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★Sofia*, Bulgaria★
*Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria.
Intimate With Nature Society (In Bulgarian it is „На Ти с Природата“. Hereinafter referred to as IWNS.) is Bulgarian animal welfare organization established back in 2001 by a group of enthusiasts who believed that treatment of animals in the country can and should be improved. The association includes the members from different professions or professional background. Several decades later, this is still the main goal of the organization. IWNS has always been focused on animal advocacy and educating society towards better animal-human coexistence. They believe that the first step towards working animal welfare and nature preservation is education of the people about the current issues and possible solutions. This is why they have a lot of small projects to raise awareness and start discussions about these important topics. Starting primarily with the issues about pets and domestic animals, with the years the organization had expanded its work towards wildlife and nature preservation.
In 2003, on the initiative of the association and students from Sofia University, the position of “Public Mediator” was created. It was implemented from 2003 to 2007 in the municipal detention centres in Sofia, and succeeded in significantly reducing the atrocities committed there. The coordinator of the mediators is Marta Georgieva – a member of the association and currently – a municipal councillor at Sofia Municipality.
One of the activities of the association throughout its years, is to educate children to love animals and nature. In this regard, special events are organized for children – contests and fun events, where children along with the fun learn important things about their friends – the animals.
Since 2008 (with a one-year break), their campaign with the original title “I help animals” has been active, helping over 270 animals in need to get medical help and find homes. Its sequel, “Let’s Reduce Suffering”, in 2 years has managed to save (literally) and find homes for more than 50 animals and provide spay/neuter surgeries for 16 female dogs in the village of Pudriya, Vratsa region.
Although the organization is very small and entirely supports itself via donations and voluntary work through the years, they have had several memorable big projects. The biggest of all is their participation in lobby the acceptance of the Animal Protection Law and criminalizing violence against animals in Bulgaria. The Association is one of the few organizations in the country that challenges and participates in inspections of municipal shelters, illegal kennels and other facilities where we receive information that there is cruelty. A very successful series of projects are their recent projects about responsible dog ownership and creation of “shared spaces” specifically made for dogs to be able to run and play in parks in Sofia.
IWNS knows that change comes with small victories and takes time and united efforts. This is why they actively create and participate in networking with other organizations with similar goals and ideas. Together IWNS hopes to build a humane society where man and nature live in symbiosis.
Organization Name : Intimate With Nature Society
Сдружение „На Ти с Природата“ (Bulgarian)
Address : Sofia, Bulgaria, Europe
They do not have office but the organization is registered in Sofia, which is the capital city of Bulgaria.
Mail address :
General information : office@iwns.org
For organizations : ngo@iwns.org
Technical questions : tech@iwns.org
Establishment : 2001
Statute : Public benefit registered in the Central Registry
