MAYOR FANDAKOVA DISCUSSES WITH EUNIC SOFIA ARTS AND CULTURE

At a time when the strategy “Sofia – Creative Capital 2013 – 2023” is being evaluated and a new framework is being developed for the next ten years, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, Malina Edreva, chairperson of the Sofia Municipal Council Committee on Culture, Education and Diversity and Sofia Development Association met with representatives of EUNIC cluster in Bulgaria. Building on an open and transparent process that aims at developing guidelines that anchor art and culture as an important part of the overall development, the representatives of the EU National Institutes of Culture and the cultural strategy team discusses cultural policy priorities and opportunities for long-term collaboration.

A special focus of the discussion was the upcoming European Innovation Campus on June 8-9, 2023, which will be held in Sofia under the patronage of European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.

Another important topic of discussion was to establish a national partnership for culture and creativity based on the new European policies – the New European Bauhaus, the New European Innovation Agenda, the Pact of Skills and more – to generate shared energy and commitment for active presence at European level, partnership with the newly established EIT Culture and Creativity, joint project development and pursuing other opportunities.

INFORMATION MEETING ON REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN SOFIA

Sofia Development Association (SDA) organizes an information meeting for employers with the participation of Sofia Investment Agency and the Municipal Guarantee Fund for SMEs, which will take place on March 29, 2023 in SofiaInvest.

The event is part of SDA’s initiative “Socially Responsible for Integration,” organized under the SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATION POLICY FRAMEWORK AND SERVICE PROVISION FOR REFUGEES IN SOFIA project, financed by UNHCR – Bulgaria. The event aims to provide up-to-date information to companies and business organizations on business support measures and the integration of refugees in the labor market on the territory of Sofia.

FINAL INNOAIR CONFERENCE: URBAN MOBILITY INNOVATIONS FOR CLEANER AIR AND JUST GREEN TRANSITION

The INNOAIR project will be held its final conference on May 18, 2023, at Sofia Hotel Balkan. The event aims to explore the results and lessons learned from the project that for a third year in a row actively develops Sofia urban mobility and contributes to just green transition.

The conference will present and discuss the innovations, developed and tested in the framework of the project like the on-demand public transport, the introduction of low emission zones, a roadmap for the introduction of congestion charging and others. We will have the chance to compare the progress of Sofia with that of other cities and to identify ways to transfer successful models.

We will review the INNOAIR results from the standpoint of universities, of citizens using the new transport services, participants in student and citizen challenges and hackathons, businesses.

During the conference there will be a fair of other relevant projects implemented by Sofia Municipality and its partners in the area of sustainable mobility and air quality.

Immediately after the conference the participants will be able to take part in a site visit and gain first-hand impressions of on-demand public transport, low emission zones or the traffic control center with the analytic system for public transport timetable optimization – seats are limited, and participation is subject to preliminary registration.

You can register for participation here!     

INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. This is the first Bulgarian project selected for funding by UIA.

THE INDONESIAN CITY OF SEMARANG WILL BE ON A STUDY VISIT TO SOFIA IN THE FIELD OF SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE EUROPEAN PROGRAMME IURC

The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme, an initiative funded by the European Union, is organising a study visit to Sofia for representatives of the city of Semarang City, Indonesia, from 13 to 15 March 2023. The visiting delegation also includes representatives of Association of Indonesian Municipalities (APEKSI). The visit aims to promote cooperation between the two cities in the field of sustainable urban mobility. Previously, the Sofia visited Semarang City in June 2022.

The Indonesian city is interested in how to develop its public transport system, especially the tram transport which is considering to introduce, as well as in best practices of Sofia, such as charging facilities in public transport, the SofiaCoin mobile app created under the INOAIR project, measures to improve air quality, initiatives to encourage more citizens to use public transport.

The programme includes meetings with Mr. Barbalov, Deputy Mayor for Transport, representatives of Sofia Municipality, Sofia Electric Transport, Urban Mobility Centre, Sofia Development Association and other stakeholders and will include a number of visits to mobility related sights.

Sofia, one of the 100 European cities aiming to be climate-neutral by 2030, will share its experiences, achievements and challenges, innovations it is testing for the first time on a European scale, such as on-demand transport under the INOAIR project, and discuss opportunities for continued cooperation in the field of mobility with the forth most populous country with a rapidly growing economy.

About IURC

Funded by the European Union, the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme promotes cooperation between cities on sustainable urban development and builds partnerships between EU and non-EU cities. Participating local governments are enabled to implement pilot projects engaging research, civil society and business partners. IURC contributes to the objectives of the UN New Urban Agenda, the Agenda 2030 (SDGs), the Urban Agenda for the EU and the European Commission’s priorities for a “Stronger Europe in the World” with the European Green Deal and the NextGenerationEU (post COVID-19 recovery plan). IURC is implemented in nine countries in Asia and Australasia: Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Vietnam. In Bulgaria, IURC is pairing the Bulgaria’s capital Sofia with the two Asian cities, namely Sejong of Republic of Korea and Semarang City of Indonesia.

Wesbite: https://www.iurc.eu/       

CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES MARCH 2023 IN THE BUREAU FOR INFORMATION AND SERVICES FOR THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS

During the past month, 70 people used the services of the Bureau of Information and Services for Foreign Citizens. Of all the services offered, the greatest interest in the month of February was in the service offering connections with other non-governmental organizations, followed by services for submitting requests for financial assistance. Language courses are once again among the services sought by foreign citizens.

On the official website of the bureau, a program is offered every month, in which the various services are described by days and hours. The content of this program is in several languages: Bulgarian, English, French, Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic and Persian.

·              You can find the program for March in Bulgarian HERE.
         You can find the program for March in Ukrainian HERE.
         You can find the program for March in English HERE.
         You can find the program for March in French HERE.
         You can find the program for March in Russian HERE.
         You can find the program for March in Arabic HERE.
         You can find the program for March in Farsi HERE.

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