An online conference on the project BGLD-3.001-0001 ‘Novel Approaches to Generating Data on hard-to-reach populations at risk of violation of their rights’ was held on 4 and 5 May 2022, organized jointly by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

Four thematic reports were presented at the conference – an in-depth analysis of the situation of children, Roma, people with disabilities and the elderly in the country.

The conference was opened by Mr. Sergey Tsvetarsky – President of the NSI, and Mr. Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos, Head of Equality, Roma and Social Rights of the FRA, who noted the importance of the project and its results, good cooperation between the two institutions, as well as the opportunity to share the experience already gained during the project implementation with other stakeholders.

The first day of the conference was dedicated to the topics ‘Age and Vulnerability’ and ‘Disabilities and Vulnerability’. Three thematic reports were presented and discussed – on the situation of children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The second day of the conference was dedicated to the presentation of the thematic report on the situation of the Roma in the context of the requirements of the European Framework of Indicators for Monitoring Roma Inclusion. The applicability of the data from the survey conducted within the project for assessment of territorial vulnerability, as well as the future information provision of the National Strategy for Roma Inclusion and Participation
(2021 – 2030), were also discussed.

The conference was attended by representatives of the European Commission, international organizations, state and local authorities, the scientific community and non-governmental organizations. The participants agreed that the provision of a rich set of data and indicators is a key factor in the planning and implementation of relevant policies as well as for their monitoring.

The presented reports were prepared in implementation of the activities under project BGLD-3.001 ‘Novel Approaches to Generating Data on hard-to-reach populations at risk of violation of their rights’. The project was funded by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014 – 2021 (EEA FM) under call BGLD-3.001, ‘Local development, poverty reduction and enhanced inclusion of vulnerable groups’.

Preliminary (working) versions of the thematic reports on key indicators for social inclusion and fundamental rights in Bulgaria are available at https://www.noveleea.bg/documents/reports/. The presentations developed and presented at the conference are available at https://www.noveleea.bg/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Presentations04-05.2022.7z.