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and Global Education.
BPID's member organizations have acquired an extensive experience in advocating. This includes contributing to changes in legislation and state policies in certain areas as well as conducting information and advocacy campaigns in defence of human and civil rights. BPID's members participate in a number of national councils and working groups in several ministries and governmental institutions. Apart from monitoring the implementation of the government's commitments, their experts take part in developing strategies, regulations, programs and proposals for reforms. Their efforts are primarily focused on education, healthcare, children's policies, social policy.
Our main priorities are: Development policy - Development cooperation is among the main tools for implementing the foreign policy of the EU aimed towards the developing countries in order to built a better and more stable future for them. Sustainable Development Goals - The 2030 Agenda is the UN's programme that 193 countries ratified as a joint strategy to make the world a better place to live in. It consists of 17 Goals and 169 Targets. Global Education - The Council of Europe defines Global Education as one that opens the mind. Let us leave a better world for our children, but also better children for our planet.
BPID focuses its efforts on the possibilities for improving the regulatory framework at national and European level in terms of development cooperation. This includes but is not limited to raising public awareness on topics related to development policy and sustainable development, including through the methods and principles of global education.
BPID works actively at several levels in the field of Global Education: - together with 14 European NGOs it works on the Bridge 47 project, co-financed by the EU and part of the DEAR program; - advocates at European and national level in favor of UN's SDG Target 4.7; - conducts annual competitions "Global School" and "Global School in Action", in which hundreds of schools take part; - raises the awareness of the public and journalists on issues related to Global Education through special events and campaigns.
In a national context, the main challenges for Bulgaria's ODA commitments are related to the still insufficient clarity about the financing, the legal framework and the cumbersome bureaucratic procedures for the implementation of development activities and policies by the state. In 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the main executor and coordinator of the development policy, started the preparation of the law on international cooperation, which was to determine both the participation and the procedures for allocating funds bilaterally for non-governmental organizations. BPID played an important role in monitoring the drafting process, as well as in making proposals concerning the participation and role of NGOs. The law was not passed. The process of creating and adopting a law on development cooperation is about to be restarted. Another key document that is a part of BPID's priorities, is the new Medium-Term Program for Development Assistance and Humanitarian Aid (2020-2024), for which the organization participates in consultations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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