From July 24 to August 1, 2023, the coordinator of the Network for Legal Aid to the National Network for Children participated in a professional legal exchange in the USA under the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), dedicated to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980. The coordinator of the Legal Aid Network participated alongside nine other Bulgarian legal trainees (judges, lawyers – including att. Yordanka Bekirska, volunteering in the Legal Aid Network; judicial executors, representatives of institutions).
During the professional exchange, experts from Washington, Saint Petersburg, Tampa, and Chicago (lawyers from the central body of the Hague Convention, judges, attorneys, investigative police, social service providers) shared their expertise and best practices related to the application of the Convention, including the prevention of child abduction by parents/relatives.
A broader range of topics crucial to the Legal Aid Network of the National Network for Children was also addressed, including: prevention of parental alienation; family mediation in cases of child abduction by a parent; protection system; coordination mechanisms for working with children at risk/affected by violence and more.
We are pleased that the National Network for Children is recognized by the U.S. State Department as an essential factor in all these matters. The exchange was particularly beneficial for the future legal and advocacy work of our Legal Aid Network.
