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04 04 2006 BIRN Bulgaria is firmly committed to analysing and making public the issues faced by Bulgaria’s minorities. Besides bringing them to light, it seeks to stimulate public dialogue on these often overlooked themes.
In April 2005 BIRN Bulgaria produced a special package, dedicated to minorities in Bulgaria. The problems facing Roma, Pomaks, Karakachans and ethnic Turks were analysed by five different Bulgarian, American and British journalists and researchers, provoking public debate in several regions of Bulgaria .
The stories were initially published by IWPR. Three of the articles were translated into English. They included:
Bulgaria: Turkish Party Urged to Rethink Policies
Bulgaria: Raw Deal for the Pomaks
Comment: Nationalism Retains Grip on Bulgaria 's Youth
The other two texts included:
The Roma: Unified in Education, Isolated by Stereotypes (available in Bulgarian only)
The Karakachans Become Part of Bulgariaʼs Economic Elite (available in Bulgarian only)
The special package, which was met with great interest by both national and regional media, was republished more than 30 times in Bulgaria and the three translated articles were published in seven foreign media, including in the Balkans.
Several regional TV and radio stations in Montana and Sliven made extensive programmes dedicated to the articles, debating local perspective on minority issues and standards in journalism.
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
