Florence Bruce, Director and Tanya Kovacheva, Programme Officer for Central and Eastern Europe of Child Abuse Programme of Oak Foundation participated in the first part of the meeting. Oak Foundation is a strategic partner to Tulip Foundation in the programme.

„To share an idea that you care about is a generous way to change the world around you for better” says the marketing guru Seth Godin. It was on purpose that the participants started the working meeting by sharing important for their team findings and conclusions from the practical activities over that last months.

The main theme of the meeting was empowerment of children and families. Engaged in a lively discussion the participants talked about the reasons we aim to raise the capacities of children and families, which are the main factors and how could these be used most effectively.

Numerous factors were listed as important – trust in own power,  decision making skills, authority of older people in the family, life skills, defined goals, education, motivation, life models, resources of the extended family and the community, information about rights and responsibilities, timely adequate information about possibilities for coping with difficulties, participation of fathers/ male in family life, supporting family and social environment, relationships in the family, shared responsibilities, willingness for supporting others, motivation for change and development and many more.

„On the path of empowerment? Interviews for studying the strong sides of Roma parents and children – the findings from researcher’s work” was the heading of an interesting presentation by Galina Markova from the Know How Centre at NBU, Angela Filipova and Arso Ganev from the local team in Kjustendil. The presentation provoked questions and comments from colleagues from various towns.   

By tradition a local organization presents its work in the frame of each working meeting.  The team of Children and Youth Association told about the activities and its history with a moving film about the life and the perspectives of street children and homeless young people at the end of the first day. The film was an answer to the question why is the association engaged in prevention work. 

The partners from 14 organisations from different towns and cities from around the country worked together during the second day on the objectives and the results of the projects as well as on defining the expected effects from their implementation.