Author: Petko Georgiev

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

Petko Georgiev Leave a comment

ProInfo is proud to be contributing to the project Co-Deciding Europe: Civic Tech for Good Governance and Active Citizenship (CODE Europe) which pilots an innovative e-participation collaborative method of crowdsourcing legislation in Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Latvia and Estonia. Using advanced IT solutions and tailor-made digital tools and platforms the project aims at developing a culture of digital democracy and empowers citizens and public authorities to use modern means of interaction in the decision-making process on the subject of air quality.

CODE Europe is carried out by a Consortium of organisations from Hungary, Iceland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia. The three year project started in January 2021 with the support of the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation.

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DigiDEM: Digital Democratic Empowerment and Mobilisation for a Stronger EU

Petko Georgiev Leave a comment

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.

EU Citizens “in Limbo” – Debate in Sofia

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Ending the „limbo“in Europe: Initiative for improved implementation of the rights of the EU citizens residing in another country of the Union

 

On May 29, 2015 ProInfo carried out the first of a series of national debates focused on active citizen impact on EU policies. The debate focused on the role of civil society for improving the implementation of the basic EU right of freedom of movement while at the same time preventing the abuse of social funds by “social benefit tourism”. The participants in the debate discussed and adopted a policy initiative  for improved implementation of the rights of the EU citizens residing in another country.

See the Debate Agenda, watch the International Panel of the Debate Relive here.

This video is in English and includes the debate contributions from Belgium, Spain, Albania and Austria.

Videos from the debate :

(all videos here in Bulgarian)

Petko Georgiev, Chairman of ProInfo: We want active citizen involvement, both in the “immigrant recipient” and the “immigrant donor” countries.

MEP Svetoslav Malinov: “Yes” to limiting social benefits tourism, “No” to compromises with fundamental rights and freedoms!

Vesselin Paunov, Bulgarian Journalists Living in the UK: The truth is that no matter how qualified they are, most Bulgarians are forced to take unqualified, low-paid  jobs.

Borislav Bojidarov, Labour Migration Expert, Embassy of the Netherlands in Sofia: The Problems Lie in the Lack of Information and in the Cultural Differences.

MEP Angel Djambazki: Social migration should not be encouraged!

Ivan Todorov, The Amalipe Center for Inter-Ethnic Tolerance: You can’t be an EU citizen before being a Bulgarian citizen First.

MEP Eva Paunova: We’re working on faster recognition of education diplomas in the EU.