Sofia
The Sofia office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom is responsible for the activities of the Foundation in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Our mission is to facilitate the promotion of the principles of liberal democracy, the rule of law, political pluralism, and free markets, in a collaborative partnership with local and international partners.
Our standard instruments include political education, policy support, and political dialogue, realised through regular events and publications.
News
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FNF supported short film “Istina” nominated for student Oscars
The short film “Istina”, which was supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, has been nominated for the 50th Student Academy Awards/Student Oscars®. The film tells the story of a photojournalist from Belgrade who is threatened by right-wing extremist thugs and flees to Germany with her daughter. For the young film team around director Tamara Denić and producer Christian Siée, this is a dream come true.
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: "Tyranny is like cancer".
For years, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been fighting for a free Belarus from exile in Lithuania and called for new elections after the rigged presidential elections. In the 17th Berlin Freedom Speech, she made a vehement plea for freedom and human rights and appealed to the international community for solidarity with the Belarusian opposition. For Tsikhanouskaya, it is clear that the fight for freedom is a global struggle that cannot be won alone.
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Ukrainian Youth's Vision for EU-Ukraine Relations
From August 23rd to 26th, FNF Ukraine held the Ideation Workshop "Reshape Europe: You(th) Vision of the EU-Ukraine Relations". For four days, 17 young Ukrainians from diverse backgrounds came together in a scenic location of Zakarpattia Oblast to discuss Ukraine's journey towards the European Union. They explored topics like EU integration, political reforms and economic changes, all while building their skills and having fun.
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Strategic Decoupling: Phasing out russian economic influence in Germany
The study by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) examines the continuing entanglement between the German and Russian despite Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The Russian corporate presence in Germany is highly concentrated in around 40 larger firms, which specialize in oil refining, natural gas supply and distribution, metal and plastic products manufacturing, glass production, and transport. Russia’s war upended European peace and security and intensified global power competition. The study shows that the Kremlin's long arm extends far beyond Germany's misguided Ostpolitik.
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Prisoner of Conscience: Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russia
Heute findet die Berufung von Vladimir Kara-Murza, einem überzeugten Liberalen, Oppositionspolitiker und scharfen Regimekritiker, Journalisten, Menschenrechtler statt. Kara-Murza wurde u.a. wegen „Hochverrats“ zu 25 Jahren verschärfter Lagerhaft verurteilt. Die Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit verurteilt das Urteil auf das Schärfste. Mit der Journalistin Alice Bota unterstützen wir den Aufruf zu einer Solidaritätskundgebung für Vladimir Kara-Murza heute am Montag, den 31. Juli 2023 um 18 Uhr am Brandenburger Tor.
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Think Freedom: Freedom is an Action
After the successful premiere in Sofia, the documentary portrait of Denitsa Lyubenova is storming the international film festivals. Starting on a national basis at the Sofia Pride Film Fest in Bulgaria, the documentary makes its way over the neighboring country North Macedonia all the way to Berlin, Germany and London, the UK. "Think Freedom: Freedom is an Action' tells the story of the human rights lawyer and activist Denitsa Lyubenova of the LGBTI organization Deystvie.
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Think Freedom: Freedom is an Action
The Premiere of the short documentary ‘Think Freedom: Freedom is an Action’ gathered more than 100 people on Friday, 17 June, in the Steps in Sofia, Bulgaria. The short documentary tells the story of Denitsa Lyubenova, a human rights lawyer and LGBTI activist. The film shows the process behind and the emotional journey of one of the most prominent legal battles. The screening of the film was followed by a discussion .
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Премиера на Черната книга на правителственото разхищение в България за 2022 г
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Debate on Digitalization: There is a Basis for Fully Electronic Services, but Much Remains to Be Done
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#FreedomFightsFake: Media Literacy In Bulgaria - What have we learned from the crises
The keynote speech of Irina Nedeva from AEJ Bulgaria at the opening of the national conference “Media Literacy In Bulgaria - What have we learned from the crises” addresses the issues of disinformation and media literacy in Bulgaria. The conference is part of the global FNF’s campaign #FreedomFightsFake, which empowers citizens around the globe to think critically and “pre-bunk” disinformation.
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On the Path Towards The EU: Effective and Transparent Administration in Service for the Citizens
On 25th March 2020, the European Council adopted a decision to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia, a veteran EU candidate country of 16 years. As the opening negotiation chapters 23 and 24 cover the European fundamental principles and rights as well as the judiciary, the topic of ensuring effective and citizen-centric public services and good governance gradually evolves to a priority reform agenda.
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Next Level Participation: Citizen-driven e-Democracy Tools
In a time where trust in traditional ‘political actors’ is in decline; the digitalisation of democratic participation provides new opportunities for citizen engagement with politics. In this effort, citizens and citizen groups all over Europe have developed digital tools to enhance political participation through deliberation, transparency, and wider participation.
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Expressing Civil and Political Liberties in Times of Crisis
The lessons learnt from the first wave of the pandemic could provide a key as to how to adapt to the second wave. The manifold clashes of governments with their obligations to preserve individual rights and the critical public response, will surely lead to a more reasoned and citizen-oriented addressing of the issue in the future.
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Polarization is a lethal threat to democracy
Find the interview with Martin Kothé for for the Premiere of Black Book of Government Waste 2020 for the Bulgarian daily newspaper, Dnevnik. Again, we at FNF were able to compile 15 stories of inefficient or questionable spending of Bulgarian citizens’ money, including indications of corruption or conflicts of interest. By pointing out these cases, we invite Bulgarians to demand transparency and accountability from the authorities. We believe Bulgarians have a right to know how their money is spent, and the people’s money should create welfare.
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Black Book’s Media Coverage in bTV Show '120 Minutes'
Watch the TV interview of Martin Kothé about the premiere of the Black Book of Government Waste 2020 for the highly respectable political talkshow “120 Minutes” with the journalist, Svetoslav Ivanov in the biggest private TV channel, bTV. FNF has published so far 6 editions of the Black Book in Bulgaria. We remain committed to continuing this investigative project.
