Annual Leadership Academy for students
Academy of friendships, smiles and unforgettable moments. 4 days full of emotional experiences, activities, new knowledge and team activities – this is how we can summarize the 8th National Meeting of representatives of Student Parliaments and student mentors – Leadership Academy “School of Tolerance”. The leadership academy was held in the period from May 9 to 12, 2022 at the Estreya Palace Hotel, resort complex “St. Constantine and Elena”. The event is part of the activities of the project “Every student will be a winner -3”, financed by the Trust for a Social Achievement.
The meeting was attended by more than 100 participants from schools across the country that are part of the network of Center Amalipe. The attending students were elected by their classmates to chair Student Parliaments/Councils or are active student mentors.
The aim of the annual Leadership Academy is to make students believe in themselves, develop their leadership skills and teamwork skills, while also learning more about Roma traditions, culture and customs to develop a more tolerant environment in their daily lives. In order to achieve this, we included in the colourful 4-day programme the topics “Hate speech”, “Early marriage”, “Roma contribution to world history and culture”, “Campaign planning and volunteering”, “Roma in Bulgaria”, “Teamwork and leadership” and “Student Parliament and local government. What is a student mentor?”. And for the finale we added a very special and interesting session – “Story Directors”, where they learned how to create video content and made interactive video lessons.
On the first day of the Academy, the students also participated in a Parliamentary Scrutiny
together with the MP from the Education and Science Committee Antonia Dimitrova, Lalo Kamenov, Director of Centre for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities and Stella Kalmukova, Senior Expert on Inclusive Education at the Regional Department of Education, Varna. The young people asked their questions related to education and the experts answered them sincerely and accessibly. It was not a coincidence that this part of the event lasted longer than planned – it was very interesting for everyone present – young and adult.
The Academy evenings were also interesting – they were themed and allowed the students to showcase their artistic skills as well as present the schools and places they came from.
At the end of the event we reminded the students that they have the privilege of being participants in the Leadership Academy, but they also have a responsibility. When they return to their schools, we expect them to tell, share and motivate their classmates. To be good examples for their friends and to organise different campaigns to improve their environment. And we have no doubt that they will, because once again our young people have shown us that they are wiser, more open to the new and different and more united than adults. Although they were from three ethnic groups, from places all over the country, from villages and towns, with different life stories – they were one. Quite naturally they created a wonderful, warm, relaxed and friendly atmosphere, for which we thank them!
“I never imagined having so much fun and learning so much at the same time. Thanks to the academy, I have made many new friendships that I hold dear that will continue even after we part ways.” (anonymous participant feedback)
The Trust for Social Achievement (TSA) is a nonprofit organization, whose mission is to break the poverty cycle by promoting opportunities that help Bulgaria’s most disadvantaged citizens achieve educational and economic success. TSA supports programs that, with integrity, scalability, and transparency, boost the long-term achievement of Bulgaria’s poorest, with a focus on the Roma.