SOFIA AT THE 10th INTEGRATING CITY CONFERENCE

The 10th annual conference Integrating Cities is part of EUROCITIES efforts to strengthen the dialogue between European, national and local level experts and decision makers in policy areas that are crucial for the integration of migrants in European cities. The importance of involving cities in the implementation of the European agenda for integration cannot be overstated and the conferences are an excellent opportunity to highlight this fact.

The conference aimed to enable city authorities to exchange experiences and discuss the most efficient practices and strategies for integrating migrants at local level. Over 100 cities got together to share their best practices in integrating third-country nationals and discuss local and European-level perspectives for the future of integration and inclusion. The event offered various opportunities for dialogue between local politicians and senior officials from Europe’s major cities, representatives from EU institutions, international and non- governmental organisations, academics, and migrant communities. The conference wass organised in the framework of the project ‘CONNECTION – CONNEcting Cities Towards Integration actiON’, co-funded by the European Commission’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and focuses on “Inclusion for all. Empowering vulnerable migrants in cities”.

Sofia is among the project partners, represented by Sofia Development Association. Sevdalina Voynova was among the conference speakers, in the panel dedicated to migrant access to the labour market, sharing Sofia experience with the Bureau for information and services for third country nationals.

The international conference was held back-to-back with the final Connection event, presenting the guides for cities developed in four areas: city integration strategies, gender perspective to integration, pathways to labour inclusion and one-stop-shop for migrants. SDA co-authored the city guide for access to the labour market, available in English at: https://integratingcities.eu/intro?slide=0. 

The Bureau is established in the framework of #CONNECTION project and funded by a European grant.

CONNECTION project: CONNEcting Cities Towards Integration action, is co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

HACKATHON “INNOAIRCHALLENGE: JUST GREEN TRANSITION AND URBAN MOBILITY” AWARDS THE MOST NOTABLE PROJECTS FOR FAIR GREEN TRANSITION AND MOBILITY IN SOFIA

Today, November 11th, the finale of the hackathon “InnoAirChallenge: Just Green transition and Urban Mobility” took place. The event brought together experts, business representatives, local authorities and scientific circles together with teams from all over the country and Europe. The purpose of the event, opened by Gencho Kerezov, Deputy Mayor for Digitalization of Sofia Municipality, and Maria Sharkova, Director of DXC Technology, was to develop and present bold technological solutions for the green transition in the field of urban mobility in Sofia.

The hackathon takes place thanks to a partnership between the Sofia Development Association (ARS), Sofia Municipality and DXC Technology. The final was held at the Launchee hub. The initiative started at the beginning of the week with 25 teams from 9 cities and 3 countries, of which 15 advanced to the final stage of the competition and had the opportunity to present their projects to the jury and the public.

Participants were people from all over Bulgaria, of different ages and with different professional interests, and the competition was supplemented by a team from the United Kingdom. The main challenges that the teams had to face were related to four main themes:
          • mobility as a service;
          • the next generation of public transport stops and routes;
          • facilitated parking and use of a parking space;
          • the need to involve citizens in making transport decisions.

In the days before the final, the participants had the opportunity to discuss their ideas with various expert mentors in the field of information technology, urban mobility, green transition and smart technologies.

On the final day, the teams were judged by an expert jury with representatives of the Development Association of Sofia, DXC Technology, Sofia Municipality, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, the Center for Urban Mobility, the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria and the Regional Hub of the European Institute of Technologies “KIK Klimat”. The dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Assoc. Dr. Atanas Georgiev, was also part of the jury.

They evaluated the projects based on the following criteria:
          • feasibility of the project;
          • content;
          • technical implementation;
          • presentation and defense.

Team DayOff won the first place in the hackathon with their idea “ParkIt”, which uses trained artificial intelligence to make parking easier in real time by calculating parking spaces using already installed CGM cameras on the streets. The second place was awarded to G-Force with their idea for a Sofia Commute mobile application for purchasing and recharging tickets and cards for public transport with the ability to integrate with existing municipality and CGM systems. The jury awarded the third place to team 1D with an idea for a platform with interactive maps that reflects the urban experience for pedestrians using public transport to improve the adjacent infrastructure.

The prize fund for the first three teams, which has a total value of BGN 15,000, was provided by DXC Technology. The Audience Award, provided by the Sofia Development Association, awarded through a vote of more than 1,230 people online, went to the student team VEMNS Kinetics, which proposed a kinetic tile prototype that, under pressure, produces electricity by using an electromagnetic generator, and the energy produced can be stored in a battery or used for transport.

