One of the special sessions at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the National Network for Children (NNC) focused on the Children’s House project—a community center dedicated to early childhood development and advocacy for children’s rights.

The session brought together members of the National Network for Children, partners, allies, and supporters of the initiative, who had the opportunity to learn about the project’s progress so far and the plans for its future implementation.

The panel was moderated by Georgi Bogdanov, Executive Director of the National Network for Children, who reflected on how the idea for the Children’s House first emerged years ago and gradually became one of the Network’s most significant shared goals.

Participants reviewed the project’s journey—from the initial concept and preparatory phase to its current stage, where the focus has shifted toward shaping the future programming of the space and building a broad community of people and organizations that will contribute to its development.

The discussion centered on the types of activities, services, and initiatives that the Children’s House could offer in order to meet the real needs of children, families, and professionals working with children in Bulgaria.

During the session, participants worked in groups based on their interests, expertise, and potential contributions. They discussed ideas for future programs, partnerships, and mechanisms for actively engaging Network member organizations in the project’s development. The working groups will continue collaborating after the Annual Meeting through online meetings and joint initiatives.

The project is implemented by the National Network for Children and is funded by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works under the Regions in Growth Programme 2021–2027. Its partners are the Regional Centre for Support of the Process of Inclusive Education – Sofia and the Concordia Bulgaria Foundation.

The 2026 Annual Meeting is held as part of the INSPIRE project: Improving National Support for the Prevention, Intervention and Response to Violence Against Children and Empowering Victims. The project’s main objective is to strengthen the prevention of and response to violence against children while empowering victims. It is implemented by the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF) and the National Network for Children (NNC) and is co-funded by the European Union.

The 2026 Annual Meeting is also supported by the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Programme, under the Civil Engagement and Transparency Facility (CETF) 2024–2029.