12,000 Unaccompanied Refugee Children Have Entered Bulgaria over the Past Five Years

An exhibition titled "Innocence Without Borders" featuring photographs of refugee children is currently being held at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".

The event takes place ahead of International Children’s Day, and official guests include Cristina de Bruin, UNICEF Representative in Bulgaria, and Mariyana Tosheva, Chairperson of the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers.

The exhibition showcases the work of photographers Nikolay Stoykov, Dobrin Minkov, and Angel Spasov, telling the stories of migrant and refugee children and families — including unaccompanied minors from the Safe Zone for Unaccompanied Children in the Reception and Registration Center (RRC) in Harmanli. Over the past five years, 12,000 unaccompanied refugee children have entered Bulgaria.

This Safe Zone in Harmanli is the third of its kind in Bulgaria. Located in the country’s largest RRC operated by the State Agency for Refugees, the zone was created by UNICEF, the State Agency for Refugees, and partner organisations with support from the Swiss Confederation, represented by the State Secretariat for Migration, and officially opened in May 2024.

The exhibition runs at Sofia University from May 26 to May 31, 2025, as part of a week dedicated to children and children's rights. It also serves as a prelude to the Second National Scientific and Practical Conference "The Child and the Child's World", organised by the Faculty of Education in celebration of International Children’s Day on June 1st.