Annual report 2000

 

 

Strategic Use of the Internet and Information Services

for Civil Society Organizations

 

Table of Contents

 

 

 

1. About BlueLink

 

What is BlueLink?

 

What does BlueLink offer?

BlueLink's Mission Statement

BlueLink aims to create a free forum for the exchange of information in order to support sustainable development, democracy and civil society.

Membership in APC

 

In 2000 BlueLink became a Bulgarian member of the Association for Progressive Communications (www.apc.org) - a global civil society electronic network

 

Who are the principal users of BlueLink?

How does BlueLink operate?

 

BlueLink is a registered foundation under the Persons and Families Act in Sofia, Bulgaria, as of 1999. To fulfill its mission BlueLink receives grants from donor organizations in Bulgaria and abroad. BlueLink also receives donations from organizations which utilize its services.

BlueLink is governed by an Executive Board. The supreme body of BlueLink is the Council of the Founders, comprised of 7 NGOs and 3 individuals. In addition, the activities of BlueLink are controlled by a Supervisory Committee.

BlueLink was launched in 1998 as a joint project of several Bulgarian environmental NGOs, referred to as the Founders. In its pilot stage the project was financially supported by the Dutch Foundation Milieukontakt Oost-Europa. 

2. BlueLink Evaluation 2000

 

3. BlueLink - Information Network Activities 2000

3.1 Civil access to environmental information

Funded by the Bulgarian Charity Aid Foundation

Project description

This project promotes trans-sectoral co-operation among NGOs, state institutions, businesses and media to improve access to information, justice and public participation in environmental decision making, as described by the Aarhus Convention in 1998. In order to render legislation, mass media and electronic technology as an effective tool for public participation in Bulgaria, BlueLink has developed a project which focuses on these three domains:

·          Access to information, justice and public participation in environmental decision-making process
·          Co-operation between mass media and NGOs
·          Access to the new information technologies: electronic communication and Internet.

This project has the following general goals:

·          To encourage environmental NGOs to play an active role in building civil society.
·          To promote principles of democracy in Bulgarian society.
·          To raise public awareness of environmental issues.
·          To promote the implementation and follow-up of environmental legislation.
·          To encourage partnership among different sectors: non-profit organisations, state institutions, mass media, municipalities, business, etc.
·          To increase the level of democracy in the environmental decision-making process by encouraging civil society to claim its rights as needed and the authorities to take public opinion into consideration.

This project aims at achieving three specific objectives:

 

·          To improve the NGOs understanding of legislation and political process and encourage them to utilize their civil rights.
·          To increase mutual understanding and set the stage for co-operation between mass media, public authorities and NGOs.
·          To develop communication system among NGOs using media and electronic networks.

 

Target groups

 

·          Bulgarian environmental non-profit organizations.
·          Other organizations related to environmental work.
·          Government: national and local institutions.
·          Journalists and mass media.
·          The general public in Bulgaria

 

Partners of BlueLink Information Network

 

- The Ministry of Environment - Bulgaria,

- The NGO "Demetra"1,

- The Centre for Independent Journalism2,

- The television channel Demo-TV,

- Several municipalities in Sofia

- The Leo Burnett advertising agency 

 

The number of people involved: 2

 

Estimated time of development: 1 year 

 

Amount of users: Over 150 environmental NGOs 

 

Evaluation

 

The project partners organized three seminars on topics related to environmental information access, which brought together representatives from various environmental NGOs, ministries, the judicial court and businesses. The activities that connected NGOs and media were also mutually beneficial because they laid the basis for future publicity of all the projects, campaigns and other initiatives launched by non-profit organizations for the community. This is also an important step for increased transparency of activities by environmental NGOs. 

 

Prospective future development

 

Improved communication between the NGOs, institutions and public. There are also ideas to start a work group that will prepare a draft law on the environment (related to information access) that will be closer to the Aarhus Convention. 

 

 3.1 Electronic networking support for environmental non-profit organizations

and BlueLink Internet Teahouse

 

Funded by the Canada Fund Program for Local Initiatives to NGO delegates

 

Project description

 

This project aims to increase the effectiveness of the work of not-for-profit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Bulgaria. BlueLink provided electronic information services at the Annual National Meeting of environmental NGOs, which took place in Sofia, December 18 - 20, 2000.

The organizational details, proceedings and decisions of the meeting were posted on a web page created by BlueLink especially for the meeting, and were updated regularly before, during and after the event.

