Current projects
Our association’s core mission is to promote integration through education, socialization, and inclusion. We design programs that blend modern formal and non-formal educational approaches, creating supportive environments where vulnerable groups can grow and realize their full potential. We collaborate closely with local specialists and professional educators to deliver tailored programs that address the specific needs of our beneficiaries—both at the individual level and within grassroots communities.
Running projects
MOVE TOGETHER LAB – Move. Connect. Together.
MOVE TOGETHER LAB is a six-month movement, sport and social inclusion programme implemented by Arms Wide Open Association with the financial support of On AG through its global social impact programme Right To Run.
The project brings together 40 young people aged 13–18 and women aged 18+ from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, including local Bulgarians, refugees and migrants, unaccompanied refugee minors, and people who face barriers to accessing organised sport and physical activity.
At the heart of the programme is the Movement Buddy System. Participants are paired and brought together in mixed groups where movement becomes a tool for building trust, mutual support and new friendships. The focus is not on athletic performance, but on creating an accessible and safe environment where everyone can move and participate regardless of their experience, fitness level or background.
From September 2026 to February 2027, participants will take part in 24 sport and movement sessions, including basketball, roller skating, running and walking, strength, balance and coordination exercises, dance, improvisation, partner work and creative movement practices. Activities will take place in parks and outdoor sports spaces across Sofia and will move indoors during the colder months.
The programme also includes four Movement Buddy adventures in Vitosha Mountain – to Boyana Lake, Kamen Del Peak, the Golden Bridges and along the Galunka Eco Trail. The hikes combine physical activity with nature exploration, orientation, teamwork and mutual-support challenges.
The project will culminate in February 2027 with MOVE TOGETHER – A Practice of Trust, a public participatory performance and workshop exploring trust between people. Through partner movement, balance, leading and following, and giving and receiving support, participants will share what they have developed throughout the six-month journey and invite the audience to find their own Movement Buddy and take part.
MOVE TOGETHER LAB uses movement as a universal language – a way for people who might otherwise never meet to connect, build trust and begin moving together.
Project period: September 2026 – February 2027
Location: Sofia and Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria
Participants: 40
Financial support: On AG On AG / Right to Run Right To Run
More information about the programme, methodology and activities can be found [here].
Youth Council “Safe Circle”
The Youth Council “Safe Circle” is an internal youth structure of the “Arms Wide Open” Association, created to encourage active youth participation and support young people in their integration and personal development.
Safe Circle is the first youth structure in Bulgaria established and led by young people with refugee backgrounds, who aim to support other refugees, migrants, and youth at risk. The council creates a space for mutual support, development, and intercultural dialogue.
The mission of Safe Circle is to empower young people by providing access to resources, non-formal education, and opportunities to participate in youth initiatives that build skills, promote tolerance, and foster active citizenship.
The creation of the council builds on the experience of the youth group “Petichka” – a program of “Arms Wide Open,” which engaged 134 young people by mid-2025. Participants took part in educational, cultural, and social initiatives, trips, and training activities, as well as exam preparation, including individualized support.
As part of the program, three young people completed internships within the organization, where they developed and led educational activities and contributed to the organization of youth programs.
The Youth Council “Safe Circle” builds on this experience by creating a sustainable environment in which young people not only participate but also lead initiatives and drive meaningful change.
More information about the programme, methodology and activities can be found [here].
Right to a Voice: Legal Empowerment and Artistic Self-Defense for Refugee and Migrant Women Against Violence
The project is implemented by Arms Wide Open Association with the financial support of the Bulgarian Fund for Women under the Values Programme 2026, within BIRDS in BG 2 / the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme.
Right to a Voice is a 12-month project aimed at strengthening the legal empowerment, support and confidence of refugee and migrant women, as well as women at risk of domestic and gender-based violence in Bulgaria.
The project combines legal support, psychological support and artistic practices, because knowing one’s rights is only the first step – women also need the confidence, support and practical tools to exercise and defend them.
As part of the project, multilingual legal resources will be developed in Bulgarian, Ukrainian/Russian and Arabic. The programme will also include six legal information sessions, group consultations and individual legal support. Topics will include domestic violence, rights within marriage and cohabitation, separation, parental rights and child support, migration status and temporary protection, as well as practical steps for seeking institutional protection.
