Video of the conference „Policies for improvement of the housing conditions of vulnerable groups on municipal and natiоnal level“

On April 14th, 2022 Habitat Bulgaria hosted the conference „Policies for improvement of the housing conditions of vulnerable groups on municipal and natiоnal level“.

The agenda covered housing related issues on local, national and global level. Habitat Bulgaria raised pressing issues like the fact that Bulgaria still hasn’t adopted a National Housing Strategy, and that there is no unified legislation for the regulation of the public provision of housing. The event took place both in-person at Grand Hotel Astoria, Sofia and online. A total of almost 120 participants joined, amongst them representatives of 4 state institutions, 20 municipal administrations, 24 non-governmental organizations, 3 universities and 8 media.

Opening words gave the deputy-minister at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW), arch. Stefan Asparuhov, the secretary of the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnics and Integration Issues, Rositsa Ivanova, and Mincho Benov, director of Habitat Bulgaria. Some of the key participants were: arch. Dima Lekova – Acting Director of the Housing Policy Directorate of the MRDPW, Vessela Zvezdanova – Head of the “Strategies and Programs” Department of the MRDPW, eng. Plamen Petrov – expert at the MRDPW, Stefan Radev – Mayor of Sliven Municipality, as well as representatives of a number of municipalities and non-governmental organizations.

Based on the recommendations for improvement of the local housing policies, good practices from other countries with similar profile and strategic directions on European and global level, Habitat Bulgaria presented its recommendations for the national housing policy and regulations. The conference participants agreed upon the idea that, in the first place, it is necessary to adopt a long-term national housing strategy with a horizon up to 2050, with clear vision, priorities and measurable targets set in it, in order to ensure access to quality housing for all. With regard to the Social Services Law, it is important the Bulgarian Government to agree upon establishing of a new service of general economic interest i.e. social housing, for the provision of which the municipalities shall receive compensation from the state.

Watch the full video of the conference herе:

The project „Research Based Arguments for New Housing Policies in Benefit of All” is implemented with financial support of 93,000 Euro, secured by Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The main goal of the project is to contribute to the development of long-term, needs-driven municipal and national housing policies, which will secure safe and adequate housing for Roma.

This publication has been produced with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The entire responsibility for the content of the document lies with the Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria Foundation and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria Operator.