Academy Ekaterina Karavelova
Our mission is to empower women’s full and effective participation at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
We believe that women leadership guided by love and empathy is needed now more than ever. We have established programs that help women to feel more confident and we promote the principle that women support women. In June 2018 we launched the social format “She in Plovdiv”, which serves as a safe space and a network for women to connect and support each other. The format of the ‘She in…’ events is simple and has proven very popular: every month, in each of the 11 cities where we now work, we provide a platform for two women from the local community to share their stories and speak about their successes and the challenges they face. The ‘She in…’ events are all community-organized thanks to our dedicated local volunteer teams.
Social format 'She in...'
Across Bulgaria we have organized 71 ‘She in…’ events that have given the floor to a 140 women. The format of the ‘She in…’ events is simple and has proven very popular: every month, in each of the 11 cities where we now work (Plovdiv, Varna, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo, Sandanski, Stara Zagora, Pleven, Montana, Vidin, Vratsa and Lovech), we provide a platform for two women from the local community to share their stories and speak about their successes and the challenges they face. The ‘She in…’ events are all community-organized thanks to our dedicated local volunteer teams.
Program for personal development
and trainings
In 2019 we launched a 6-month long program for personal development for young women in the cities of Plovdiv and Varna. The focus of the program is confidence building. The program is specifically developed for the Bulgarian context by experts and it includes methods of the non-formal education, coaching and mentorship.
We also hold the following training programs:
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Civic participation for young activists - 2 day intensive program
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Women's rights art residence" - 4 day intensive program
Advocacy
At Academy ‘Ekaterina Karavelova’ we believe that women play an important and positive role when it comes to peace and security. Our founder and executive director, Marina Kisyova de Geus actively contributed to the process that led to the adoption of the First Bulgarian National Action Plan on UNSCR1325. As a member of the working group set up by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Women, Peace and Security, she advocated for a special emphasis on the needs of refugees and migrant women in Bulgaria, as well as for the development of a program to train and empower women of both Roma and ethnic Bulgarian origins to be mediators in their respective communities whenever ethnic tensions arise. The First Bulgarian National Action Plan on UNSCR1325 was adopted in March 2020 and it specifically recognizes the vulnerability of refugees and migrant women, and includes special provisions for a gender perspective on integration policies.
We are a resource member for the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Working group at the EuroMed Rights.