The graduates of the BSoP – the MP Ms. Asya Peeva and the Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv Mr. Stefan Stoyanov, opened the regional meeting on the problems of the children in South Bulgaria.

The forum which is a part of “The Voice of Bulgarian Children” project was held on 9 October in Plovdiv and was attended by over 30 representatives of regional and local authorities, NGOs, representatives of the Agency for Social Assistance and    alumni of the Bulgarian School of Politics from Southern Bulgaria.

A national analysis on the problems of the small inhabitants of the country with an emphasis on the problems of the children from South Central, South-Eastern and South-West regions was presented during the event. The research was conducted by the expert Mr. Ivailo Milanov on the basis of the developed and presented analyzes of the six administrative regions of Bulgaria.

According to the document, the population in Southern Bulgaria under working age is almost twice as high as compared to the Northern part of the country. In 2017, 689,808 children lived south of the Balkan, which is 5432 more than in 2016. In North Bulgaria, however, in 2017 the number of children was 346,220 and continued to decline. Further statistics and conclusions on welfare, education, health and child justice were presented.

The educational expert Ms. Mariana Georgieva shared with the participants in the meeting Europe’s experience of coping with children’s problems.