The first meeting of the Advisory Board of the Romani Early Years Network – REYN Bulgaria took place at the office of the Trust for Social Achievement foundation on 14 May. The mission and long-term goals of the Network were presented thereon and a plan was worked out with the strategic objectives of and the tasks to be completed by the Network in the next 3 months. Regular quarterly meetings have been scheduled so that the achieved results may be monitored.
The Advisory Board is a permanent body seeking opportunities to expand the Network; as a coordinating organisation it assists the Trust in providing valuable services to members of the Network; it also supports the strategic planning process of REYN Bulgaria. It has a mandate of two years and consists of 7 members selected by the TSA in a competition.
The members of the first Advisory Board are Spaska Mihaylova (New Path Association, Hayredin), Sylvia Stancheva (Amalipe Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance, Veliko Tarnovo/Shumen), Dr. Stefan Stefanov (Thirst for Life Association, Sliven), Desislava Boshnakova (Detski Svyat/Children’s World Child Day-Care Centre, Gorna Oryahovitsa), Anahit Mihaylova (Slantse/Sun Child Day-Care Centre, Lukovit) and Svetlana Zlateva (Prolet/Spring Child Day-Care Centre, Yambol.
REYN Bulgaria has been around for a year already. The major goals of the Network are to strengthen the competencies of early childhood development professionals who work with children from vulnerable communities; to support the introduction of early childhood development role models in these communities; to promote the access to high-quality early childhood development services of the Romani children in Bulgaria.
REYN is coordinated by TSA and is a part of an international network of organisations that operate in 11 European countries. The Network is funded by the Open Society Institute and co-funded by TSA.
