INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN A DISCUSSION ON “INTEGRATION OF THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS IN THE LABOR MARKET IN SOFIA – NEW CHALLENGES”

Sofia Municipality and the Sofia Development Association (SDA) invite you to join a discussion on the integration of third-country nationals (TCNs) in the labor market, which will be held on March 14, 2022 from 13:00 – at SofiaLab (1 Serdika str., 3rd fl.) and online, through the ZOOM platform – HERE.

The event is another step taken by local authorities, together with civil society organizations and public institutions, in order to improve the employment opportunities of the TCNs, as well as to facilitate employers who want and have the opportunity to hire migrants. Within the CONNECTION and UMN projects, and together with CITUB, UNHCR, Caritas, BRC, SDA and Sofia Municipality, they implement various initiatives – trainings, information and advocacy campaigns – to prepare the city to more effectively manage the integration of migrants. In view of the emerging (unexpected) wave of refugees from Ukraine, it is necessary for the capital to plan measures that will allow normal living and working conditions not only for Ukrainian citizens but also for foreigners already residing in the city now and in the future.

We invite you to take part in discussion with Ms. Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia, Mr. Svetoslav Andreev, European Committee of the Regions, Ms. Malina Edreva, Chairperson of the Committee on Education, Culture, Science and Cultural Diversity of the Sofia Municipal Council, Mr. Nikolay Stoynev, Chairperson of the Committee on Economy, Property and Digital transformation of the Sofia Municipal Council, BCCI, CITUB, UNHCR, Caritas, non-governmental organizations, employers, employers’ organizations, etc.

The discussion aims to hear the views of all stakeholders on how local authorities could contribute to the labor integration process. Let’s set our clocks and plan our next steps together. You will have the opportunity to hear brief analyzes of the unemployment rate and labor market trends, shared experiences from companies that hire migrants, training and qualification opportunities, etc.

We encourage you to take part online via the following link, as places in the SofiaLab are limited.

For confirmation and questions, you may contact:
Sanya Raeva, s.raeva@sofia-da.eu
Snezhina Atanasova, s.gabova@sofia-da.eu

CONNECTION project: CONNEcting Cities Towards Integration action, and UMN project are co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.