Bulgarians for PES child care campaign

12 April 2007

Bulgarians from the ruling Socialist Party showed their support for the PES child care campaign when Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women, visited the country.

Zita met children and parents taking part in an action by the Discussion Club for Local Social Policy in Sofia outside a public child care facility threatened by privatization. 

She attended and spoke at a large meeting on child care involving Mr Akanasov, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, MPs, pediatricians and the President of the Child Protection Agency. The meeting welcomed the PES child care campaign and focused on the biggest issues facing child care in Bulgaria. These include the need for better family and children policies which more accurately reflect new family circumstances and tackle the problems faced by children, the need for better quality childcare that offers physical education and special help in learning and psychology, and the need to increase parental involvement in the early and continuing education of their children – rather than only leaving it to pre-school child care and school. 

Zita Gurmai also discussed child care with the Union of Socialist Women who stressed the closure of child care facilities due to the fall in the birth rate during the 1990s, and the current need for more child care facilities due to a subsequent increase in birth rates and lack of alternative policies to enable women to combine work and family commitments.  Bulgarian Socialist Party Women called for children/family issues to be at the heart of all policy areas, and not just within the social affairs Ministry, and underlined the importance and benefit of investing in children. 

In a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, Leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Zita Gurmai spoke about child care and reiterated the issues raised by the Union of Socialist Women.     

Zita Gurmai said “The Bulgarian Socialists are making enormous efforts to improve child care and achieve greater understanding and respect for the rights of children. But there is still a lot to do. I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and commitment of the people I have met in Sofia and outside the capital. The PES child care campaign seems to have inspired them to discuss and debate child care even more intensively.”  



FOR MORE INFORMATION: Julian Scola, Press Officer
Party of European Socialists, Rue du Trône, 98, B-1050 Brussels
Mobile +32 486 117 394,