
Sofia has officially joined the Pact of Free Cities. On social networks, the Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality Nikolay Barbutov, who represented Sofia at the forum, wrote: This is an important moment for Sofia and the future of our city diplomacy. Together with the mayors of Bratislava (Matus Valo), Budapest (Gergely Karachoni), Lviv (Andrii Sadoviy), Gdansk (Aleksandra Dulkiewicz), Warsaw (Rafal Tjaskovski) and Tirana (Erion Veliai), as well as other members, we discussed key topics concerning the future of our cities".
At the center of the discussions during the event were the topics related to the role of cities in the struggle for democracy: How can we ensure that the voice of citizens is heard and that the values of democracy are respected at the local level? Common measures to deal with propaganda and fake news were discussed. Questions of how cities can fight populism were also discussed, how can we promote open dialogue, tolerance and understanding to counter division and hatred?
"I believe that our membership in the Pact of Free Cities will enable us to cooperate more effectively, exchange good practices and find common solutions to key problems. Together we can build stronger, more sustainable and more democratic cities in which all citizens feel valued and included", adds the Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality Nikolay Barbutov.