Valentina Hristakeva

Having originated in 1980s, Global Initiative on Psychiatry (GIP) is an international foundation for the promotion of humane, ethical and effective mental health care worldwide. It consists of an international office in The Netherlands and a network of regional centres in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Georgia and Tajikistan. GIP-Sofia, being a part of the GIP federation, was registered in 2002 as a trade representation of GIP-Netherlands for the region of South East Europe (SEE) and in December 2004 was set up as an independent non-profit organisation with own board.
GIP-Sofia undertakes initiatives that advance all dimensions of mental health systems, including: deinstitutionalisation and transformation of institutional care; social inclusion, protection of human rights and empowerment of vulnerable groups of people; capacity building of users of mental health services, carers & professionals; engaging in policy development & advocacy; implementing anti-stigma and public awareness campaigns.
Аfter the implementation of a two-year project (2009-2010) for recognising mental health as a component of European Development Assistance in 4 EU Countries, encountering a low level of respect for diversity and understanding of development policies and interdependence on part of Bulgarian society, GIP-Sofia became seriously engaged with the theme of global education. The foundation’s hitherto achievements include: piloting development education as a horizontal principle in Bulgarian formal education (a joint 3-year initiative with 5 other Bulgarian NGOs); introducing innovative (multimedia) teaching methods in global education; providing training to teachers, educational specialists, students, media representatives, school boards, etc.; awareness-raising campaigns.
GIP-Sofia is an active member of Bulgarian Platform for International Development.