BlueLink arranged an Internet Teahouse in the lobby of the National NGOs meeting, where NGO delegates could enjoy:

BlueLink supported NGOs by strengthening their capabilities for mass media outreach by organizing an NGOs-Media Workshop.

After the Annual Meeting BlueLink continued to provide information services to the NGOs in order to guarantee the continuity of their work until the next Annual Meeting in 2001. The information support to NGOs included posting news and environment-related information on-line, and on-going consulting and posting of NGO environmental campaigns in the web and mass media.

 

Target groups

 

Partners: This project is a BlueLink - Information Service initiative 

 

The number of people involved: 5

 

Estimated time of development: 3 months  

 

Amount of users

All the participants in the Third National Meeting of the environmental NGOs, including over 200 environmental NGOs, mass-media, government officials and representatives of other institutions and agencies dealing with environmental matters. 

 

Evaluation

 

Through this event BlueLink contributed to:

All the participants in the National Meeting visited the Teahouse with great pleasure and interest.

 

Prospective future development

The plan is to continue the tradition of organizing a Teahouse at the National Meetings of Bulgarian environmental NGOs.

 

4. Overview of current and future projects of the BlueLink Information Network

4. Overview of current and future projects of BlueLink Information Network 

4.1 Environmental Electronic Library Development

 

BlueLink was subcontracted to carry out this project as part of the Time Foundation project titled "Environment and Sustainable Development - a challenge for the civil society in Bulgaria" funded by the DemNet program of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) under USAID.

 

Project description

 

Using the Internet for strategic needs of the environmental NGOs - this is a two-year programme of BlueLink for improving electronic communications among non-profit environmental organizations and stimulating the use of information technologies by environmental NGOs.

 

Key project components

The Electronic Library will be combined with a comprehensive and fully searchable collection of useful links to other information sources on-line. The Electronic Library includes the following components:

·          Bulgarian NGO database
·          Index of high quality and useful Internet links
·          Internet tutorials
·          Searchable catalogue of environmental NGO publications since 1995 until the present
·          Annotated guide to Environmental Libraries and Information centres in the country and abroad
·          Full-text collection
·          Image collection - Photo gallery
·          Searchable list of people working in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development in Bulgaria (environmental journalists, experts, NGO directors, project coordinators etc.)

 

The development of the Electronic Library is one of the highest priorities and challenges for BlueLink. The Electronic Library initiative is a major step in the process of integrating the APC Action Applications Toolkit by BlueLink for the needs of environmental NGOs and the environmentally-concerned community. In realizing this aim BlueLink will require further  expert help and assistance in the creation and maintenance of the Electronic Library.

5. Volunteers 2000

 

5.1 Electronic communication and networking within the non-profit

sector in Bulgaria: the donors' point of view.

Project description

 

BlueLink hosted a French volunteer with the support of the European Commission (European Voluntary Service - EVS). Within this project, the volunteer conducted valuable research on donors in Bulgaria.

The purpose of this research was to study the perceptions and main concerns of the donor organizations active in Bulgaria regarding electronic communication and networking within the non-profit sector. The primary emphasis was on donors active in the field of environmental protection, as this is the main focus of BlueLink's work. However, since new electronic information and communication technologies provide a universal tool that is relevant to all subject areas addressed by the non-profit sector, donor organizations working in fields other than environmental protection were also included in the study. 

This research followed two main objectives:

 

 

Target group: Environmental NGOs 

 

BlueLink partners: Youth Action for Peace provided the EVS volunteer to do the work.

 

The number of people involved: 2

 

Estimated time of development: 6 months 

 

Amount of users: More than 200 NGOs and about 30 donors in Bulgaria

 

Evaluation

 

The project is considered to be extremely timely and useful by the BlueLink Founders. It provides adequate background information about the donors perspectives and attitudes towards NGOs networking in Bulgaria. The project created sufficient publicity for BlueLink among donors. As soon as the report is finalized and ready it will be distributed to all donors, and will be posted on BlueLink's web site.

 

Prospective future development

 

There are hopes that the future development of electronic communication within the non-profit sector will serve not only big, city-based organizations as it did until now, but that it will be accessible for people in outlying areas and grass-root organizations, extending the donors' support.

