On 3 July 2025, the NGO Initiative for Equal Opportunities held an event under the motto “Beyond Survival: Ending Child Poverty and Institutional Care through Early Support”.
The event aimed to raise awareness of the link between poverty and institutionalisation; to emphasise the need for timely and quality support for families; to present concrete steps for reforming the child protection system; and to mobilise cooperation between institutions, municipalities, and civil society.
Sociologist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexey Pamporov gave a presentation entitled “Early Support – a Solution, not a Luxury”, highlighting the connection between poverty, the lack of sufficient services, and institutionalisation.
In the panel “What changes are needed?”, five key policy demands were presented, identified on the basis of field research conducted under the project “Roma Children in Institutional Care”. Comments were provided by Bella Damyanova, National Network for Children; Iskra Stoykova, Trust for Social Achievement; and Vanya Kaneva, UNICEF Bulgaria. Highlights from the NNC’s annual monitoring report Report Card: What is the Average Grade of the State in Childcare? were also presented, along with comments on the implementation of the European Child Guarantee in Bulgaria.
The panel “The Voice of the Community: What does support mean in practice?” featured representatives from Legal Incubator and Association Integro.
