News from BlueLink

On May 12, 2020 24 European civil society organisations sent a common letter to the European Commission, highlighting and inquiring about the controversies regarding Estonian Government’s investment in and plans to expand the shale oil sector, in relation to EU-related agreements and funds. BlueLink is among the organisations supporting the letter.

Human and social rights are a key part of the green political agenda in Europe. It is not a surprise, given that access to a clean and healthy environment has been established as a human right in over 100 countries around the world. One of them is Bulgaria.

The brutal attack on Bulgarian journalist and editor-in-chief of the 168 Hours newspaper Slavi Angelov on 17 March, 2020, exposed the failure of the Bulgarian rule of law in one of its main duties: to ensure the security and rule of law. This is how Pavel Antonov, managing editor and co-founder of BlueLink, analyzes the bloody crime in an editorial on our electronic publication Euromegdan.

Results on role of the Internet in gender based violence as well as possible actions to overcome it presented BlueLink’s Deputy Editor Velina Barova at the annual Democracy Conference in Varna, Bulgaria. The civic forum, organised by the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development, Za Zemiata and arch. Kalina Miteva, took place on February 29 and March 1, 2020.

A civil society forum in Sofia proposed effective steps to break new walls around access to justice and civic participation, and to overcome pressure against environmental and human defenders. The event took place on October 17, 2019 in the House of Europe in Sofia.

BlueLink was one of 12 Bulgarian NGOs who called for the country to have a policy of zero tolerance towards racism and hatred in a joint declaration on October 17, 2019.

The attack on democratic civic organizations is an assault on the Constitution, statehood and rule of law in Bulgaria. It is inadmissible for representatives of the state power and the prosecutor's office to participate in it.

BueLink contributed to the ICT for environmental sustainability section of the forthcoming midterm strategy of the Association for Progrressive Communications (APC).

Climate activists can give a boost to their movements with open online courses on Green Learning. The platform by Green European Foundation aims to provide free online courses for learners to build their knowledge and develop their skills.

There are four courses available on the platform: