Public institutions through the lens of factual reporting
Info space Foundation ·Bulgaria
About this project
<p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">Absence of a sufficiently transparent public environment and accountability of institutions are among the most serious threats to the Bulgarian democracy. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">The media play an important role in this model. Meant to be a guardian of democracy, the media are a guardian of oligarchic interests. Bulgaria holds last place in the media freedom ranking in the EU (Reporters Without Borders, 2020). </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">Trust in the main institutions has been undermined. Quite a few people fall an easy prey to manipulation, disinformation and conspiracy; populist, nationalist and xenophobic attitudes crop up. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing problems. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">In this unprecedented situation, it is first and foremost important to ensure transparency of processes in the state governance and the relations with the corporate power. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">The project aims at raising the awareness of the public and the accountability of institutions by means of targeted materials, highlighting key public policies. The main outcome will be in-depth factual studies and investigations, tracing decision-making processes and how they take place. We will monitor for violations, covert mechanisms, dependencies or abuse in key fields of public interest: public procurement contracts, the EU Funds, healthcare, justice, elections, energy and climate, security. Our approach combines efficient monitoring of policies and professional assessment of the impact of implementing them. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">The project will contribute to greater transparency of the public institutions and informed civic participation. The latter will help revive the democratic character of public institutions, which is also paramount for the successful overcoming of the Covid crisis as well. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "Arial", sans-serif"><span style="color: #000000">We will also address the issue of controlled information, providing faithful content.</span></span></span></span></span></p>