Information
The aim of the Project is to revive the long-lasting giving traditions in Bulgaria, to encourage charity among young political and civic leaders, and to make philanthropy an integral part of culture and value system of our society. The Bulgarian School of Politics has always united leading public figures in their efforts to engage with a certain cause and to involve others with that. We believe that this is the way to reestablish philanthropic traditions, to lay the foundations of the present understanding of philanthropic culture, and to encourage long-lasting engagement and social solidarity on the base of public interests. These require exploring and studying giving practices working for Bulgaria that are to be popularized and developed on the way they could attract more and more people, who like to engage with supporting important public causes.
We summarize accumulated Bulgarian and foreign experience, organise conferences, public debates and other events, where we discuss problems and challenges faced by philanthropy and encourage change in attitudes towards it. Thus we create a community of young people who understand philanthropy as a long-term cause and continuous personal engagement.
Project goals:
- Encouraging philanthropy as practice and understanding based public welfare, and as a pillar democratic values and policies;
- Encouraging philanthropy as an essential and integral part public policies, which supports transparency and accountability;
- Introducing philanthropy among young political and civic leaders, who in turn lay the foundations a vivid philanthropic community, based on openness, trust and collective response to important social problems;
- To support the Bulgarian School Politics to improve its capacity for establishing philanthropy as a key virtue the present Bulgarian society and to help the School to become a leading source knowledge for philanthropy as culture and practice.
Project Activities:
- Attracting young political and civic leaders from the School Alumni, as well as leading public figures, who are to become change agents for accepting philanthropy as a personal choice;
- Organizing charity events which are to change the understanding of philanthropy so as to be seen as a form of long-lasting engagement of political and civic leaders to the most pressing public problems;
- Organizing conferences, public debates and sessions as part of the National Program which are to change the attitudes to charity through informing society for pressing social problems;
- Building on expertise of the Bulgarian School of Politics regarding philanthropy through identification of reliable sources on the topic and their summarizing in a data-base of best practices and examples from the Bulgarian and foreign experience, researching Bulgarian and foreign philanthropic practice and establishing partnerships with organizations working on encouraging philanthropy and charity as basic values of democratic society.
Funding
The Project is funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, USA
Implementation Period
January 2011 – December 2012
Expected Results
- Building sustainable network giving individuals involving current students, School Alumni and leading public figures, who accept philanthropy as a personal choice;
- Change in attitudes to charity events so as to be seen as a form continuous engagement political and civic leaders to the most pressing public problems;
- Change in attitudes towards philanthropy through informing the public about the most important societal problems and familiarizing young people with the spirit and culture philanthropy;
- Capacity building of the Bulgarian School of Politics on the topic and helping it to become a leading source of knowledge regarding philanthropy as culture and practice.