Bulgarian Diversity Charter, a joint initiative of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF) and the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) to encourage and promote diversity, equality and inclusion policies in the workplace, held its annual members' meeting on 12 May 2023 at Hilton Sofia.

The event for the Diversity Charter community and supporters aimed to promote corporate strategies for building diverse teams and inclusive work environments. Importantly, the meeting gathered signatories old and new for the first time in person since September 2020 and was an excellent opportunity for practitioners and experts to exchange contacts, ideas and best practice.

The meeting also marked EU Diversity Month 2023, a celebration of equality and respect in the workplace and across society held in May in the countries of the European Union by all 26 national Charters and their more than 15,000 member organisations.

The event in Sofia brought together more than 80 representatives of various sectors – public sector, the Charter’s community comprised of private companies mostly, civil society organisations to confirm the importance of joint efforts in promoting the values of equality and inclusion.

Official guests were Nadia Klisurska, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Ass. Prof. Dr. Ana Dzhumalieva, Chairperson of the Committee for Protection Against Discrimination, Elena Cherneva-Markova, Deputy Ombudswoman, Levon Hampartzoumian, BBLF Chair and Dimitar Markov, CSD Law Programme Director.

BBLF Chair Levon Hampartzoumian thanked the relevant government bodies for their strong support and continuous cooperation for the launch and the ongoing development of the Bulgarian Charter.

The event doubled as an official ceremony where we handed out the certificates to new Charter signatories. CEOs and senior executives of over 30 companies that have signed the Charter over the last 2 years took the stage to share what motivates them to embrace D&I values and foster D&I policies and campaigns. They sent a strong message to their business peers and the general public of the importance of diversity as a driver of innovation, growth and performance of organisations but also of building a fair and inclusive social environment.

The event’s host was Evelina Pavlova, a renowed radio and TV journalist, anchor and social entrepreneur.

*The Charter signatories that received their certificates at the event: Action Global Communications Bulgaria, ASTELLAS PHARMA, Beiersdorf Bulgaria, British American Tobacco Bulgaria, Carlsberg Bulgaria, CATRO Bulgaria, Coca-Cola HBCB, Creativity and Educational Studio ARTIED, Dentsu Bulgaria, DFH Bulgaria, Edenred Bulgaria, Elton Corporation, Gugushev and Partners Law Office, Hewlett-Packard Global Delivery Bulgaria Centre, Hilton Sofia, IBM Bulgaria, ICAP CRIF, IKEA/House Market Bulgaria, Inditex Bulgaria, Interlang, Lidl Bulgaria, Merck Sharp & Dohme Bulgaria, Mondelez Bulgaria, Paysafe Bulgaria, Synergia Foundation, Takeda Bulgaria, Teach for Bulgaria, TRANSPRESS, Vivacom Bulgaria, ZAGORKA.

General partner: BAT Bulgaria. The event was co-funded by the European Union.

*About Bulgarian Diversity Charter

A joint initiative of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum aimed to promote diversity management in Bulgaria by developing, launching and implementing a national Diversity Charter. The official launch of the Bulgarian Diversity Charter took place in September 2020 by BBLF and CSD along with 10 founding member companies, and Bulgaria was the 25th EU member state to join the EU Platform of Diversity Charters and benefit from the exchange of ideas, good practice and resources between the national charters. Today, the Bulgarian Charter brings together over 50 signatories, mostly private companies but also NGOs covering their 5,000 employees which have the opportunity to encourage, promote, share and disseminate diversity management policies and best practice. For details: www.diverse-bg.eu