Bulgarian Association of University Women

BAUW is a non - government organization of women with higher education in any field of science, engineering, the humanities and social sciences, irrespective of their present occupation or employment status. Students are granted the status of observers.

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OBJECTIVES
The Bulgarian Association of University Women has the following tasks:

• to assist women with university education in achieving their professional goals;
• to facilitate contacts among young university women and create a medium for discussion of specific problems;
• to promote research on the social position of women in contemporary Bulgarian society;
• to stimulate and urge the solving of problems, relating to the position of women at all levels of government and administration;
• to establish international contacts with similar organizations and pursue common goals.

INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS
The Bulgarian Association of University Women is a member of:

• The International Federation of University Women (IFUW)
• University Women of Europe (UWE)
• European Network for women’s Studies (ENWS)
• Network of East-West Women

ACTIVITIES

• Designing and implementing research projects in all fields related to Women’s Studies, Gender Studies and feminist issues in general;
• Launching educational projects for members and non-members of the BAUW with special emphasis on training and re-training of unemployed women with university education;
• Organizing seminars and conferences on specific issues, relating to women’s problems and feminist topics;
• Establishing Women’s Gender Studies as a research and study discipline at Sofia University and other higher educational institutions in the country;
• Creating a Gender Studies Library;
• Publishing a newsletter

PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
1992

• Women in Politics - seminar with public hearings on pornography;
• Creating Data Base for BAUW members
• a project; "Feminist Theory, Literary Criticism and Cultural Studies" - a seminar, specially focused on Julia Kristeva’s work;

1993

• Course Improving Communication Skills in English with an Introduction to Feminist Discourse;
• "Women and the Mass-Media" - international conference, organized by BAUW and Sofia University;
• "Bulgarian University Women - Unemployment and Prospects for Overcoming It" - a research project with a seminar, with the financial support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation;
• Organizational Development of Women’s NGOs - a seminar organized by BAUW Information and Education Center in collaboration with IFUW, "Fr. Ebert" Foundation and UNICEF;
• Friendship week, organized by BAUW with guests from IFUW;

1994

• BAUW participated in the Establishment of the National Women’s Forum and in the preparation of the Fourth World Conference on Women’s Status in Beijing;
• A seminar, dedicated to the Bulgarian poetess Elisaveta Bagriana;

1996 - 1997

• Tempus Project - Complementary Measures: a project aiming at preparing a strategic plan for establishing a Center for Business Communications as an inter-faculty body at Sofia University. Realised in collaboration with Sofia University;
• Informational and Educational Support of BAUW - Publishing a Newsletter financially supported by the Civil Society Foundation;
• A project funded by the British Know-How Fund with London University for developing and introducing Gender studies in university curricula. Establishing a specialised library on women’s issues in English within the BAUW office;
• Discussion club - meetings with intellectuals from different social fields;
• First annual English Essay Writing Contest: theme: "Women’s Issues, participants from all over the country, organized by BAUW and the US Peace Corps and financially supported by the USIS.

1997 - 1998

• Amendment of Bulgarian Legislation concerning Single Women: the project aims at amendment of the the Bulgarian Family Code. Better opportunities for women claiming their children’s support from former husbands before the court are sought. The project is financially supported by Democracy Network, Institute for Sustainable Communities.
• Second and Third Annual English Essay Writing Contest on Women’s Issues, organised by BAUW and the US Peace Corps for highschool and university students.

ADDRESS

BAUW
125, Tzarigradsko Shausse Blvd.
Block 3, Room 418
1113 Sofia
Tel/Fax: (+359 2) 70 73 42
Tel: (+359 2) 872 25 96
Tel: (+359) 887 747 068
Website: www.bauw.hit.bg

Email CIR: mayanyagolova@yahoo.com
Email: krassimira_daskalova@yahoo.com or krasi@sclg.uni-sofia.bg