Even though online, even though in a state of emergency, life in the House of Civil Organizations has continued to flourish in recent months. More than 40 different events and meetings took place in the House’s virtual space. It has become an active place for team and work meetings of civil society organizations, thematic webinars, spring training program, shared virtual workspace, community events, and even basketball team meetings!

When we took on the challenge two months ago and adapted the House’s activities to happen online, we didn’t have a clue that we were “opening doors” to so many colleagues and civic activists from all over the country who came with their new energy, ideas, stories and causes.

At the beginning of April we started off with a webinar training on “How to include volunteers in our work in a crisis situation?” with Georgi Vlaykov, head of the Voluntary Formation “Plovdiv 112”, which was especially for all organizations that recruit volunteers to work in the field during a crisis situation.

We continued with the sessions of the Spring Training Program of the House, in which we talked about: communication during a crisis together with the PR expert Lyubomir Alamanov; fundraising campaigns during and after a crisis together with fundraising expert Yana Rupeva; the art of public speaking together with the master of storytelling Prof. Desislava Boshnakova; the entry of changes in the Register of Non-Profit Organizations together with the legal team of the Bulgarian Center for Non-Profit Law. The trainings will last until June 9 and are open for enrollment here.

On the eve of the lifting of the state of emergency, we held a different webinar – a refreshing conversation about the soul and the things that bring us back to reality with psychologist Daniel Troev, who gave specific techniques and tips for dealing with anxiety and a painless return to the new reality.

More than 10 video interviews also took place as part of the Rights in Crisis initiative, in which a group of lawyers shared their views on whether, to what extent, why and what the consequences of restricting various rights of ours are, and whether better solutions are possible. They can all be viewed here.

The Civic Cultural Week 2020 and its creativity workshops were also held in the virtual space of the House, led by the famous group of artists from Destructive Creation. The initiative is held for the third consecutive year to develop the creative experience, knowledge and skills of vigilant artists in the field of socially engaged art.

And so we started a new form of existence of the House of Civil Organizations, part of which we will certainly keep for the future, to remain as easily accessible and open for and close to all who are part of our community.