BlueLink Information Network

In 2008, the Bulgaria Fund supported the project "Expose and improve – The power of Information Technologies (IT) in combating illegal logging," proposed by BlueLink Information Network. In November 2008, the project started developing a broad network of active citizens and NGOs to support the integration of a web-based platform for information alerts about instances of illegal logging into the "Protection and Control"-related work of the State forestry administration.

The project has been successful in engaging active citizens and the NGO community alike. Individuals participate by registering alerts (30 alerts logged in the system since its launch in July 2009) and by supporting NGO experts in the preliminary checks on the registered alerts. Alerts are checked against a checklist of indicators to verify the criminal character of the case before submitting it to the authorities. Established environmental NGOs in Bulgaria have demonstrated their genuine interest and active support of the project by providing expert advice on forestry issues, participating in preliminary checks and lobbying for the integration of the online platform into the work of the State forestry administration. The project has also gained the recognition of the NGO sector beyond the environmental community, as a token of which the project was awarded ‘Best practice for 2009′ certificate (‘runner-up’) by the Civic Participation Forum (a non-formal forum of over 45 active NGOs, including Open Society Institute – Bulgaria, Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation, the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-profit Law, Balkan Assist, etc.) Project activities successfully attracted the attention of media producing nearly 50 news items, interviews and feature stories in various online and offline media, national and regional TV channels and radio stations. In addition, the business sector has taken an interest in the initiative as well, and negotiations for support for the online platform are already underway.

Most importantly, the project "Expose and improve – The power of IT in combating illegal logging" has demonstrated how IT is appropriate for stimulating the communication between citizens and the State. The gradual process of establishing a partnership with the Executive Forestry Agency (EFA) and proving the usefulness of the web-based monitoring platform for tracking down cases of illegal logging has crystallized important lessons learned. Since EFA confirmed its partnership with the project in August 2009, EFA representatives have responded to all alerts sent through BlueLink’s online platform and have participated in policy meetings and volunteer trainings. The online monitoring system for monitoring and preventing illegal logging (the software), in combination with the network of active citizens and NGOs that developed around it (the ‘humanware’) may serve as an efficient model of enabling active civic behavior through the use of IT with an exciting potential for application in other spheres. The project’s success opens a wide range of opportunities for further development of the system by elaborating and extending the partnership of citizens, NGOs and the State, united by concerns for a healthy living environment and justice.

Na Chisto

In July 2008, the German Marshall Fund’s Bulgaria Fund awarded a grant to the Broadcast Training Center ProMedia Foundation (BTCPMF), a Bulgarian nongovernmental organization. The grant is to continue the production of a popular television program Na Chisto (Clean Slate) that deals with corruption in public administration.

In Bulgaria, corruption and organized crime are still obstructing reform and progress. The national government has had little success in curtailing these social evils and consolidating good governance and free market practices in all spheres of government and economy. Since joining the EU, Bulgaria has encountered difficulties in its reform efforts and has witnessed instances of corruption even in new spheres of governance, including the redistribution of EU funding. This has led the EU to temporarily suspend its projects in Bulgaria which created a public outcry that BTCPMF stepped in to manage.

Until now, BTCPMF has produced 20 shows of Na Chisto, capturing a prime time market share of an amazing 30 percent or 1 million viewers. Its shows have uncovered cases of corruption in both local and national administration, and have led to disciplinary procedures being launched against a prosecutor at the Sofia’s Prosecutor General’s Office. The anchor of the television show, Daniela Trencheva, was awarded a prestigious national award for journalistic excellence "Bulgarians of Merit", and other reporters have described her reports as "tight" and "deprived of glamour". In the words of another prominent Bulgarian journalist, Kevork Kevorkian, "she is one of the few real allies of Prosecutor General Boris Velchev."

BTCPMF produced Na Chisto with Bulgaria Fund assistance until September 2009.