 

 

6. BlueLink Campaigns 2000

 

During 2000 BlueLink has participated in several campaigns, two of the more important ones:

6.1 Save Pirin Campaign

 

Pirin National Park in Bulgaria (a World Heritage Site) is in danger, September 15, 2000

 

The Save Pirin Campaign is a response to some alarming tendencies concerning one of the Bulgarian sites included in the World Heritage List - the Pirin National Park. A ski-zone was illegally constructed within the boundaries of the Park in the 1980's above the town of Bansko. In recent years, owing to the pressure of private investors, a campaign for enlargement of the ski-zone was initiated. 

Due to pressure from nature conservation NGOs and experts, the scope of the project was reduced, so that currently project envisages the construction of three new ski-runs, rope lines and a cable car, including some other buildings in the valley of the Banderitsa river. The said construction will lead to clear-cutting of significant areas populated by incredible century-old spruce trees, Macedonian pine and mountain pine forests. Populations of animal and plant species in the area will be threatened, including species from the IUCN Red List and the Bern Convention. Steep slopes will be threatened by erosion. The new ski runs will have a very negative overall effect on the landscape of the largest valley

6.2 NO VISA, EUROPE! Campaign

 

International campaign of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations, November 15, 2000

 

The non-governmental organizations who signed this appeal, expressed their solidarity with the efforts of the Bulgarian government for the exclusion of Bulgaria from the negative Schengen List, allowing Bulgarians to travel free of visa in the United Europe. 

As partners of many non-governmental organizations from the European Union countries, representatives from Bulgarian NGOs travel very often to different events in the EU. The procedure for obtaining visa for these countries is very hard and humiliating for Bulgarians. People spend valuable time meeting the requirements and visiting the consulates. More and more unnecessary requirements and obstacles are imposed every year with the single purpose to delay the procedures for issuing visas, or to create formal reasons for rejections. This has caused Bulgarians to decline participation in different forums, organized by our partners in EU countries. In this way co-operation between non-profit organizations from Bulgaria and the EU countries is practically blocked. The visa regime also makes it impossible for Bulgarians to participate properly in the accession process. 

 

The result: Visa requirements for Bulgarians will be revoked by May 2001. 

 

On December 1, 2000 the EU Council of ministers decided to unconditionally remove visa restrictions for Bulgaria. The decision will be voted on by the EU Parliament and will be confirmed by the Council. Thus, Bulgarian citizens will be able to travel throughout Europe without visas from June 2001 onwards.

 

7. BlueLink Founders

 

BlueLink is a joint project of several Bulgarian nature protection non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from different cities in the country, subsequently named the Founders:

Centre for Environmental Information and Education – Sofia

Environmental Youth Club Terra - Blagoevgrad

Semperviva Bulgarian Biodiversity Protection Society - Pernik

Academica GeoEcoClub - Veliko Tarnovo

Green Balkans - Sofia

Public Environmental Centre for Sustainable Development - Varna

ECO-CLUB 2000

Za Zemiata - Sofia

BlueLink is operated by a Managing Board, which is appointed by the Founders and is accountable to them.

 

8. BlueLink Staff 2000

 

Pavel Antonov - BlueLink coordinator, Chair of the Executive Board

Evgenia Tasheva - web designer and project coordinator

Christina Haralanova - project coordinator since September 2000

Maria Dimitrova - content manager since December 2000

Fidanka Bacheva - project manager until June 2000

Christina Strukanska - project assistant until March 2000

Marie D'Hombres (EVS Volunteer) - researcher and fundraiser since July 2000

 

9. BlueLink Financial Backers

 

TIME Ecoprojects, with the financial support of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, under the Democracy Network Program of the American Agency for International Development

 

Bulgarian Charity Aid Foundation, with the financial support of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, under the Democracy Network Program of the American Agency for International Development

 

Youth Action for Peace, under the European Voluntary Service programme of the EU.

10. Financial Statement 2000

 

Balance sheet				Income statement
	2000	1999			2000	1999
	BGL	BGL			BGL	BGL
Assets				Incomes
Current assets	6642,1	948,15		Grants, Gifts and Donations	7577,67	950,00
Accounts receivable	178,86	0		Grants	6877,01	0,00
Cash	1491,45	0		Donations and gifts	700,66	950,00
Cash at banks	4971,74	948,15
				Interest from banks and income from exchange operations	138,89	0,15
Total assets	6642,05	948,15		Interest from banks	4,47	0,15
				Income from foreign currency operations	134,42	0,00
Liabilities & Fund Balance