What does it mean to be civically active: students will discuss with academician Denkov at a “world cafe”
The “Amalipe” Center will start the month of October with several events aimed at the civic participation of young people:
The Prime Minister Academician Nikolay Denkov and representatives of the US Embassy in Bulgaria will be the official guests of the youth conference organized on October 3 at the “House of Europe” in the city of Sofia under the project “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance”, jointly implemented from “Amalipe” Center, “Open Society” Foundation – Sofia, Forum “Citizen Participation” and ten schools in the country. The youth conference will bring together all active participants to share experiences, achievements, and get to know each other. The conference and parallel training will contribute to the formation of an informal active democratic youth community. All participants will be encouraged to apply the results of the project in the next academic year. Part of the conference is also a “world cafe”, where the Prime Minister Academician Denkov will participate in a discussion together with the young people. Participants will have the opportunity to share their opinions and propose relevant solutions.
From October 1 to 4, in the National Training and Logistics Center of the BRC in the village of Lozen, training for high school students will be launched, during which the participants will learn more about their civil rights, about tolerance, about the importance of their participation in public life and development of their leadership skills. Youth will also be trained in how to plan grassroots advocacy campaigns and peer education. During four days, students will develop their tolerant thinking, learn to overcome negative stereotypes and prejudices, learn how important learning is, as well as their civic participation. The activities will improve the students’ self-confidence, increase their activity in school life and stimulate them to work in a team with the rest of their classmates. About 100 young people are expected to take part.
The events will be held within the framework of the “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance” project, which is implemented by the Amalipe Center, the Open Society Foundation – Sofia, the Citizen Participation Forum and over ten schools in the country.
The “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance” project is implemented by the Amalipe Center, the Open Society Foundation – Sofia, the Forum “Citizen Participation” and eleven schools in at least 50 municipalities in disadvantaged regions and communities outside Sofia. The project covers a wide range of high school students, especially those who receive insufficient access to services, from vulnerable Roma communities, from underdeveloped regions, etc., in order to significantly increase their knowledge, interest and motivation to be active in various forms of civic participation. They are involved in a range of interactive peer-to-peer training (including the Leadership Academy), formal education activities and campaigns/simulations. A range of online and other tools are being developed and used within the project. The project is implemented with the support of the U.S. State Department through the US Embassy in Bulgaria.
The project “Intercultural Academy for Civic Participation and Tolerance” is implemented with the support of the U.S. State Department through the US Embassy in Bulgaria.