Public Discussion: Integrating Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children in the Educational Systems of the EU Member States: the Case of Bulgaria
Bulgaria meets only 15% of the international standards for immigrant access to education. The advantages and disadvantages of the procedure for educational integration of refugee and asylum-seeking children in Bulgaria will be presented at a public discussion on June 8 2012 at 10:30 am at the Center for the Study of Democracy.
The Handbook Integrating Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children in the Educational Systems of the EU Member States will be presented at the discussion. The Handbook presents the research methods and findings of the project Integrating Refugee and Asylum-seeking Children in the Educational Systems of EU Member States: Evaluation and Promotion of Current Best Practices” (INTEGRACE). The study encompassed 26 EU member states, participating in the European Refugee Fund, as well as Norway and states from the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro). The final 32 country reports pay special attention not only to the inherent weaknesses of the educational integration of refugee and asylum-seeking children, but also to the successful practices in the field.
The conducted thorough research allowed the formulation of recommendations with a national and Europe-wide character. Dr. Mila Mancheva from the Center for the Study of Democracy will summarize the experience of Bulgaria in the educational integration of refugee and asylum-seeking children and will present key recommendations for improving the policies and practices in the field. Recommendations for improvement the work with children in three main areas - ensuring access to education; knowledge assessment and establishment of specific needs; and quality of education will be outlined during the Discussion. The recommendations are based on the review and analyses of existing good practices in Europe and the study of their applicability in the Bulgarian context.
The presentation of the Handbook and the recommendations will lead to a discussion between representatives of state institutions, working in the field of education and immigrant integration, and prominent experts in this area.
Past events and publications on this topic
* Project co-financed under the European Refugee Fund. Sole responsibility lies with the author and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.
