The “Mindful Youth Work: Cultivating Well-Being in Yourself and Others” training course gathered 30 participants from 8 countries and 17 nationalities for the period 9-16.05.2024 in Pozna?, Poland.
CVS-Bulgaria was happy to send our participants – Denitsa, Katya, and Maya. Here you can find their impressions:
We would like to express our gratitude for the wonderful workshop for youth workers in Poznan, Poland from 9 to 15 May 2024.
It was a great chance to get involved in the training course: “MINDFULL YOUTH WORK: Cultivating well-being in yourself and others” that was a part of the project “Stop, Reflect, Do Better” organised by SCI Poland.
We are thankful for the opportunity to meet young people from many countries. The precious moments that we spend with the participants, all discussing the ways for our and our young people’s well-being that will exert great influence on our youth work.
We, the participants from CVS-Bulgaria expresses our acknowledgment for the organizational details that made for transforming a group of individuals of different backgrounds and cultures to establish long-lasting friendships and to start planning future joint activities.
An enormous thank you for the trainers that took care of our well-being during the course and provided us with extremely useful advices for our future work with the young people in our organizations, implementing non-formal educational methods, group work, problem-solving, and clarifying the 8 dimensions of well-being, including the experience of the environmental well-being by walk in the forest, hiking around the lake and swimming in the pool.
Thank you Natalie Jivkova and Goska Tur. Thank you to SCI Poland and CVS-Bulgaria.
The “From Conflict to Collaboration: Building a Culture of Peace in Diverse Communities” training course gathered 28 participants from 10 countries and many more nationalities for the period 2-9.04.2024 in Herentals, Belgium.
Georgi Vasilev and Rahil Siddiqi were the participants from Bulgaria.
TheTraining of Trainers for Peace, part of the Educators for Peace project, took place from 16 until 23 November 2023 in Koniz, near Bern in Switzerland. 30 participants from 12 countries in Europe and the Middle East attended and Lilly Dakova was one of them. We are happy to share her notes from the training.
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Find your bubble, they say. Fill it with warm human beings who make you feel safe and special and empower you to believe in your abilities to make a change.
Let me tell you more about mine, a.k.a. Nostalgic post-impressions about the Training Course “Training of Trainers for Peace” in K?niz, Switzerland.
Learning can be a plethora of things. A maze, a lamp, an umbrella; imagination, reflection, unlocking your potential; running together, running from someone, running towards yourself. It all depends on your perspective and your willingness to open your mind and feel, explore, ask, share, and create.
The ToT training course encompassed facilitation fears and techniques, steps in developing a workshop, dealing with challenging situations, evaluation and measurement of impact, and digital tools. It made us waltz – both in the vast hall of the house and in the corners of our minds – in order to think of personal examples and investigate what we could have done a bit better. Regret is rarely a perfect option, but improvement can always be.
You are the owner of your well-being and you are responsible for your education. Don’t be afraid to think of yourself as a change-maker. Paraphrase the astonishment provided by others, make space for different paces and mistakes, and balance the wheel of your emotions.
We live in a world that is full of beauty. Let’s help more people feel it.
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This project is financially supported by Movetia. Movetia promotes exchange, mobility and cooperation within the fields of education, training and youth work – in Switzerland, Europe and worldwide.
Posted by Natalie at 12:05Comments Off on Nostalgic post-impressions about the Training Course “Training of Trainers for Peace” in Koniz, Switzerland
We are happy to share the story of Bashak Sarah Yoney, who was a short-term ESC volunteer in Croatia this autumn (2023), part of the project “Green Fingers” of our partner organisation Udruga O.A.ZA. – Odr?iva Alternativa ZAjednici. The project is financed under the European Solidarity Corps program.
Ever since I’ve known myself, I’ve always felt deeply upset about all the bad and unjust in the world, and truly appreciated every single kind act.
With the guidance of these feelings I’ve had, I decided I wanted to do volunteering to give back to the society and to earth.
After I graduated college, I started looking for volunteering opportunities, both in my home country and abroad. In the process, I remembered about European Solidarity Corps, of which I learnt about thanks to a youth exchange I did previously. At that moment I realized this could be the perfect chance for me.
On European Youth Portal, while looking through volunteering opportunities, I came across Green Fingers, and I was instantly captivated! I’ve always been someone who not only appreciates, but also tries to nurture, protect, and connect with mother nature. So, I applied and heard back from Jasmina soon. After we got in contact we scheduled an interview, where Jasmina interviewed me and helped me with all my questions and concerns regarding the project. She also put me in contact with a sending organization since I didn’t have one (shoutout to Natalie as well, she was the best person I could ask for in a supporting organization!). With all the arrangements finished, I was ready for my journey!
