What does effective advocacy look like when it comes to the most vulnerable – children? How can institutions, civil society organizations, and local communities join forces against violence? Representatives of organizations funded by the INSPIRE Fund sought answers to these questions during the training course “Child Rights-Based Advocacy for Child Protection and Violence Prevention.”
The event took place on June 5-7 in the town of Bankya and focused on the need for systemic change and stronger public commitment to children’s rights in Bulgaria.
The three-day training offered a dynamic and interactive format that combined lectures, discussions, case studies, workshops, and game simulations. Participants examined real challenges and learned how to build effective advocacy strategies tailored to the specific needs of the children and communities they work with.
The programme focused on:
- Current statistics and trends on violence against children in Bulgaria;
- Identifying gaps in the child protection system;
- Developing and adapting an effective advocacy plan;
- Successful campaigns and dialogue with institutions based on data and recommendations from the “Report Card” monitoring report;
- Responding to misinformation narratives related to violence against children;
- Working with decision-makers – from local authorities to national institutions;
- Opportunities for strengthening the integrated system for protection and support for victims.
The lecturers in the training were Georgi Elenkov – legal advisor and director of the Children’s Policies Department, NCM, Bella Damyanova, coordinator of the Children’s Policies Department, NCHR, Mirolyuba Benatova, journalist, Katya Krastanova, clinical psychologist, Animus Association Foundation, and Nadezhda Tsekulova, civil activist and communications director at BHC. Each of them contributed specific expertise and practical guidance to the work of the organizations.
This is the third in a series of training sessions on capacity building for organizations supported by the INSPIRE Fund. The previous two were devoted to strategic communications and fundraising. In the coming months, two more trainings will cover different aspects of the organizations’ work to provide them with more in-depth knowledge and practical tools for sustainable impact.
The training sessions are organized by the National Network for Children, which is a partner in the INSPIRE project: Improving national support for the prevention, intervention, and response to violence against children and empowering victims.
From the middle of this year, the National Network for Children will also implement an additional mentoring program for the funded organizations to strengthen their capacity and provide methodological assistance on the following topics: advocacy strategy, building organizational capacity, creating a communication strategy, fundraising support, etc.
The INSPIRE Fund, which is part of the INSPIRE project, has provided grant funding to 46 civil society organizations to implement projects aimed at reducing violence against children and between children. Of these, 33 are being implemented at the local level and the remaining 13 at the national level. The project activities are being implemented in over 150 settlements in the country and are expected to reach at least 500,000 people.
The INSPIRE project is being implemented by the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF) and the National Network for Children (NNC). The project will run for three years, during which CIIF will be solely responsible for providing project funding, while NCC will be responsible for building the capacity of the organizations.
The INSPIRE project is co-financed by the European Union.