Stara Zagora Is Among Bulgarian Cities with Most  Developed Civil Society - Survey

Stara Zagora, Southeastern Bulgaria, December 12 (BTA) - Stara Zagora is among the Bulgarian cities with the most developed civil society and ranks among the top settlements for its civil participation index, shows a survey conducted in October and November among 44 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating on the municipality's territory.

The survey's results were presented at a forum in Stara Zagora with the participation of Lyuben Panov, Director of the Bulgarian Centre for Not-for-Profit Law foundation, Iva Taralezhkova, Director of the Citizen Participation Forum, and Marieta Tsvetkova, Director of the Projects Bureau with New Bulgarian University in Sofia.

Another interesting fact is that Stara Zagora hosts the offices of national associations, such as Samaritans, World without Limits and Green Balkans, which were established nearly 20 years ago and have won a series of international projects. Eighteen per cent of NGOs have Stara Zagora in their focus. This is the first detailed survey in the sector in Bulgaria, Taralezhkova said.

According to the data, 80 per cent of the respondents said they receive help and support from Stara Zagora Municipality. The good practices of the NGOs in the city exceed the average for Bulgaria: the grade is 4.8 out of 6 compared to the capital's 3.8, for example.

Forty per cent of the associations in Stara Zagora have an annual budget over 50,000 leva, 20 per cent over 100,000 leva, and nearly one-third 5,000 leva. The biggest share of the resources for work come from the membership contributions (34 per cent), followed by the funding from projects (31.8 per cent), donations from natural persons or foreign donors (27 per cent), operational programmes (20 per cent), and money provided by the European Economic Area and the Swiss government (15.9 per cent).

Four persons on average work at NGOs full-time and on a permanent labour contract. Their number stands at 150, while 137 employees work part-time. Only 4 per cent of the associations use volunteers. The maximum number of people working at an association is 68. Ten of the NGOs participating in the survey do not have a single permanent employee. The number of volunteers in Stara Zagora's associations is 0.6 per cent of the population, compared to Sofia where it stands at 0.1 per cent, the survey shows.

There are four spheres which are the most preferred for work: education; culture; social activities; and youth activities and ecology, which share the fourth place. These are also priorities for the future, the team behind the survey said.

Oleg Stoilov, head of the Stara Zagora office of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that a memorandum for joint work between NGOs, business and Stara Zagora Municipality has been tabled at the Municipal Council and is about to be reviewed by the municipal councillors. If the document is approved, Stara Zagora will once again be among the leading cities in Bulgaria, he added.