The Chairperson of the Economic and Social Council Zornitsa Rusinova held a meeting with Jane Muita — the representative of UNICEF for Bulgaria. They discussed future co-operation between the two institutions. The Chairperson of the ESC briefed Jane Muita on the structure of the new ESC. She pointed out that within the group of civil society organizations with other interests in ESC there is a certain interest in the topic of children, their development as well as ensuring good living conditions and education. If we want progress in the society, outlined Zornitsa Rusinova, we need to work in the interest of children and young people. Particularly topical issues in the context of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond — in the recovery process, according to the Chairperson of the ESC, are reducing the risk of social exclusion of children, reducing child poverty and the access to quality education.  The initiative of EC for “Child Guarantee” will be among the topics of work of the new ESC composition.  It will be important for the ESC to create a common platform with UNICEF for the exchange of information and analyses in order to be mutually beneficial to society, Zornitsa Rusinova proposed.

Jane Muita, the representative of UNICEF for Bulgaria, pointed out that the Chairperson of the ESC, Zornitsa Rusinova made a major personal contribution to the implementation of the project “Child Guarantee” in Bulgaria. She noted that she would highly appreciate working with ESC on topics that are not only of common interest between the two institutions, but also of interest to children and the society.