Student Leaders in Action: Young Activists Described How ideas Turn into Reality During the 11th Pedagogical Conference of Center Amalipe

The eleventh national pedagogical conference of Center Amalipe took place in Borovets on 11 – 12 July 2023. on the topic “Students – leaders: turning ideas into actions”. Who better than the student leaders themselves could tell and present how their ideas become reality and their efforts become successes? That is why this year we have invited several active youth groups to participate equally with the adult professionals in the Conference and to present their activities during the past school year. How do young people reach decisions and organize themselves? How student self-government works, what activities students are involved in and how youth participation is stimulated – we understood this through the eyes of active students, part of the student parliaments, as well as young people, part of the civic groups under the “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance” project , funded by the US Embassy in Bulgaria.

However, before presenting their activities, they had the opportunity to develop their communication skills at the training organized especially for them on the afternoon of July 10th. High school students and teachers from schools in Sliven, Smyadovo, Elena, Veliko Tarnovo, Maglizh and Kazanlak took part in the “Workshop for active civil communication” held by the team of the “Open Society – Sofia” Institute. Together with the communication mentors Valeri Lekov, journalist from BNR and Hristo Nikolov, founder of “Romani Yak” television, the young vloggers discussed the possibilities of using modern technologies and communication channels to create video messages.

In applied persuasive communication activities, student teams demonstrated their talent and skills in producing modern digital video content. At the end of the workshop, the teams of citizen reporters presented to nearly 200 principals and teachers from the country their own short sad-cheerful video essays, dedicated to national and global topics, touching the minds and hearts of young people. Their civic messages—on the access and quality of education for vulnerable groups, curriculum reforms, the crisis in family values, the dangers of early marriage and the risks of nuclear conflict—were applauded by educators and gave the authors wings for new creative products over the summer break. The video messages “What punishment should be received by a teacher who is late to class” (see the video here) and the short video survey about the new subject, which is introduced from the autumn “Steantomorphia”, have become especially popular. (see video here)

And after presenting the videos they created there, it was the turn of the young people to present their experience regarding youth self-government during the Conference. The first panel was attended by Julia Yordanova – the new president of the student parliament of the PG in fashion design, Veliko Tarnovo. Supported by her mentor, the teacher Ekram Myumyunov, she introduced the attendees to the traditions of her town, her school and all the activities initiated and carried out by the active students there. Through her development “Student leaders – change through participation”, everyone witnessed the multicultural reviews of the talented students, their volunteer activities and the transfer of experience to the younger ones. The entire presentation can be found here.

The second panel of the Conference also started with youth participation. The representatives of the student parliament of Secondary school “Ivan Nikolov Momchilov” – Elena Erika Mluzeva and Radoslava Ralcheva presented a unique form of student self-government, characteristic for years for their school, namely the “Student Ombudsman”. For years, Elena High School has chosen one through democratic elections, after which the newly elected ombudsman is sworn in. It often happens that the student also meets with the national ombudsman and passes on what he has learned to his classmates. The girls also told how they organize and conduct everything together campaigns and youth activities in their school.

This was followed by the participation of the active youth civic group from Muglizh. And earlier we have written about the amazing guys who participate in every contest, campaign, training and have already been presidents, ministers and ambassadors for a day, thanks to their activity and efforts. Asen Asenov, Ivan Ivanov and Yordan Yordanov, who are already students at Profiled science and mathematics high school “Nikola Obreshkov”, Kazanlak, showed a video created by them. It depicted many moments from the trainings they gave to their peers, younger and older students from schools in the area. The boys told what their worries were, how they prepared, what they expected from the participants in their events and how they were surprised by the great interest of the children. You can see their video here:

On the second day of the Conference, time was again set aside to familiarize the attendees with active youth participation. And this happened through the presentation on the topic “Development of leadership skills and active involvement in school life” by Teodora Todorova, president of the student parliament at Secondary school “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” – Smyadovo and her mentor Yovka Zhecheva. They presented the many diverse activities through which students perform and develop. Teodora is also a peer trainer and in the spring of 2023 she conducted numerous trainings on multicultural and civic topics for his classmates within the framework of the “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance” project. You can see their presentation here.

And parallel to the event in a specially created studio “Pass on”, right next to the Conference, the youth from the PG in Fashion Design Veliko Tarnovo collected the messages of those present for change. What do students want to change in their school and city? And what would adults change if they could start their lives over? These and other answers were recreated on a beautiful board.

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.