Stories from Quick Reads and Bulgaria
Bulgaria's First Crowdfunding Journalism Project
Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, has a big problem with freedom of the media. The Balkan country is ranked 106 out of 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. Against this unpleasant background, a new media project was established with the ambitious task...
European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism
“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the European Commission to draft a Directive to protect Media Pluralism and Press Freedom. The Media Initiative is running a European Citizens’ Initiative – a tool...
“Beyond Brazil”: European Journalists Wanted for Reporting Trips
Coolpolitics in Portugal announces [pt] an open call for European journalists who want to go on a reporting trip to Brazil in 2014. Twenty-one young reporters from Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Bulgaria will be selected to take part of three different groups that will cover events in Brazil,...
Bulgaria Marks Six Months of Continued Protests
December 14, 2013, marked six months of anti-government protests in Bulgaria, where protesters still gather daily in Sofia and other cities, demanding the resignation of the current government, led by the Socialist Party. After the previous government stepped down after similar protests in February 2013, the new government, elected in...
Overwhelmed by Syrian Refugees, Bulgaria Seeks EU Aid
Bulgaria, as the closest EU country to Syria, is seeing more than its fair share of the average 5,000 refugees that are fleeing Syria every day. Unprepared and inexperienced in dealing with this influx of refugees seeking shelter, food and protection, Bulgaria has requested assistance and financial aid from the...
Eastern Europeans to Boost UK IT Industry
The UK labour movement restrictions placed several years ago to prevent migrants from Romania and Bulgaria from moving permanently and seeking employment in the UK will be lifted on January 1, 2014. Some predict large migrations of workers from these two countries, among the poorest in the European Union, while...
Alphabets Bring Joy and Sadness to Bulgaria
[…] One of the purest and most sacred holidays in Bulgaria! It's a celebration that makes us proud to have given something to the world! It's a holiday which is not related to any rebels, battles or violence, although it fills us with patriotism and joy. […] When you walk...
Running 1,000 Miles for Europe's Trafficked Children
This month, Rob Martineau, Tom Stancliffe, and Guy Hacking are running 1,000 miles from Odessa to Dubrovnik, via Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Croatia, as part of the Run For Love 1000 campaign, whose aim is to raise funds for Love146, a UK charity that “gives care...
Hello Spring, Goodbye Evil Eye
Μάρτης [el], мартеница [bg], мартинка [mk], mărțișor [ru]…however you call it, an ancient tradition [el] with multiple variations that takes place in the Balkans. So, weave your red-and-white threads for protection against the “evil eye” or to welcome Spring!
Bulgarian Police Attack Anti-Government Protesters
GV Author Ruslan Trad has posted a video from the Feb. 19 anti-government protest in Sofia, Bulgaria: There were provocations and police violence. Police beating everyone. They did not want to arrest provocateurs, and people shouting, “These are provocateurs,” but police beat anyone on the street. Attack of the police...
Inappropriate Analogy for Greece-Macedonia Name Dispute
Responding to an assertion by Gerald Knaus… Athens and Skopje face a [prisoner's dilemma]: if neither side believes that a solution is possible, and acts on this, both will lose. …Zarko Trajanoski wrote on Facebook: However, the analogy with “prisoner's dilemma” is not only false, but very offensive: Athens is...
Bulgarian PM Takes a Nap at Nobel Peace Prize Event
On his Facebook page, Dimitar Vuchev posts a screenshot [bg] from the livestreaming of today's Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, featuring the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in what looks like a peaceful nap:
Counter of Syrian War Victims Installed in Bulgarian Capital
“Support Syrian bloggers and activists” Facebook page published a photo of the counter of victims and refugees of the war in Syria, which has recently been installed by CommonStep Association in the center of Bulgaria's capital Sofia. The online counter can be found on CommonStep's website.
Bulgarian Activist on Hunger Strike Against State Monopoly
On Dec. 1, Chavdar Yanev set up a tent in front of the Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council in Sofia and went on hunger strike to protest a judicial system that allows cases filed by individuals against state institutions to continue for years. Or even decades: Yanev and his wife, Latinka...
Candles Lit for Gaza in Bulgaria's Capital
About 100 people gathered in Sofia's central square to show their support for the victims of Israel's recent Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip. Facebook page “Together for Palestine” [bg] has this photo of commemorative candles lit in Bulgaria's capital; another page, “Bulgaria supports Palestinian independence in the...
Massive Rally in Bulgaria's Capital Ends in Arrests (Updated)
On Nov. 5, some 1,500 people took part in an anti-government rally in Sofia, organized by the Bulgarian section [bg] of the Anonymous. There were other, smaller, protests in other Bulgarian cities and towns. The rallies were part of the worldwide Global Day of Protest declared by the Anonymous. The...
Ink Duel: Bulgarian Artists vs Egyptian Artist in London
Studio 75, a London-based “100% independent, not part of any school, trend, fashion or directive” artist space is hosting ‘The Orientophobia Sessions’ this weekend. In the program of the Out Of The Deep East, Bulgarian artists Krum and Desi engage into an ink duel with Egyptian artist Naz:
Bulgaria: “Are You a Terrorist?”
Bulgarian NGO “Forum for Arab Culture” tweeted [bg] a photo of the “Are you a terrorist?” quiz that appeared in the national daily “24 chasa,” asking if it was right for a newspaper to publish materials like this. The test's answers included this one: If you have more B responses:...
Albania: Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival
The Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival 2012 opens in Tirana today. This is the third time that the festival is being held; this year's theme is “TALK TO ME – multilingualism and communication”; the program of the three-day event is here.
Bulgaria: Sofia, “Past&Present”
To celebrate the Day of the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Sept. 17, Alexander Nikolov posted a photo project called Past&Present. Each photo in this project combines an old and a new image of selected locations in the city.
