Hope and Homes for Children – Bulgaria was part of a conference in Varna, on 30 of April 2019, of the Velux Foundations “Results and Prospects of NGOs in their Work with the Roma in Central and Southeastern Europe”. The organization was represented by Mr. Georgi Simeonov – Executive Director, Boryana Klimentova – Program Director and Elena Petkova – National Coordinator for Children’s Policies of Hope and homes for children – Bulgaria. During the conference, our organization presented its models of work, introduced the colleges to achievements and successes, and had the opportunity to exchange experience with colleagues from Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The conference was opened by Jens-Jorgen Pedersen of the Velux Foundations, who stressed the importance of all organizations implementing their projects being a bit curious and always looking and moving away from the line.
Christian Holtet of the Velux Foundations presented the program, as well as the key lecturer, Mr. Liviu Matei, who introduced the audience the state of the Roma community in the region. Each of the 50 organizations from Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic who are implementing projects funded by the Velux Foundations then reported on their activities, results and work in support of Roma communities. The conference ended with group work among all participants as each organization had the opportunity to share and discuss their best practices for working in the Roma community.