On 18 and 19 October in Athens, representatives of NASOR participated and presented their activities at an international conference on “Employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market”, which was attended by over 350 participants from all over Europe and the USA.
Alice Tsocheva, expert of NASOR presented the establishment and work of the Association as a continuation of the work of the National Alliance for Social Responsibility to achieve more concrete and effective work in the field of employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market and support employers in this area in Bulgaria.
The national character of NASOR was presented as a National organization building a network of socially responsible employers working for sustainable development, including providing employment to people with disabilities. It was shared that currently over 110 employers from small social enterprises to large corporations with a high degree of social commitment are members of the organization. Representing them, the Association is an active partner of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, other ministries, agencies and other institutions to create and implement supportive policies. As part of this partnership, the Association participates in the CSR Advisory Council and the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Social Economy of the MLSP. At local level, NASOR ensures partnership with municipalities and participation in local initiatives, and at European level it is a member of the European Federation of Social Employers, with municipalities and participation in local initiatives, and at the European level it is a member of the European Federation of Social Employers, with which it ensures an active European partnership to bring good foreign experience for implementation in Bulgaria.
Of interest to the participants in the conference were the activities presented for the implementation of regional meetings with employers in different regions of the country, which provide a platform for employers to share their experiences and seek answers to cases of their work and create new partnerships. Along with this, the organization’s experience of holding annual national forums was presented to provide a national platform and opportunity for employers to dialogue with the government and discuss important issues of their work in the field of social engagement. The forthcoming national forum for 2024 in November in Sofia was also presented, with an invitation to those wishing to participate.
In the discussion that took place, the theme of the association’s efforts to work for policy change and effective government support to secure jobs for people with disabilities in the open labour market emerged.