About the training

CVS-Bulgaria invites youth workers, educators, activists, and volunteers to a week-long Erasmus+ training course dedicated to one of the most important — and often overlooked — topics in youth work and civic engagement: resilience.

Burnout, emotional exhaustion, uncertainty, and the weight of constant advocacy are challenges that many activists and volunteers face sooner or later. This training is designed to create a safe and supportive space where participants can explore these realities honestly, build practical skills to cope with them, and discover tools they can take back to their organisations and communities.

What will we work on?

During the course, participants will have the opportunity to:

• Gain deeper insights into the topic of resilience in activism, volunteering, and youth work
• Learn and practise a range of techniques for strengthening personal and collective resilience
• Explore practical methods that help people withstand or recover from difficulties — and learn how to choose the right approach for themselves and for the people they work with
• Collectively reflect on how resilience tools can be adapted to different local contexts, organisations, and communities
• Build new partnerships and expand their professional network across Europe

Who is this for?

The ideal participants are youth workers, educators, activists, and volunteers with experience in and a passion for youth activism and civic engagement. To be eligible, you must:

• Be a resident of an EU member state or a country (non)associated to the Erasmus+ Programme
• Be able to communicate in English (the working language of the course)
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be available for the full duration of the training — no exceptions possible

We explicitly encourage participants of all genders, abilities, and ethnic backgrounds to apply.

The venue

The training will take place at Eco-hotel Imenieto, situated in the small village of Emen, just 20 km from the old Bulgarian capital, Veliko Tarnovo. Participants will be accommodated in cosy double or triple rooms in small villas just 2 minutes’ walk from the training hall, each with a private bathroom, bed linen, towels, and free Wi-Fi. The resort also features an outdoor pool, a sauna, spacious green areas, and a restaurant.

Only 300 metres from the venue, the Emen Canyon begins — one of the most striking natural landmarks in the region, with dramatic rock formations and beautiful waterfalls reachable on foot. And just 20 km away, Veliko Tarnovo awaits, with its iconic medieval Tsarevets Fortress rising above the Yantra river gorge.

Practical information

• Dates: 7 July (arrival) – 14 July (departure) 2026
• Language: English
• Participation fee: None — the training is fully funded by Erasmus+
• Food: All meals provided (breakfast, lunch, dinner), mainly vegetarian and locally sourced, with twice-daily snack breaks
• Travel reimbursement: Covered up to Erasmus+ cost limits upon completion of the training and submission of all travel documents. Green travel (bus, train, car-sharing) is strongly encouraged and receives a higher reimbursement rate
• Visa costs: Reimbursed if duly justified
• Insurance: Provided for the group; participants are encouraged to also bring their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
• Certification: All participants receive a Youthpass certificate upon completion

How to apply

Check the detailed Call for Participants and fill in the Application form by 14 June 2026. All applicants will be informed about the final decision by 22nd June 2026. Selected participants will receive an Infopack with full travel and logistics instructions

If you have any questions, you can reach us at trainings@cvs-bg.org.

Good luck and hope to see you in Bulgaria!

February 13-18, 2026 | Orvieto, Italy

We are excited to invite youth workers and educators to participate in an inspiring professional development experience rooted in Paulo Freire’s transformative philosophy: “No one liberates anyone else, no one liberates themselves: we liberate each other.”

About the Project

This Erasmus+ KA151 Professional Development Activity (Project n. 2024-1-IT03-KA151-YOU-000218670 – A11) brings together passionate professionals from across Europe for an intensive week of learning, sharing, and personal growth in the heart of Italy’s Umbrian countryside.

The training aims to:

• Be more aware of the oppressive mechanisms of the different social reality. 
• Transform the audience from passive observers to active participants capable of changing their own reality: from Spectators to Spect-actors
• Share information through theatre about the respect of human rights in each Country involved in the training
• Staging a story of conflict and/or oppression, inviting the spect-actors outside the project to enter the scene, replacing the oppressed characters and trying alternative strategies to change the outcome, creating a practical and collective discussion 
• Share and live the tool,  in order to provide new methodologies to the social workers in their social contest, to effectively implement competences, civil rights and strategies about 

What to Expect

Participants will engage in:

• Theatre of the Oppressed workshops – Using drama and performance as tools for social transformation
• Intercultural dialogue – Sharing traditions, songs, poetry, and perspectives from diverse communities
• Case study exploration – Examining real situations of conflict and oppression from participants’ professional experiences
• Sustainable living practices – Experiencing community life in an eco-village setting

