site.btaSports Minister Meets with Representatives of UN Refugee Agency

Caretaker Minister of Youth and Sports Georgi Glouchkov Tuesday held a meeting with Seda Kuzucu, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Bulgaria Representative, Glouchkov's Ministry said in a press release. The sides discussed the current challenges facing young refugees and the role of sport as a social instrument in the process of their integration. Also discussed were the cooperation opportunities within mentor programmes and the partnership with Bulgaria's champions from the Paris Olympics.

The sides put an emphasis on youth centres for local youth policy in Bulgaria, which give young people an opportunity for training, getting them involved in projects and active participation in the fields of sports, science, art, culture, and entrepreneurship for their inclusion in civil society.

The sides agreed that sport is a universal language that unites people and nations, and that sports initiatives are one of the instruments for building new connections, broadening experience and skills, and easier integration. They agreed on joint work on the elaboration of a memorandum of cooperation, through which to promote the participation of young refugees in sports events and youth activities.

Also attending the event were Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Petar Mladenov and Teodora Todorova, head of the Ministry's European Programmes, Projects and International Cooperation Directorate.