The Center for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities (CEICSEM) and SU "St. Kliment Ohridski" held a two-day public discussion of the developed methodologies and training programs for target groups under project BGLD-2.002-0001-C01 "Building capacity for educational and social inclusion", financed under the "Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Enhanced Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups" Program of the Financial Mechanism of the EEA 2014 - 2021. The discussion was held on April 7 and 8 in the Budapest Hotel - Sofia in a hybrid version - in person and online through the Zoom platform. The highlight of the program was the discussions on the developed methodologies and training programs, as over 50 participants took part in the discussion in person and over 30 participants online through the Zoom platform. The event was opened by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Mrs. Vanya Stoineva, who is also the chairman of the Board of Directors of TSOIDUEM. Mrs. Stoineva welcomed the participants in the event and noted that the educational integration of vulnerable groups is among the priority goals of the Ministry of Education and Culture. "The Ministry of Education and Science, together with other institutions, is actively working on the development of the so-called "soft" measures aimed at the permanent inclusion of vulnerable groups in the educational process," she pointed out. An important aspect of this process is the capacity building of specialists who are engaged in educational integration and work with vulnerable groups, Ms. Stoineva added. She assured that the feedback will be reflected and used by the Ministry of Education and Culture to improve the policy for building the necessary capacity and achieving the long-term goals in the field of educational integration. The director of TSOIDUEM, Dr. Lalo Kamenov, presented the goals, activities and expected results of the project. During the event, the team leaders from SU "St. Kliment Ohridski" and their members presented the drafts of the developed training frameworks as follows:

Prof. Dr. Liliana Strakova - Updated Methodology and training program for the work of non-teaching staff (teacher assistants, educational mediators, social workers in education) and other interested persons (authorities from and for the community, representatives of non-governmental organizations) for the implementation of forms and methods of interaction between kindergarten and parents of children from vulnerable, marginalized communities, including and with parents of children with SEN and an educational program;

Prof. Dr. Silvia Nikolaeva - Updated training framework and preparation of Methodology and curriculum for training youth workers;

Prof. Dr. Siika Chavdarova-Kostova - Updated framework and prepared Methodology and curriculum for training Roma educational mediators;

Prof. Ph.D. Plamen Makariev - Developed training package for university teachers from the pedagogical faculties with Methodology and curriculum for training/specialized training of pedagogical specialists for work with vulnerable groups in the conditions of a multi-ethnic and multicultural educational environment;

Prof. Dr. Vanya Boilova - developed Methodology and curriculum for training/specialized training of pedagogical specialists in kindergarten to work with vulnerable groups in the conditions of a multi-ethnic and multicultural educational environment; Presentation of post-graduate qualifications for the acquisition of the professional qualification "Educational Mediator".

During the public discussion, two training packages from the Right to Childhood Foundation were presented:

Atty. Dilyana Giteva presented a training package with specialized training modules with training programs for: university professors, pedagogues, youth workers, educational mediators, non-teaching staff and municipal employees for training in prevention and protection from forms of discrimination;

Atty. Daniela Mihailova presented a Specialized training module "Monitoring and actions against hate speech, anti-Gypsyism and misinformation in social networks", aimed at university professors, pedagogues, youth workers, educational mediators, non-pedagogical staff and municipal employees.