The Venue

The program takes place at Il Cerquosino, a beautiful stone farmhouse nestled in the Elmo Melonta Natural Park near Orvieto. Managed by Artemide Association, this unique house laboratory embodies principles of green building, community living, and environmental responsibility. The space features:

• Activity rooms for workshops and creative sessions
• Shared dormitory-style accommodation
• Communal spaces for informal learning and connection
• Limited internet access to foster deeper human connection
• Friendly therapy dogs as part of the team

Practical Information

Dates: Arrival February 13, 2026 | Departure February 18, 2026

Financial Support:

• Food and lodging: 100% covered
• Travel costs: Reimbursed according to European Distance Calculator rates
• Sustainable transport options encouraged (green travel bonus available)

What to Bring:

• White clothing for theatre activities
• Traditional items from your culture (food, music, stories)
• Case studies or experiences related to conflict and oppression
• Personal poems, lullabies, or songs to share
• Comfortable outdoor clothing (we’re in the woods!)

Why Participate

This is more than a training course – it’s an opportunity to:

• Develop practical skills in participatory education methods
• Build international networks with fellow youth workers
• Experience sustainable community living
• Deepen your understanding of social justice pedagogy
• Return home inspired and equipped with new tools for transformation

Join us in exploring how we liberate each other through education, dialogue, and collective action.

Limited spaces available – Apply now!

How to apply

Please check the Technical Info and the Infosheet and if this is your training send us the filled in Application form by 2nd February to cvs.katerina@gmail.com. Let us know if you have

The selected participants will be notified by 3rd February and asked to fill in the Declaration of Participation and the Information on Data Processing files.

This project is funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ Programme (Key Action 1: Learning Mobility of Individuals).

Welcome to Charge up! 48 Hours Varusha South youth exchange!

We wanted to create an opportunity for young people from different countries to meet and explore diverse creative ways for changing realities, community organising and youth empowerment.  We also wanted to emphasise on the importance of local initiatives and festivals for the revival of neighbourhoods and the inclusion of young people with different backgrounds, refugees including, in the community life.

Festivals create a simulation of possible realities which many times serve as a starting point for entrepreneurs, local businesses, volunteers and even local municipal authorities to revive and recreate whole neighbourhoods and towns. Festivals bring people from all over the world together and charge up the atmosphere with possibilities, make us think out of the box and believe that everything is possible.

We thought that an amazing place to do all we mentioned above is the local festival which our partners from VT Events and TAM community space are organising every year in the old capital of Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo. The festival is 48 Hours Varusha South and it happens for a third consecutive year, bringing together different artists from Bulgaria and abroad!

During the youth exchange the participant will collaborate with local volunteers who will be part of the 48 Varusha South Festival. They will have small individual and group tasks and will also have to observe, record and document the ongoing events of the festival in order to create an E-zine. The E-zine will be created during the festival and finalised after the festival with the aim of portraying how such local festival re-creates the neighbourhood and contributes to the well-being of the young people. Apart from contributions to the e-zine (photos, videos, interviews, texts), the participants will join the local volunteers team in other tasks:

• Cleaning and preparation of the different locations
• Logistical tasks before and during the festival (folding programs, sticking posters, distribution of information materials, etc.)
• Operation of the info point (Guiding visitors and answering questions about the program and locations)
• Helping the different locations (e.g. supporting the artists in the different categories of the program (musical, architectural, visual, creative and family)

Detailed information about the program, team and logistics you can find in the Detailed Call for Participants.

To apply by 10 August, please fill in the application, which you can find below:

Application form

Good luck and hope to see you in Veliko Tarnovo,

The project team!

Our partners from Tudatos Ifjusagert Alapitvany are organising Jump’IN training course from 15 to 22 October in Holloko, Hungary

About the project: 

The training course Jump’IN is designed for newcomers in Erasmus+ project realisation, beginners in project planning and management in youth work and also for those who would like to get on board with Erasmus+ Programme, especially with youth exchange activities. The training activity is especially designed for members of organisation, who have accreditation in the field of Erasmus+ in order to develop and lead quality youth exchange events connected to any of the 11 European Youth Goals.

This training course is focusing on exploring and understanding the project management cycle within the youth field. The main aim is to provide youth workers with space and tools to discover Erasmus+ youth projects and to equip them with practical tools and methods to develop their own project ideas and understand how they become capable to manage a successful youth projects within the framework of Erasmus+ Programme.
The programme is designed to enable youth workers to develop and realise their youth exchange projects to be able to implement them after the course.

