A meaningful conversation is a surprisingly simple but effective way for children to develop their interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. Moreover, the art of dialogue benefits children’s language development, their relationship-building skills, reasoning and understanding of diversity.

IOM Bulgaria’s social workers in the Safety Zone in the RRC Sofia - Ovcha Kupel and a psychologist from the IOM team organised a discussion with the unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the Zone on the topic "History and culture of Syria".

In a relaxed atmosphere and friendly tone, the children had the opportunity to talk about their native places, about the local traditions and cultural features there. With particular enthusiasm, the youngsters shared the different types of fruits and vegetables that grow in the areas they come from, as well as traditional dishes and their preparation methods. It came as a surprise for them to discover so many similarities between the cuisine in Syria and that of Bulgaria.

This activity was implemented within the framework of the project “Support for unaccompanied minors, seeking international protection” funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2020 under the Programme “Home Affairs”.