Invitation for participation of NGOs as members of the National Council on Child Protection

The National Council on Child Protection (NCCP) is a body with the President of the National Agency on Child Protection (NACP) and has consultative and coordinative functions concerning policies for child protection. The members of the Council are deputy ministers of the institutions that have responsibilities for the implementation of child policy as well as NGOs working in the area child protection in Bulgaria. The number of NGOs involved in the work of the NCCP is 12, which represents one third of the total composition of the Council.
After the last meeting of the National Council for Child Protection, which was held on 24.2.2011, the NACP initiated and held an extensive discussion on changing the Regulations for the structure, organization and activity of the NCCP. The changes in the Regulations are fact from 15.07.2011 and include a new mechanism for selecting the NGOs for the purpose of participation in the Council. The new mechanism provides more democratic approach and a clear legitimacy of the elected NGO representatives. Under the regulations of the new mechanism only organizations registered in public benefit working in the field of child protection could be included in the Council.
A new aspect in the proposed mechanism is that NGOs themselves will elect future members of the Council. Right to vote will have organizations that have expressed interest in participating in the Council and meet the legal requirements for representation in it: to be registered at least three years prior, to provide services for children and families and/or to work in the field of children’s rights and to operate in the public benefit.
The voting will be conducted by ballot lists sent to the National Agency for Child Protection by e-mail or by post mail. The vote counting and classification of the participants will be conducted by a committee authorized by the President of the NACP, in which observers can be invited as well as civil society organizations not involved in the selection procedure and having a good reputation and authority in the civil sector.

The President of the State Agency for Child Protection invites NGOs to declare their wish to participate in the National Council for Child Protection because of the expiry of the two-year mandate of the previous NGO members of the NCCP.
The application is expressed by depositing a written request to the President of the NACP within 9th of September 2011. With the application are presented the following copies of documents:
1. Court decision for initial registration;
2. Statutes or incorporation act of the organization;
3. BULSTAT identification;
 4. Certificate of current legal status issued by the court no earlier than 6 months from the date of application;
5. Certificate for registration in the Central Register of NGOs in public benefit with the Ministry of Justice;
6. A short report on the activities carried out during the last three years, signed by the representative of the applicant organization. / within 3 pages /

Copies of documents from 1 to 5 are presented with the stamp and signature of the representative of the organization.

The documents and the application can be mailed to the President of the NACP at address: Sofia 1051, Triaditsa 2 or can be scanned and mailed to: sacp@sacp.government.bg.
The documents of the applicants will be received by the Commission represented by the President of the NACP between 12 to 16 September 2011 and then will compile a list of organizations allowed to participate in the elections for members of the NCCP.
The President of the NACP will inform all candidates for their admission / non-admission in the selection procedure in the period of 19-26 September 2011 and. A list of NGOs admitted to participate in the selection procedure will be published on the NACP website as well as an electoral list of NGOs that are allowed to vote.
 An election procedure will be held from 26 September to 7 October 2011. The election will be held by voting via e-mail or by post mail. For this purpose, organizations will need to complete the electoral list. The completed ballot lists should be sent to the NACP by post or by e-mail.
A right to participate in the election will have only the organizations involved in the overall list. Each organization will vote for maximum 12 organizations included in the overall list, as well as for its own candidacy.
In the period of 10 to 12 October 2011 the Commission represented by the President of the NACP will make counting and classification of participants. The classification of the organizations will be published on the official website of the NACP.
An order of the President of the NACP with the newly elected members of the NCCP(2 year mandate) will be made from 13 to 14 October 2011. The first 12 organizations that received the highest number of votes will be included in the order of the President of the NACP.

For more information of the selection process for NGO may receive on the following telephone or e-mail:
02/933 90 42 Milena Dyankova, expert in the NACP with e-mail:
 mdiankova_icp@sacp.government.bg
02/933 90 43 Radislav Kalinikova, Ch. experts in the NACP with e-mail:
 r.kalinikova @ sacp.government.bg
02/933 90 43 Milena Nikolova, Ch. Expert NACP with e-mail:
 mnikolova@sacp.government.bg
 
The text of the Rules for the structure, organization and activity of the National Council for Child Protection can be downloaded from here.