After my bus ride, I arrived at Zagreb, where Jasmina picked me up and took me to our hostel, the accommodation. When I went there, all the other volunteers were outside since they arrived a day earlier than me and started exploring the city already! Realizing they’d already made friends with each other, I couldn’t help but feeling anxious: I was scared I couldn’t be friends with them, or that I’d miss my home, friends, and family. However, after I woke up from my nap, they were back at the hostel, and as soon as I met them, I realized I wouldn’t be too lonely. They were all very friendly and welcoming: they even made grocery shopping from the first day, and started cooking and eating meals together 🙂
Within less than a week, we started being friends as a group. Of course, not all of us got along with each other instantly, but over time, we discovered all the amazing sides of each other that made us unique, and we all became this crowded family! In the meantime, the activities and work started as well. We were so surprised and happy when we saw the office for the first time: it was in the middle of Zagreb, with a beautiful terrace, and over a hundred plants!
Soon we started working in school gardens. At first, we were focusing on the maintenance of the gardens, while also learning about the tools and plants. Additionally, since it was Day of European Languages shortly after we arrived, Mile thought it would be a nice idea to prepare a workshop for the students at the schools about our languages and cultures. Just like that, we begin preparing and executing workshops for the kids as well. In this first workshop we planned, we played games with the kids which were revolving around the kids guessing things about our cultures, and then proceeded with teaching them basic phrases and words in our languages. It was very encouraging and sweet to see them engage in the workshops and be interested about our cultures and languages.
Throughout our project we went to four different primary schools, in which we did our gardening activities and workshops. In one of the schools, we planted new flowers and little trees, while in another we were building composter boxes or raised beds out of wood. In one we were working with the children, while in others we were alone, focusing on the job we were doing. I must say, those times even felt like meditation: I would give all my attention, focus and care to the plant I was working with, and would have the chance to let go of my thoughts.
I learnt a lot during the time I spent in Zagreb. I learnt about gardening, about the types of plants, about how to care for them, how nature works and what it needs. While building in the gardens, I learnt how to use a drill and a hammer. I learnt how to have a good time with a group of kids, and what’s the best way to communicate with them in a healthy way. I learnt about Croatian language and culture, about their food and habits, and about Zagreb.
Furthermore, I learnt how to better work in a team. How to organize, take responsibility, participate in civil life, be more open minded, take initiative, be patient, and much, much more…
But there was one thing I learnt, which I could not have learnt anywhere else: I learnt how a random group of young people, from different ages and countries, could become family ?
Hvala to my family away from home and to green fingers for teaching me so much, and helping me on my journey to discover who I truly am 🙂
Can’t wait to see you again someday…
Bashak Sarah Yoney
Posted by Natalie at 15:48Comments Off on A story of Green Fingers project
SCI cares about the high quality of our educational activities! We want to offer only the best experiences to our volunteers and the youth we work with, and we also keenly share our expertise in non-formal education with other organisations.
One such example was the Learning Lab(oratory) Pro training course which has been recently organized by our Polish branch in Pozna? in the period of 27.10-3.11.2022.
As many as 28 participants from 9 countries got more in-depth on the topics of inclusion and new tools and trends in learning and development in online and in-person settings, under the guidance of Natalie Jivkova and Goska Tur.
The training was a part of the ‘Learning Lab(oratory): quality non-formal education in the digital world’ project and co-funded by the European Union. You can find more information about the project here.
Here you can find the impressions from the participants from Bulgaria who explain what the training course was like for them in their own words… and graphics and drawings!!
Impressions from Hinka Stanimirova: I was part of the lucky group, who had already gone through the wonderful experience of the first Learning Lab training course in Emen, Bulgaria this July. So, you can imagine that my expectations were high, to begin with. Still, our lovely trainers Natalie and Goska managed to meet and exceed them by gathering a vibrant group of 28 people from more than 10 different nationalities and leading us through a full week of discussions, games, role plays, digital tools and more. We had the chance to go out of our comfort zone and experiment in a safe zone. We learned and got inspired by each other, met new friends and made memories together. For me, the beauty of such a well-organised international training course is that learning happens on many different levels. It is not just the tools that your trainers try to teach you. You learn with the new methods you try out, with the new people you meet, the new perspectives you encounter and the new culture you are immersed in for a whole week. It is so intensive and passes so quickly, that it takes time and reflection afterwards until you become fully aware of all the things you’ve brought back with you in your “backpack”. So, looking back at my “backpack”, I want to give special thanks to our trainers and the organisers of SCI Poland, who made this learning journey possible. I would also like to encourage our readers, who haven’t yet experienced the magic of non-formal education to get their backpacks ready and jump into this adventure without a second thought.
