Fundraising campaign of BCNL
Civil rights are in danger!
With each passing day we become convinced of how vulnerable human rights are. And how suddenly they can be affected if we are not vigilant about them, if we do not defend them with thought and action.
In today's turbulent times we believe that it is extremely important to stay vigilant for democratic values, justice, rights and freedoms. But no matter how much the threats increase, human solidarity and empathy are also boldly moving forward, inspired by the original human pursuit of good. We see thousands of people uniting in the name of a common cause – to help. Examples of solidarity are all around us. The civic association is gaining strength. The voices of protesters from around the world vibrate with a common message: "Stop the war!"
In this historical time, artists are the ones who will leave a creative mark and defend civil rights through authentic stories about the power of civic unification!
How to support the cause of BCNL?
By the 1st of April we are raising funds to reward 12 talented illustrators, photographers and writers – defenders of civil rights – for their works, provoking empathy and telling about the strength of civic association in times of existential crisis, such as the current one.
We believe that artists, who dare to express their active position on how important it is to stay united and what we can achieve together when we are united around a common cause, deserve gratitude and support!
Help us reach together the cherished goal of 3,000 BGN by donating for our campaign at ❤️ Platformata.bg ❤️
So far we have managed to raise 2/3 of the amount. We have very little left! Every donation is important ❤️
The winners of the competition CIVIC ALARM CLOCK vol.5 will be announced after the professional evaluation of our authoritative jury for ranking in the first 3 places and after the online voting for the "Audience Choice" prize in each of the 3 competition categories: "Photography", "Illustration ", "Text".
Why do we do this?
Five years ago, we from the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL) launched the CIVIC ALARM CLOCK – a competition for artists who want to raise the topic of civil liberties and the opportunity to associate, speak freely, protest.
So far, over 360 talented Bulgarian and foreign authors have taken part in the competition, researching and sharing their form of empathy for what is happening with our civil rights and freedoms. We received more than 733 illustrations, comics, photographs, poems, essays, short stories, journalistic materials. All these creative works had one main message: We are free, we have rights and they are important to us!
Last year, with the funds from the donation campaign, we awarded 11 young and talented authors who received cash prizes for their inspiring works dedicated to the digital recharge of our civil rights and freedoms in the virtual world. Here are who they were and how the prize fund was distributed in 2021:
In the "Illustration" category:
First place: GUM by Simeon Hristov
Second place: DEMYSTIFICATION OF THE AGGRESSOR by Debora Dobreva
Third place: A GIFT FROM FREEDOM – THE ESCAPISTS by Boryana Savova
"The Audience Choice" award in the online voting: THE TRUTH BEHIND EVERYTHING, Vanessa Sabkova
In the "Photography" category
First place: THE INVISIBLE PROTESTOR, EXCEPTION, KILLED AND ERASED, PROTEST AND OTHER NOUNS AND FREEDOM NOT by Gergana Kurukyuvlieva
Second place: HUMANITY: AMBASSADORS FOR GOOD by Denislav Stoychev
Third place: DIGITAL SUPPORT by Gloriya Valcheva
"The Audience Choice" award in the online voting: RIGHTS AND PROTESTS – DIFFERENT by Venelin Todorov
In the “Text” category:
First place: IN THE TENTACLES OF THE KRAKEN by Yordan Vrabchev, as well as the "The Audience Choice" award in the online voting
Second place: CYBER STOCKHOLM SYNDROME by Alexander Arnaudov
Third place: POST of Alexander Ivanov
All awarded works in the fourth edition of the CIVIC ALARM CLOCK 2021 competition can be viewed online here: the exhibition "Digital Recharge: Rights and Freedoms in the Virtual World".
For the organizer – Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law
The Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL) is a non-governmental organization – a foundation for public benefit. Our mission is to support the people in Bulgaria to associate freely and be civic active. We have been doing this for more than 20 years. For us, the association and civil society organizations are more than valuable – they are the engine of civil society.
Therefore, it is especially important for us that more and more people recognize the civic organizations around us, be sympathetic to their causes, volunteer and trust the strength to be together.
We believe that those who master the power of art are called to be ambassadors of the good that foundations, associations, community centers and boards of trustees create every day. We just have to open our eyes to that.
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The author of the title photo "Together we stand, divided we fall" is Tihomira Metodieva-Tihich, awarded in the "Photography" category at the "Civic Alarm Clock" 2021 competition