9 a.m. Registration

9.15 a.m. Folk Dance Group of People with Disabilities  'Dance No Different than You'

9.30 a.m. Inaugural Session

  • Mr Luca Jahier, President of the Various Interests Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
  • Mr Hasan Ademov, Chairman of the Labour, Social and Demography Policy Committee in the 44th National Assembly
  • Mr Lalko Dulevski, Member of the Various Interests Group of the EESC and President of the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria
10.15 a.m. Coffee break

10.30 a.m. Keynote speeches

  • Mr Nikolay Nankov, Minister for Regional Development and Public Works (t.b.c.)
  • Mr Bisser Petkov, Minister for Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Bulgaria
  • Q & As

11 a.m. Investing in and stimulating vulnerable mountain regions

Chair: Ms Dilyana Slavova, President of the External Relations Section of the EESC, national coordinator of the Mountain Milk NGO and of the Bulgarian Farmers Association, Member of the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria

  • Mr Momchil Nekov, Member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Rural, Mountainous and Remote Areas (RUMRA)
  • Ms Donka Mihaylova, Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board of the National Association of Municipalities of Bulgaria and Mayor of the Troyan Municipality in the province of Lovetch
  • Ms Milkana Yordanova, Chair of the SME 'Mountain Milk' (Rhodope Mountains)
  • Mr Frank Gaskell, member of the Senate of the European Association of Mountain Areas (Euromontana) and former President of Euromontana
  • Q & As

12.30 p.m. Lunch hosted by the President of the Various Interests Group

2.00 p.m. Creating opportunities and protecting the rights of vulnerable citizens

Chair: Ms Diana Indjova, Member of the Various Interests Group of the EESC and Chairperson of the Global Disability Movement, Member of the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria

  • Mr Stilian Balasopulov, President of the National Union of Worker Producers' Cooperatives (NUWPV), Vice-President of CECOP, Member of the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria, of the National Council for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities and of the Bulgarian Industrial Association – 'Creating Jobs for People with Disabilities – the Role of Cooperatives'
  • Ms Adriana Stoimenova-Stefanova, Chairperson of the Nationally Represented Civil Society Organisations in the National Council for Integration of People with Disabilities at the Council of Ministries, Member of the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria – 'Social Inclusion Development: mainstreaming poverty reduction in the Balkans'
  • Ms Veska Sabeva, Chairperson of the Bulgarian Association of Parents of Children with Epilepsy – 'Policies for the support and social inclusion of families of persons and children in a vulnerable position. Paradoxes of the deinstitutionalization process'
  • Mr Vasil Dolapchiev, Chairperson of the National Blind Union of Bulgaria – 'Integrating Appropriate Measures for People with Disabilities in Non-urban Areas'
  • Q & As

3.30 p.m. Promoting economic development and combatting depopulation in non-urban regions

Chair: Mr Bogomil Nikolov, Member of the Various Interests Group of the EESC and chair of the Bulgarian National Association of Active Consumers (Aktivni potrebiteli), Member of the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria

  • Ms Maya Manolova, Bulgarian National Ombudsperson 'Combatting Energy Poverty in Non-urban Areas' (t.b.c.)
  • Mr Tom Jones, Vice-President of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), Former Director of the Agriculture-Rural Training Board of the UK and Member of the Various Interests Group of the EESC – 'From Rural to Urban and Back'
  • Mr Vasko Stoilkov, Mayor of the Slivnitsa Municipality  'Challenges for Economic Development in Small Municipalities'
  • Q & As

Downloads

Programme - supporting vulnerable regions and citizens - boosting sustainable growth and cohesion