The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has established our country as a political factor in the Union with the launch of the European process for the Western Balkan countries. An essential result of the presidency is that it gave visibility to the little-known on the European level digital eco-system in Bulgaria.
It is this - affirming Bulgaria as a factor in the development of a digital and innovative Europe - was also the main focus of our work in
MOVE.BG during the presidency of the Council of the EU.
Priorities for the future:
In 2017, we actively lobbied the inclusion of the digital dimension as a priority of the Bulgarian Presidency, which was initially not foreseen. As part of this effort, on November 23, 2017, we organised the EDIT4tomorrow Conference. It "read" the presidency's planned priorities through the prism of an innovative digital-based economy.
We showed the results and profile of the Bulgarian digital eco-system. We invited members of the European Parliament from the three countries - Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria to present and defend policies to foster start-up companies. We have led the Balkan Cooperation Dialogue to support start-ups and women in technology and launched the Pan-Balkan Digital Development Network. Matt Brittin, President of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Isidro Lasso, Director of Startup Europe at DG Connect of the European Commission, as well as experts from the Joint Research Center, came for the first time in Bulgaria for the occasion. The event was held under the auspices of the Commissioner for Digital Economy and Digital Society, Mariya Gabriel.
The conference gave visibility to the dynamics and achievements of the Bulgarian start-up eco-system and the impetus for forthcoming events on the topic within the framework of the Presidency.
It, as well as the accompanying events we organised, turned out a crucial factor in choosing Bulgaria to host the Startup Europe Summit 2018, scheduled for 15 October 2018.
Cooperation in the development of the digital economy as an integral part of the European process in the Balkans.
As part of the Pan-Balkan Initiative for Digital Cooperation, we also initiated a network of over 100 entrepreneurs and innovators from seven countries, which we are continuing to develop. On March 12, 2018, we held the first Hack the Balkans Unconference. In three working groups - start-up cooperation, women in technology and cybersecurity - representatives of the European institutions, the Western Balkans and the Bulgarian Government, as well as digital leaders, discussed concrete solutions and initiatives in the context of the priority areas of the European integration process for the Western Balkans. As a result of the event, recommendations were made for the relevant policies.
We disseminated these recommendations to a wide range of Bulgarian and European institutions involved in the topic, as well as to governments and the business community in the Western Balkan countries to include the subject of digital co-operation in the political agreement during the EU-Western Balkans summit.
Driven by the belief that Bulgaria is the natural centre for innovative development in the Balkans and motivating us to consolidate the practical directions in the growth of the digital economy of the region on the basis of shared experience and expertise, we took part in a series of international political forums in Sofia and Brussels:
- March 1, 2018, Sofia - Within the joint external meeting organised by the Bulgarian MFA "The Balkans and the EU - the point of view of Sofia" on the progress of the Western Balkan countries in the European integration process, Sasha Bezuhanova presented the perspectives of cooperation in the field of digital development and entrepreneurship.
- May 16, 2018, Sofia - "In Dialogue with the Western Balkans: Creating a Region of Growth, Security and Connectivity on the Path to Europe" included media, analysts, activists and opinion leaders. Sasha Bezuhanova contributed to the discussion with an emphasis on cooperation in the field of innovative economics as an integral part of the development of the region and presented the Pan-Balkan Initiative for Digital Development.
- June 13, 2018, Sofia - MOVE.BG was a partner in organising the Eastern Europe Tech Tour. Sasha Bezuhanova moderated a strategic debate on "Regional initiatives and challenges for Southeast European countries in stimulating entrepreneurship" with the participation of representatives of the Ministries of Economy, Funds and Leading Organizations for Economic Development from the region.
- June 19, 2018, Brussels - Talent Management and Youth Perspectives in the Western Balkans, organised by the Center for European Studies, Wilfried Martens, dedicated to the current challenges of the younger generations and the future of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans. Within the framework of good regional cooperation practices, MOVE.BG was invited to present the Pan-Balkan Initiative.
- June 27-28, 2018, Sofia - As a partner of the first Balkan hackathon "Overcoming the Digital Boundaries on the Balkans" on 27 and 28 June. Dessislava Simova from our team was a member of the jury of the competition, which showed the breaking of the Balkans' borders and confirmed that the greatest resource for the development of connectivity is creativity.As we know that the different dimensions of the Balkan European process must be developed in an integrated way, on the eve of the Summit during the Presidency, we held a multilateral discussion on the development of the Balkans as a region, combining cthe foreign policy, the historical, the economic and the European perspectives on the subject. The event summed up a series of initiatives that we organised alongside the economic dimension of Balkan cooperation.
