Leading members of the Foundation are:
Dimitar Kostadinov Stoyanov – a journalist with many years of experience in investigative journalism, who has worked in national media such as the Bulgarian National Radio, Nova TV, BTV, as well as on the website ‘Bivol’, and currently in Bird.bg. He has been professionally engaged in criminal investigations, covered events from the criminal and judicial resources, has gained extensive experience in revealing information on criminal cases and fraud schemes at the national and local level, misuse of European funds, national and funds from municipal budgets, he was professionally involved in the detection of various crimes and attacks on the rights of people and the interests of society.
Awards he received as an investigative journalist:
- St. George’s Award for contribution to society in 2016.
- Investigative Journalism Award in Bulgaria of the Foundation for Assisting Investigative Journalism ‘Radostina Konstantinova’ in 2017.
- The award for Spanish-speaking journalists in Bulgaria – 2017.
- Justice for Everyone Award for Journalistic Investigations in 2018
- Journalist of the Year for 2018 of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.
- Axel Springer’s International Award, awarded in Berlin in 2019 for bold journalism with a special prize George Weidenfeld for exceptional research activities (reporting team Dimitar Stoyanov and Atila Biro) and others on the website of Bird.bg.
Tsvetanka Ivanova Ivanova – A lawyer with many years of practice in defense of the rights and freedoms of citizens. She graduated in ‘Law’ at the Faculty of Law of Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ in 2007 and acquired legal capacity in 2008. She worked as a ‘legal consultant’, and since 2014 she has been a member of the Sofia Bar Association. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in ‘International Relations’ at the Faculty of Law of Sofia University and has a master’s degree in ‘International Organizations and Multilateral Diplomacy’. He speaks English, French and Spanish. Her work has always been about protecting the rights of citizens and protecting the public interest.
Shield Foundation /EIC 205723669/ is an independent organization registered in Bulgaria in 2019. Its mission is dedicated to the protection of Journalists at risk, on the freedom of speech and on the right of society to know the truth. We believe that free media and access to objective information are the basis of democracy and the rule of law. Therefore, we support journalists facing pressure, threats or judicial arbitrariness when they assert their right to seek, receive and disseminate information of public interest.
Along with that, Shield Foundation Protects the rights and dignity of all citizens by providing expert, advisory and legal assistance in cases of abuse of power, bad institutional practices and the violation of human rights by state or local authorities.
Our activity includes:
- Citizen support – assistance in violations of legal rights in pre-trial, judicial and enforcement proceedings;
- Promoting civic activity – protection of the principles of justice, equal access to information and participation in the democratic process;
- Affirming the values of civil society – transparency, good governance and responsibility in all spheres of public life;
- Participation in legislative initiatives – active involvement in the development of policies and regulations related to human rights and the protection of civil interests;
- Unification for Democracy and Rule of Law – Sharing of experience and good practices aimed at building a legal, democratic and just state.
Our mission is to build Shield for Freedom and Justice — an effective civil model that counteracts encroachments on human rights, abuses of power and attempts to silence the independent voices in Bulgaria.
The foundation was established in 2019 by investigative journalist Dimitar Stoyanov and lawyer Tsvetanka Ivanova – Stoyanova.
Since 2023, Shield Foundation is a partner of the French NGO drji, publisher of the investigative journalism site Bird.bg.