Author: Petko Georgiev

Resilient Voices: Defending Civil Society Amidst Hostility

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A man under stress, gathering strength to fight back

Civil society in under attack – everywhere; and this is a part of our response!

Resilient Voices is a joint initiative by ProInfo and the Citizen Participation Forum (CPF), funded by the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS), aimed at supporting key Bulgarian CSOs facing growing public hostility, disinformation, and institutional exclusion. Through targeted mentoring, crisis communication training, and simulated hearings, the initiative helps organisations adapt their public engagement and confidently defend their mission in an increasingly hostile environment.

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IDEU – Inclusive Digitalisation in the EU

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IDEU – Inclusive Digitalisation in the EU – is an initiative aimed at ensuring that the digital transformation in Europe leaves no one behind. We’re concerned about the continuing digital divide and want to understand your experiences with digital inclusion. Through a year-long crowdsourcing campaign (gathering input from a large group of people online, what we like to call “the wisdom of the multitude”), we’re asking citizens across six European countries to share their challenges and propose solutions to policymakers. Your input will directly shape recommendations presented to decision-makers at all levels. We aim to raise awareness about digital policies and build a stronger community of stakeholders to drive digital and political innovation.

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Creating Positive Citizen Narratives

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At a time when divisive rhetoric and negative stereotypes dominate public discourse, fostering a shared, positive vision for Europe and Bulgaria’s place in it is more important than ever. #PositiveCitizensNarrativesForEurope ProInfo (realised in 2024) was an initiative that addressed this challenge by empowering citizens and organisations to craft narratives that inspire unity, engagement, and action.  

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Impactful storytelling and digital marketing against disinformation (#YouImpact)

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The project “Impactful storytelling and digital marketing against disinformation (#YouImpact)” was carried out in 2023 and helped enhance the capacity of civil society organisations in Bulgaria to promote democratic citizen participation as a fundamental European value. The project helped equip them with the necessary skills to employ innovative digital marketing methods, create impactful video content, and conduct effective online campaigns. These efforts aim to counter anti-CSO and anti-democratic disinformation, fostering a more supportive environment for the work of civil society organisations.

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CODE Europe: E-participation for Good Governance and Active Citizenship

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Co-Deciding Europe: Civic Tech for Good Governance and Active Citizenship (CODE Europe), a project implemented in 2021 -2023, piloted the use of crowdsourcing to improve legislation in the EU. Using advanced IT solutions and tailor-made digital tools and platforms, the project aimed at developing a culture of digital democracy and empowered citizens and public authorities to use modern means of interaction in the decision-making process on the subject of air quality.

CODE Europe was carried out by a consortium of organisations from Hungary, Iceland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia. The actual crowdsourcing took place in Athens (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Lisbon (Portugal), Burgas (Bulgaria) and Budapest (Hungary).Besides implementing the crowdsourcing activities in Burgas, ProInfo developed the communications and citizen engagement strategy of the entire project TCODE Europe was carried out with financial support from the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation.

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DigiDEM: Digital Democratic Empowerment and Mobilisation for a Stronger EU

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In February 2023, with a final event in the Bulgarian port city of Burgas, we completed the DigiDEM project, which complements CODE Europe and applies the collaborative methods of crowdsourcing legislation and ‘social listening’ in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Montenegro on the subject of air quality. DigiDEM is funded under the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Commission.

The main results achieved by ProInfo in DiGiDEM project were the creation of the overall communication strategy, and methodological assistance provided to the project partners in the implementation of the communication activities related to engaging citizens in the crowdsourcing pilots in the respective cities. At the end of the porject we also organised a one-day workshop in Burgas, where the crowdsourcing on air quality had been carried out in 2022. The event was co-hosted by the Burgas University Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov, one of the official partners of ProInfo in the implementation of the project. 41 people from a variety of backgrounds – campaigners, journalists, students, environmental scientists, and representatives of local government took part in the event.

Find out more about DigiDEM here.