We have also contributed actively to the dialogue on the future of an innovative Europe during the Presidency of Bulgaria.
On January 29, 2018 MOVE.BG hosted the Bulgarian stop of the wide-reaching Tour d'Europe Initiative of the RISE (Research, Innovation and Science Policy) high-level group. The event gathered leading representatives from the academic community and innovative business, political advisers and investors in Bulgaria with the RISE representatives to outline the national economic and political outlook for the future of science and innovation in Europe. The Bulgarian stop of Tour d'Europe marked the focus on the transfer of knowledge from research to the private sector, which was a clear demand for the development of innovative enterprises in the Bulgarian economy.
The presence of start-up companies and investors has contributed to a different perspective on research and innovation policies where the topic of the European Council on Innovation addresses the capitalisation of scientific excellence in business. The event was highly appreciated by the RISE Group's international team, and the results will be included in the final report.
- 27 март 2018, Брюксел – На 27 март в Европейския парламент в Брюксел се проведе прием по повод Председателството на България на Съвета на ЕС, организиран от The Parliament Magazine. Събитието събра министри, евродепутати, дипломати и експерти в европейската администрация, а целта му бе да покаже лицето на модерна и динамична България и да разкрие постиженията на страната в областта на предприемачеството, иновациите и дигитализацията.
- March 27, 2018, Brussels - The Parliament Magazine organised the Bulgarian Council Presidency Reception. The event gathered ministers, MEPs, diplomats and experts in the European administration, aiming to show the face of modern and dynamic Bulgaria and to reveal the achievements of the country in the field of entrepreneurship, innovation and digitisation.
- April 19-20, 2018, Sofia - We have partnered in organising and conducting the most important European educational forum for the first six months of 2018 - the Presidency conference entitled "Educate to Create: From Digital Consumers to Digital Creators". Sasha Bezuhanova moderated the opening panel discussion with Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Denitsa Sacheva, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Bulgaria, Markku Markkula, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions, Charlina Vicheva, Deputy Director General of the Joint Research Center, MEP Eva Maydel, Youth STEM Champion Tanja Ozetarova and Liz Williams, Director of Technical Literacy and Educational Programs at British Telecom.
- May 3-4, 2018 - We were actively involved in the preparation and participated in the forum "Smart Specialisation and Technology Transfer as Innovation Drivers for Regional Growth" in the National Palace of Culture organised by the Joint Research Center (JRC). Within the framework of the Presidency of Bulgaria, the event provided a platform for innovation discussion as a priority for Europe, with a special focus on Southeast Europe, including the Western Balkans, as well as a forum for constructive dialogue between institutions and businesses. Policy-makers, scientists, companies and regional institutions involved in the debate about best practices and key success factors to stimulate countries, regions and stakeholders to exploit the potential of smart specialisation.
We contributed with the presentation of good practices to Bulgarian companies as part of the forum's program. Sasha Bezuhanova moderated the session "Success factors in R&D and innovation – How businesses cooperate with academia", which presented ways innovatory policies to address business needs.
- May 2, 2018 - MOVE.BG was the main partner of the accompanying interactive conference of the European program WATIFY: Inspire to Transform dedicated to the technological transformation of European business. European innovation leaders met start-ups and jointly formulated solutions to boost the innovative economy in Europe. We supported the presentation and participation of Bulgarian companies from the EDIT network. Sasha Bezuhanova, our founder and WATIFY Ambassador, was a keynote speaker at the event.
- June 14, 2018 - Within the Innovative Enterprise Week Sofia 2018, Sasha Bezuhanova led an interactive workshop on How to empower people and stimulate a culture of innovation and risk-taking, dedicated to one of the four pillars of the 2021-2027 research and innovation framework programme - talent development.
- June 25-27, 2018 - In support of one of the crucial tasks for the development of the innovation economy in Bulgaria - expanding the opportunities for investment in Bulgarian companies, we actively participated in the annual congress of EBAN. It has brought in Bulgaria serial investors, investment fund representatives and business angel network coordinators from around the world. Within the framework of the program together with leaders of the digital eco-system, Sasha Bezuhanova participated in the panel for presenting the Bulgarian innovation economy and took part in the dialogue on expanding investments in women-based companies at European level.
- June 25-26, 2018 - Contributing to the debate on digital competences for a competitive and inclusive European economy, we also took part in the most important European digital development event. Digital Assembly 2018 gathered in Sofia over 1000 leading experts, politicians and representatives of the academic community from Europe in a debate on the digital development of the Union. The forum focused on how economies and citizens of European countries can benefit from digitisation.
