Bulgarian Institute of Modern Policy wins prestigious award
Recently at a special ceremony in the UK the prestigious Think Tank of the Year Awards were given to the best research centers in the world. The Bulgarian Institute of Modern Policy grabbed the second prize in the European Think Tank of the year category in competition with more than 100 organisations. This is actually the first organisation from Eastern Europe to receive the award.
Here is what founder and chairman of the Bulgarian institute Borislav Tsekov said.
This is a competition that is organised annually by the Prospect Magazine. Prizes are given in three categories. These are for best think tanks in North America, Europe and Britain. Actually, we were not expecting to receive the prize but it turned out we were second after one of the biggest research centers in Europe – Bruegel, with chairman Jean-Claude Trichet. This is an exciting recognition
The Carnegie Foundation and the Brookings Institution won the awards for North America. The Bulgarian think tank received the prize for its detailed analyses of the activities of the Bulgarian institutions. Its harsh analysis of the Bulgarian government and security services and of corruption in the courts and politics is not only valuable but brave. “The judges felt that attempts to strengthen democracy and the rule of law across southeastern Europe have even more value than in the past, in the light of the Greek turmoil,” the Prospect Magazine writes.
Since its establishment the Institute of Modern Policy has been publishing monitoring reports on the work of the National Assembly.
This Parliament is the first that continues to keep a high level of social trust 3 yeas into the mandate. Currently trust in the Bulgarian National Assembly is 15-20%. In the past trust varied between 6 and 8%. At the same time there is a negative trend in the work of the parliament, as a number of lobbyist laws have been adopted, serving corporate interests. Some of these bills were met with big protest, Borislav Tsekov says.
The chairman of the IMP graduated in law from the St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University in 1994. He has specialized in political science, human rights, European legislation and others in the US, Belgium, Japan, Italy and Portugal. Mr. Tsekov is also a former MP. He is President for Bulgaria of the World Jurist Association with headquarters in Washington.
This is an organisation that includes lawyers and judges from 72 different countries. It was created back in the 60s during the cold war era. It gradually turned into an international interdisciplinary organisation, uniting a number of professionals working in the legislation sphere, Mr. Tsekov explained.
Text and photo: bnr.bg
(28.08.2012)