On October 29 The WAD Foundation and Municipality of Sofia organized a public discussion "Europe 2020 - The vision of Sofia”. The event was part of the Open Days in Sofia Municipality. The public discussion brought together the local government and administration, the civil society, business and academia in order to exchange ideas and promote debate on how Sofia will implement the key elements of strategy "Europe 2020" for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Developing the vision for Sofia was a challenging task, implemented with the financial support of Program Europe of Sofia Municipal Council

The WAD Foundation supported from the Municipal Programme “Europe” launched a broad consultation process among participants from the municipality in which over 250 representative organizations and individuals have participated with over 500 ideas and recommendations. This was the basis of the draft vision that was presented and discussed on October 29.

Among the participants in the public discussion were Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova, Sofia Municipality mayor, Mr. Paul Bevan, Secretary General of Eurocities, local councilors, MEPs, representatives of non-governmental organizations, business associations, academia, media. “I have no doubt that Sofia’s 2020 Vision forms a good foundation for the development of public policies in the municipality of Sofia and for its further growth. I hope that the example of Sofia of designing a vision for the implementation of the strategic document Europe 2020 with broad citizen participation will not only contribute to the direct involvement of interested stakeholders in Sofia’s modern development but will also encourage other local authorities in the country,” said Mrs. Fandakova.

Europe 2020 - The vision of Sofia