The Association for Development of Sofia also gave an incentive award in the amount of BGN 500 to the Chaika app team from Burgas for an application for accessing culture and choosing routes for people with motor disabilities. DXC Technology also provided an incentive prize of BGN 500 to the RANO student team for the InSofia application, a collection of information about the city – services, bicycle routes, places with repairs, traffic jams, which can be submitted by citizens or collected by city institutions. The awards were presented by Doncho Barbalov, Deputy Mayor for Finance and Healthcare of the Metropolitan Municipality, and representatives of DXC Technology.

If you want like to watch the full finale of the hackathon “InnoAirChallenge: Just Green transition and Urban Mobility” and get to know all the projects in detail, you can do it HERE.

The hackathon is part of a series within the INNOAIR project, funded by the European initiative Urban Innovative Actions. Sofia is the first Bulgarian city to be selected and become part of the community of innovative European cities. It is also part of the program of the Regional Hub of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology CIC Climate.

EMERGE 3RD REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT MAINSTREAMING: THE ROLE OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

Sofia Shares Integration Lessons with Local and Regional Authorities in Georgia

SDA was invited to present the experience of Sofia for TCN integration at the international EMERGE 3rd Regional Conference on Migration and Development Mainstreaming: The role of local self-government, which took place in hybrid format Tbilisi, Georgia, 8-9 November, 2022.

The conference panels focused on the unique role local-level governance authorities can play in fostering better migration and development outcomes. SDA presented the development of interventions on local level in Sofia that address the needs of third-country nationals across the integration cycle. We emphasized how including local governance authorities in programme design and implementation can support better integration outcomes, related to initial settlement needs or longer-term integration needs. The case study of the Bureau for Information and Services to TCNs in Sofia drew attention as a successful model of coordination and cooperation between local authorities, civil society, and international organizations engaged in migration and integration.

CONNECTION project: CONNEcting Cities Towards Integration action, and UMN project are co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.       

8 NEW REPORTS SUMMARIZING THE RESULTS OF AN ONLINE HATE SPEECH SELF-ASSESSMENT TEST IN 7 EU COUNTRIES ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON THE SDA WEBSITE

After the completion of a self-assessment test on the understanding of hate speech among more than 3,500 respondents from Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy and Romania, the partners of the LEAD – Online project have published 8 reports with survey results - 7 national reports, as well as a comparative one – on their online platforms. The survey targeted students, teachers, trainers and representatives of the non-governmental and media sectors.

The reports contain information about the legal framework that deals with hate speech online in each of the countries surveyed. The documents also examine the differences between legislation on subjects related to freedom of speech in each of the countries. The tools already available to prevent and combat online hate speech are also examined, such as existing centers and already completed initiatives and projects related to the elimination of this phenomenon.

A big part of the report are also the results of the self-assessment test. In Bulgaria alone, over 500 respondents have answered questions asked by the Sofia Development Association on topics related to freedom of speech, hate speech online, the main ways to respond when confronted with it, and others.

All reports can be found in the "Library" section of the LEAD-Online project on the website of the Sofia Development Association.

The project is funded by the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme.

A JOB FAIR FOR BULGARIAN EMPLOYERS AND FEMALE MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES WILL BE HELD IN SOFIA IN NOVEMBER

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Bureau for Information and Services for Third Country Nationals, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Caritas Sofia, the #ForGood Foundation, the Humans in the Loop Foundation and KATRO Bulgaria are organizing a youth exchange for Bulgarian employers and migrant women and refugees. The event is part of the activities of the European RIDE project.

The event will be held on November 17, 2022 /Thursday/ from 10:00 a.m. on 9 Iskar Street, Hall A, as well and online on the Zoom platform. The aim is to develop connections between employers and employees that are female migrants and refugees.

During the event, cooperation will be offered from Bulgarian companies willing to hire women from other countries, including migrants and refugees. The employers will be from different sectors, with employees working in the field of digital skills and services, the veterinary-medical branch, spinners, sorting, machine operators, both in Sofia and in the country.

If you are a migrant or refugee woman looking for work, you can register to participate in the labor exchange by filling out an online form. The working language of the event will be Bulgarian, and translation will be provided depending on the participating women migrants and refugees.

CONNECTION project: CONNEcting Cities Towards Integration action, is co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.