Impressions from Ralitsa Drumeva:
Throwing back at the Learning Lab(oratory) Pro Training, full of inspiration and a shade of sadness and trying to reflect on all the emotions, lights of inspiring ideas and everything that I had the opportunity to learn, maybe the most distinguishing thought that comes at the forefront of everything is: “This was by far sure the most diverse group of people I have ever had the chance to interact and work with”. Being myself an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and working as a Co-Leader of the DEI initiative at the local division of an international IT company, I have had many occasions to see the importance of creating a space for people from diverse backgrounds to exchange ideas and innovate together. Still, I have always had the feeling that something really important was… missing. And stepping into the circle of the Learning Lab, the missing part came to fill the space in my puzzle of what the power of diversity really was about. And as long as it is very difficult to express a feeling with words, the nearly best try would be to say that it is about creating a space for people from diverse backgrounds to explore the environment and themselves through art in all of its forms – digital, vocal, physical, written and hand-made, spoken and acted, danced and sang. Putting art in the toolbox boosts the potential and self-confidence of everyone to be able to be inspired and become inspirational for others as well, removing any limit or border. The LARP play and conducted group singing experiences may be taken back to any country and any situation, folk dancing activities are a wonderful way of extending a hand to someone who has been through the trauma of war or violence, even if they do not speak the language of the country in which I am volunteering, thus giving both them and me the rope to feeling safe, the digital tools may remove barriers in front of people with limited mobility, audio or visual abilities, thus giving them the platform to be included and the feeling that they equally belong to a group. And setting a safe space always starts and carries on with openness and sharing, it goes as far as walking through the dark forest of the holy night of 1st November to the cemetery, telling stories – the personal ones, family, related to city history, dating back to the full of horror times of past wars with a portion of humour to reveal a different, peaceful and mindful way of perceiving eternity. Because being an international trainer, a facilitator, a youth worker, and a volunteer is always being an ambassador of the best virtues and values of your culture and an interpreter and ally for the best virtues and values of the cultures of the people you work with.
Impressions from Eliza Pankova: For me “learning equals behaviour change”, so even though I am eager to talk plenty about my experience from the training time – how much I enjoyed the amazing nature of the accommodation place, the connection with the people in the group, the stimulating and entertaining workshops and the presence of the trainers with their dedication and care – I would rather share my learnings and inspirations
A lot of the things that I learned I have yet to put into practice, especially those for leading a group of participants through a multi-day experience. But some I have already started implementing – like making a warm and cosy atmosphere even for a working meeting, lighting candles and small lights and having pleasant things to eat. The biggest learning and inspiration for me though was the introduction of digital tools. Me and a couple of others from the training group started working together to create an online calendar with simple challenges for people to be mindful and act toward creating a deeper sense of inner peace in their lives. We are experimenting with the digital tools that we learned in the training and also finding new ones to suit our project. While working like this these few weeks after the training course in Pozna?, tons of new ideas came to my mind for new projects that can be realized with the help of these types of tools and for improvement of the current digital courses that I lead. I sparkle inside and can’t wait to continue exploring this field of possibilities that Goska and Natalie introduced to us in Learning Lab Pro.
A calendar for this December with small tasks to explore inner peace and exchange experiences with others
Hi there! If you would like to create more inner peace in your daily life, you are welcome to join the “Inner Peace Adventure”. On every day from 1st to 31st December, there will be a small surprise task to explore what brings us inner peace. By the end of the month, you will be enriched with various ideas for little things that you can incorporate into your life to promote (inner) peace. For some of the tasks there will be an opportunity to share your experience with the other participants from different corners of the world so we can inspire each other. Let’s go on this inner peace adventure together!
The “Inner Peace Adventure” was created by Nora T. (Germany), Eliza P. (Bulgaria) and Dragan M. (North Macedonia). This autumn, they met in Poznan during the “Learning Lab(oratory) Pro” by SCI Poland, a training course on how to be a facilitator promoting high-quality non-formal activities, both offline and online. They also learned about how to use different digital tools and how to organise educational events more inclusively for people with disabilities. In October, Nora had also participated in the training course “Inner Peace and Peace with Nature” by SCI Switzerland. The sessions evolved around the topics of happiness, gratitude, mindfulness and connecting to Nature in the search for how to create and maintain inner peace on a daily basis. To put into action what they learned during both training courses and spread it to the world, the three of them developed a digital calendar on discovering the topic of inner peace while bringing like-minded people from different corners of the world together. Everybody is welcome to join!
Posted by Natalie at 14:41Comments Off on Inner Peace Adventure
Useful materials have been created for Erasmus+: Youth in Action mobility project implementers within the framework of Erasmus+ strategic partnership “Project HOWs” project.
