https://www.activecitizensfund.bg

On 01.07.2020 The Foundation for Access to Rights started a new project called DEFEND: Preparing a new generation of young defenders of the fundamental rights of refugees and migrants.

The project is with a duration of 8 months and is funded under the program "Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria" of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (FM of the EEA) 2014-2021, approved in the competition scheme for small initiatives, Thematic priority № 2: Support for human rights. The funding for the project amounts to 9,977.68 euros.

Within the project, the FAR team, together with experts in the field of refugee and migration law, will develop and implement a curriculum for training suitable for students and young law graduates. It includes two parts:

• theoretical training - presenting the trainees with the basics of the national and international legislation and case law on refugee and migration law;
• practice - direct work on real cases of refugees and migrants benefiting from the legal assistance of FAR's lawyers.

The model of "learning by doing" deepens the understanding of the participants in the training, gives them professional skills and the initial push for future development in the field of refugee and migration law. This, on the other hand, leads to improved access to rights of refugees and migrants in Bulgaria, who often face legal challenges in trying to settle their lives in the country.

The project activities include:

• development of a curriculum ;
• theoretical training consisting of 12 thematic lectures - discussions;
• practical work on current refugee and migration cases;
• preparation of information videos and articles on key current issues of refugee and migration law:

1) Lack of citizenship among Palestinians - a historical overview of the categories of Palestinians and the Bulgarian experience

2) Procedure for granting international protection to children - a comparative analysis of the new regulations in Bulgaria and the practices in other European countries

3) Refugee women and their access to the labour market in Bulgaria.

4) Impact of the measures during the state of emergency and the emergency epidemic situation on refugee law in Bulgaria.

3) Access to health care for refugees and stateless persons during a pandemic.

Check out the recording from the 3 webinars that took place on 17, 22 and 24 February 2021: