Campaign “One question, endless answers: The change I want to see in the world” – what did the citizens tell us?

Youth civic campaign “One question, endless answers: The change I want to see in the world” brought together the messages of change for young and old.

During the 18th Children’s Roma Festival “Open Heart” in Veliko Tarnovo, held on June 9 and 10, some of the active youth participating in the “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance” project took interviews and collected messages from children and adults to questions “What would you change in the world/Bulgaria?” or “What message would you write on a billboard?”, within the youth civic campaign “One question, endless answers: The change I want to see in the world”.

Already the university student Esil Shukrieva, together with the students from Muglizh Asen Asenov, Yordan Yordanov and Ivan Ivanov took on the role of journalists and cameramen and stopped participants of the Festival and citizens in the Marno Pole Park with a request to share what they would change in the world or in our country. The youth also asked the question, if you could write a message would on a billboard that would be seen by thousands of people what would it be? (Interestingly, a week after the youth asked this question to passers-by, a mother in Sofia did put her message of change on a billboard, see here.)

And those who did not want to be recorded had the opportunity to write their message and take a picture with it. You can view the great photo gallery here.

Citizens united around messages about people being better, being more tolerant and accepting. An interesting trend was that it was the students, not the adults, who shared that they wanted a change in the political environment in Bulgaria, in salaries, in the education system. And many adults shared that they want access to good health care for all and equal opportunities for children so they can be bold and pursue their dreams.

Check out some of the responses from the video created by the youth:

Youth civic campaign “One question, endless answers: The change I want to see in the world” is part of the “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance” project, which is implemented by the “Amalipe” Center, the “Open Society” Foundation – Sofia, Civic Participation Forum and nine schools in at least 50 municipalities in disadvantaged regions and communities outside Sofia. The project is implemented with the support of the State Department through the US Embassy in Bulgaria. Reaches a wide range of high school students, especially those who receive insufficient access to services, from vulnerable Roma communities, from underdeveloped regions, etc., to significantly increase their knowledge, interest and motivation to be active in various forms of civic participation. Within the framework of the project, young people from all over the country have, since the beginning of the year, conducted “peers teaching peers” type trainings and campaigns on civil and multicultural topics. The project is implemented with the support of the State Department through the US Embassy in Bulgaria.