A distinctive part of the project is its creative empowerment programme, featuring the laboratories Impro Theatre: Lost Rights, Performance Lab + Simulation: End of Democracy, Self-regulation & Voice, and Rights Manifestos. Through theatre, movement, voice work and visual art, participants will explore personal boundaries, freedom, dignity, belonging and their ability to respond when their rights are violated.
To enable mothers to participate fully, parallel activities and support for their children will be provided by a psychologist during the sessions.
The project will culminate in a public conference and an interactive performative exhibition at RCCA Toplocentrala, where the personal and collective Rights Manifestos will enter into dialogue with the wider public, civil society organisations and institutions.
The project’s information and awareness activities are expected to reach more than 200 women, while at least 60 women will participate in the intensive artistic and empowerment programme. The multilingual resources and the community support network developed through the project will remain available beyond the project period.
Right to a Voice is about the right to know. The right to be heard. The right to seek protection. And the confidence to use your own voice.
More information about the programme, methodology and activities can be found [here].
“Safe Reporting” – A Practical Standard for Safe Reporting When Working with Children in Migration
Arms Wide Open Association is implementing the project “Safe Reporting” – A Practical Standard for Safe Reporting When Working with Children in Migration, aimed at developing a practical tool for civil society organisations, professionals and volunteers working with children seeking asylum or granted international protection, with a particular focus on unaccompanied children.
The standard will provide practical procedures, checklists and templates for risk assessment, safe reporting, documentation and follow-up of reported violations, protection of personal data and whistleblowers, work with interpreters, and effective interaction with competent institutions. The tool will be developed with the expert involvement of the Foundation for Access to Rights (FAR), validated through consultations with relevant organisations, experts and institutions, and made publicly available for use and adaptation by other organisations.
The project is implemented with the financial support of the Bulgarian Fund for Women under the ReAction Programme, within Project No. 101184271 — BIRDS in BG 2, co-funded by the European Union.
More information about the programme, methodology and activities can be found [here].
Psycho-Social Support for Unaccompanied Refugee Children
The project is implemented by Arms Wide Open Association under project BG56AMPR001-1.003-0002 “Establishment of Alternative Social Services for Unaccompanied Refugee Children in Bulgaria”, commissioned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Bulgaria.
The programme provides psycho-social and artistic activities for unaccompanied refugee and migrant children living in reception centres and social services in Sofia. It combines trauma-informed psycho-social support with music, visual arts, dance and movement, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), and strengths-based practices.
Through activities such as drumming, handpan, singing, drawing, collage, contemporary dance and movement photography, children develop emotional regulation, confidence, communication and social skills while expressing themselves in a safe and culturally sensitive environment.
A dedicated artistic component includes contemporary choreography and movement photography masterclasses, public presentation of the children’s creative work, and participation in DETACHED, an international performance exploring migration, displacement, belonging and the loss of home.
All activities are based on the principles of child safeguarding, voluntary participation, cultural sensitivity, non-discrimination and respect for each child’s dignity and personal boundaries.
The project sees unaccompanied children not only as recipients of support, but as young people with their own strengths, creativity and voices.
More information about the programme, methodology and activities can be found [here].
Thread to Sofia: A Creative Textile Lab for Belonging and Community
The project is implemented by Arms Wide Open Association with the financial support of Sofia Municipality under the “Sofia – City of Young People and Active Citizens” Programme 2026.
Thread to Sofia brings together 20 young people aged 15–29, including refugees, migrants and Bulgarian youth, through a creative programme combining textile arts, practical skills and intercultural exchange.
Through 12 hands-on workshops in sewing, pattern-making and textile upcycling, participants learn new skills while transforming second-hand clothes and fabrics into new objects that reflect their identities, memories and experiences. The creative process provides a space for young people from different backgrounds to meet, share stories, build trust and develop a stronger sense of belonging to Sofia.
The programme combines creative practice, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, encouraging collaboration, confidence and active participation in the community.
The project concludes with the public exhibition “The Things We Carry With Us”, accompanied by a short video story documenting the participants, their creative process and the connections formed throughout the programme.
Thread to Sofia uses creativity as a shared language – turning textiles, personal stories and new encounters into a sense of community and belonging.
More information about the programme, methodology and activities can be found [here].