Information and Documentation Centre on the Council
of Europe
1997 was an important year for the Council of Europe
as it witnessed the second summit of the heads of state and
government of the member states in the history of the organization.
It also witnessed the development of IDCCES as a focal point for
Council of Europe-related and an important resource center for
Bulgarian public and private organizations active in the fields of
interest to the Council.
I. National Information Network
As outreach throughout the country is crucial to the
impact of the work of the IDCCES, continued emphasis was placed on
the development of networking with organizations outside the
capital of Sofia. Two information workshops with members of the
National Information Network were held in June and October with
over 50 participants. The workshops included a presentation on
"Council of Europe in the eve of the Strasbourg Summit 1997". The
workshops also discussed the optimization of the process of
exchange and distribution of information on the Council of Europe
in the country.
II. Conferences, Lectures, Discussions
This line of activity of the Centre was particularly
important in 1997 as it allowed specific target audiences to be
reached through pro-active efforts. Some of the major events
include:
Social Justice: Public Perceptions and Public
Debate, a conference for the experts on the social policy from
Bulgarian governmental institutions, media and NGO representatives.
The conference focused on issues of the European Social Charter,
the mechanisms for its application, and the compatibility with the
Bulgarian legal environment.
On May 5, the IDCCES hosted an Award Ceremony for
the winners in the national competition Europe at School. IDCCES
also provided 10 of the prizes in a number of age categories of
participants.
"Practices of the Difference" Europe's week,
which was held on May 5-9 at the Sofia University was organized
jointly by IDCCES and the Forum for Civil Responsibility and
Tolerance. IDCCES was particularly instrumental in the organization
of the discussions on the topic of The Bulgarian Position on the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and
the workshop Bulgaria and Council of Europe - 5 Years of
Membership. The film This House We Share by Jim Gibbons was shown
to the participants.
At the end of May, the IDCCES hosted 4th on-site
meeting of the Directors of the Council of Europe information and
documentation centres. Two such meetings are held annually - one in
Strasbourg and one in each of the host countries in turn. The
meeting in Sofia was a valuable networking and coordination
exercise and an opportunity for exchange of experience.
For IDCCES, the major public event in 1997 was the
international conference The European Convention on Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms: Five Years After Ratification held on
December 4-5. The conference was preceded by original research and
preparation of thematic reports on the compatibility of Bulgarian
legislation, administrative practice and institutional structures
with the obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR), carried out in cooperation with leading Bulgarian and
foreign human rights NGOs. As a result, eight research reports were
presented and discussed at the conference. The participants
outlined various strategies for effective and consistent legal and
institutional reform in this area as well as specific legislative
recommendations for the necessary reforms to be carried out. The
participation of prominent Council of Europe experts allowed the
discussion to benefit from the experience of activities held by the
Council and from similar compatibility exercises carried out by
other member states. The conference is the first event of its kind
in Bulgaria and will provide an important impetus for further
activities in this area.
As a joint initiative of the Information Centre with
the "Future for Bulgaria" Foundation, the Ministry of Justice and
Legal Eurointegration, the Committee on Youth, Physical Culture and
Sports, and the Youth Cultural Information Centre the first
national workshop on the Common Child Care Policies was held
on December 8 as part of the project "The Child in Bulgaria". The
project aims at enhancing the compatibility of Bulgarian
legislation in the field of children and youth with the
international standards in this area, as well as to facilitate
Bulgaria accession to the European Convention on the Exercise of
Children's Rights.
On December 16-17, IDCCES organized and hosted a
Round Table on the European Social Charter (Revised). The purpose
was to examine the necessary measures and implications of
Bulgaria's accession to the Charter. Participants included
representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the
Ministry of Public Health, independent experts and Council of
Europe experts.
In addition, the IDCCES participated and provided
support for the following events:
- Conference Social Integration and Political
Activity of the Bulgarian Youth organized by the Committee on
Youth, Physical Culture and Sports in March;
- Conference Bulgaria's Children and the Role of the
NGOs, organised by the Charity Fund Raina Kabaivanska on June
13-14;
- National workshop Issues of The Introduction of
Alternative Military Service In Bulgaria, held on October 6 by the
"Tolerance" Foundation;
- National workshop The Information Society and the
Influence of the New Information Technologies on the Democratic
Process, organized by the Council of Europe and Bulgarian Committee
of Posts and Telecommunications on October 9-10.
III. Publicity Events
- January 13-17 - Press Launch of the Europe at
School National Competition (information provided to the Bulgarian
National Radio and Bulgarian Telegraph Agency);
- February 14 - IDCCES provided the first 3 prizes
and promotional materials for the competition "The Idea of Europe
in the Art" on the Bulgarian National Radio;
- March 3 - Press launch of the 3rd Media Action Day
Against Racism (21 March 1997);
- April 1 - Press launch and dissemination of
application forms for the 5 Training Session for Young Lawyers from
the CEEC (Strasbourg 20-26 September 1997);
- May 12 - TV premiere of the film This House We
Share by Jim Gibbons, on the private cable TV network DEMO
Television;
- July 23 - Press conference of the participants in
the Council of Europe mission in the framework of the Octopus
Project.
IV. Translations and Publications
The following documents and materials were made
available in Bulgarian during 1997:
- Convention On The Mutual Admission Of The Higher
Education Qualifications In The European Region (Project)DECS-HE
97/2
- Framework Convention on Protection of the National
Minorities, together with an Explanatory Report;
- Case-Law Digest of the European Court of Human
Rights. Selected by an editorial committee of leading Bulgarian
experts; the two-volume edition will be published in 1998;
- Human Rights Every Day, a general short guide to
the activities and legal instruments of the Council of Europe in
the field of human rights. The Bulgarian translation is available
at the IDCCES web site at www.cid.bg
- This House We Share, a film by Jim Gibbons;
- Human Rights in a Nutshell by Thomas Buergethal and
Stanimir Alexandrov;
- Police Training Concerning Migrants and Ethnic
Relations: Practical Guidelines, Council of Europe
publication;
- Europe - Culture and Reality: The Application Case.
Council of Europe and Bulgaria, by Emil Varbanov;
- The Spanish Transition to Democracy - The Political
System and the Constitution
V. The Information Services in 1997
In 1997 the IDCCES expanded the scope of its
information services by adding electronic aspects to it. The home
page in the World Wide Web - www.cid.bg was opened for the Internet
users in the first half of May 1997. The mirroring of some key
documents from the WWW home page of the Council of Europe is of
particular help to users in Bulgaria.
Regarding library services, in 1997 there was a
clear trend towards more requests for documents and other materials
by government agencies and local experts involved in Council of
Europe-related activities.
IDCCES hosted the fourth
on-site meeting of the Directors of the Council of Europe
information and documentation centres in May. The meeting was
attended by Mr. Jean-Louis Laurens (first row in the middle),
Deputy Director of Political Affairs of the Council of
Europe. |
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