Participants profile:
The training activity is especially designed for members of organisation, who have
accreditation in the field of Erasmus+ in order to develop and lead quality youth exchange events connected to any of the 11 European Youth Goals.

Costs:

Costs will be covered accrding to the rules of the Erasmus+ Programme. A participation contribution of €60 (€10/working day) per participant is expected to be paid as contribution.

Application:

Application deadline is 15th September 2023 for the participants. 

Application can be done throught this online form.

The call is available here:  http://trainings.salto-youth.net/11574

The detailed call for participants is available on SALTO, as well as here

The right for self-determination in gender

International Activity for youth and social workers, activists and volunteers

05.-14. June 2023 in Berlin – Weissensee, Germany

(Call for applications)

Gender is a socially constructed phenomenon that is often understood as only binary, and therefore excludes other forms of gender expression in our society. Cis-normativity and cis-sexism leave little if any space for gender diversity, self-determination and other forms of sexual identity.

As peace and volunteer organisations, we want to support a large number of young people who are exposed daily to discrimination, structural violence, human rights violations and exclusion in society due to their gender or sexual orientation. In many regions, these problems are denied or, worse, those affected are verbally harassed or physically attacked. It affects different areas of their life such as family, school, work, personal development. In some countries, these problems go beyond customs, stereotypes and norms, where LGBTQIA+ communities are still criminalised and legally denied their rights and freedoms. 

It is equally important to gather and share experiences – whether common or different – to build stronger connections and unity among LGBTQIA + activists. In many countries, the situation has been stale or almost unchanged, hence a breakthrough is needed. Our project will provide an opportunity to establish contacts, learn from each other, and share knowledge in activism and advocacy and thus impact directly on local communities.

The Venue

The activity will take place at Tagungswerk im KuBiZ, Berlin – Wei?ensee

Aims of the Project

• Support and advocate for the rights of LGBTQIA + people.
• Acquire skills and competences to more effectively do so and to strengthen the concerns of LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities.
• Learn how to raise awareness among others and how to share knowledge, to advocate and campaign for gender justice.
• Contribute to more visibility for LGBTQIA + communities through creating visual and informative materials e.g. videos, flyers, magazines, posters and social media campaigns.  

Living in a Group

We will spend one week together in a group of almost 30 people with different backgrounds and experiences. For us it is very important to take time to create a safer space to live and work together. For this we will set up a group agreement all together at the beginning. Please be aware that inclusion, anti-discrimination and reduction of stereotypes is nothing very easy and might be challenging for people. We invite you to come openly to the seminar and to be open to learn, reflect, and on the same side be mistake – friendly!

Outcomes

• Participants create their own zine / booklet with personal stories from interviewed persons;

Everyone who comes to this seminar should…

… be actively involved in their sending organisation, in youth or voluntary work or in activism

… ideally have experience in international peace work or activism

… participate actively in the activity and in the production of the outputs

… be comfortable with speaking and writing in English

… ideally be committed to come to the activities by overland route (public transport, no flying)

Eligible Partner Organisations/Countries: 

Please note that there will be opportunities to spend free time in Berlin, but that this is not a „getting to know the city” project. On some days, the seminar also foresees evening sessions.

Logistics, Financial Conditions and Sustainability

• Simple life: The seminar will take place in a seminar house with simple living conditions. You will sleep in a room shared with few other people.

• Costs: We cover all essential costs of the program (including vegetarian/vegan food, travel costs up to a maximum amount per distance (maximum travel reimbursement amounts: 10-99 km = 20 Euro, 100-499 km = 180 Euro, 500-1999 km = 275 Euro, 2000 -2999 km = 360 Euro) visa costs, accommodation, and seminar) through an Erasmus+ European project grant. We will reimburse your costs some weeks after project completion, after you have submitted a complete expenditure summary with original receipts. Your sending organisation might ask for a small participation fee. These fees are, apart from excessive travel costs, the only costs you need to cover yourself.

• Sustainable food: You will prepare meals in small teams and shifts for the whole group. Food will be simple and preferably vegetarian or vegan to support climate justice.

• Sustainable travels: Please use sustainable means of transport rather than flying. We will give you more guidance on how you can reach the venue once you have been accepted to the seminar.

How to apply:

Please send your application for Breaking Through with the filled Application Form to cvs.katerina@gmail.com and breakingthrough@sci-d.de. After we accept your application, you will receive a detailed Infosheet. 

Detailed call for participants