Partners from 4 countries – Baltic Regional Fund from Latvia, Vsl Inovatyvi karta from Lithuania, CVS-Bulgaria from Bulgaria, and Tudatos Ifj?s?g?rt Alap?tv?ny from Hungary – have worked together in the project to create support materials for newcomers to Erasmus+: Youth in Programme.
1. A research was conducted in the initial phase of the project to obtain data on the previous experience of the organisations in project implementation and to collect information from mobility project participants about their personal experiences and benefits which have been further used in the development of support materials.
2. An online learning platform has been created (in English), www.projecthows.com, which will help to get to know project components and develop project implementation skills in a more modern way. There are 7 blocks of topics available on the platform such as Project Management, Logistics, Participants, Learning Process, Evaluation, Dissemination and Follow-up, Something More and sub-topics are also available in each of them. The topics include both theoretical information and additional materials – videos/articles that help to understand a specific topic better, and at the end there is also an opportunity to test your knowledge.
The platform also serves as an access point for all developed materials and the platform’s learning themes are aligned with the manual and the educational game.
3. A “Pocket-Size Guide for Newcomers – Support for Erasmus+: Youth in Action for Mobility Project Implementers” has been developed and is available in the English, Latvian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Bulgarian languages. The material includes answers to many “HOW” questions of project implementation. It is intended for practical use and has been developed keeping in mind that it needs to include both useful information and practical tips and techniques that can be used in projects. We are aware that the guide does not contain all the necessary information and it will not provide all the answers, yet we hope that it will be a real help, stimulate curiosity, motivation, and desire to learn, grow, and implement even higher quality mobility activities.
4. An educational project game “HOWs Cards” has been created, and it is available in the English, Latvian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Bulgarian languages. The game contains 60 situation cards, each of which depicts a thought-provoking image and describes a specific situation. The cards also include questions encouraging users to think outside the box, look for solutions, develop strategic thinking, and face different real-life situations to discover new opportunities for personal growth and learning opportunities when organising Erasmus+ youth projects.
We hope that the materials developed within the framework of the project will become friends, assistants, and allies of organisations and project implementers, and will provide support at all stages and moments of project implementation.
The aim of the project has been to promote the quality of Erasmus +: Youth in Action project implementation, providing an opportunity for young project implementers to learn project implementation skills in an interactive, interesting, and educational way in order to increase the participation of young people and encourage more active involvement in the implementation of youth projects.
Erasmus+ strategic partnership project “Project HOWs”, No. 2020-2-LV02-KA205-003404 was implemented from September 2020 to September 2022 and was financially supported by the European Commission through the “Erasmus+: Youth in Action” programme, which is administered by the Agency of International Programmes in Latvia.
Posted by Natalie at 20:06Comments Off on Project HOWs materials
CVS-Bulgaria is a partner of the project “Magic in the Projects” (2018-3-LV02-KA105-002343). The main project activity was a training course that took place from 7 till 14 July 2019 in Latvia. We are happy to share the impressions of Nina Grueva and Boyan Michev that participated in the training for youth workers “Magic in the Projects”. The training is co-financed by Erasmus+ Program: Youth in Action.
Soon we will share more news about an event to be organized in the autumn on the topic of the training as well as a booklet “Project HOWs BOOK”, with the secrets of the magic in the projects.
Nina’s impressions
I was born and raised with the love for books and literature, and fairytales. And as fairytales are usually about magic, here is a fairytale I want to tell.
Magic, we are told, comes out of nowhere; out of places you hardly expect it to – rabbits out of a hat, a Christmas tree with a few moves with a wizard’s wand, a cup of tea with just a click of your fingers. In my case, I made a few clicks with the mousepad of my laptop, and not long after I was on my way to the Erasmus + Training course called “Magic in the Projects” in Latvia. This was my first Erasmus+ experience ever, so you could imagine what I felt: a pinch of anxiety, a dip of uncertainty, a sparkle of curiosity whatsoever.
So this plane (or may be two) took me from Sofia, Bulgaria to Puduri, Kegums region in Latvia, where Ginta, Natalie and Liga were expecting 30 people from 10 different European countries, different cultures, different backgrounds, different well, everthing, except our mission – to see what is the secret behind a good project. And so, it began. Day by day, we were pointed to the direction of magic, but we were provoked to find it by ourselves and experience it in our own way, but at the same time all together. By Learning to learn, Learning by doing, Learning to be with others, we found where magic is, felt it and were encouraged to implement it immediately in our small projects during the course.
So after a hardly summer-ish week in Latvia, rediscovering people and their abilities to create, to inspire and make you believe that you actually can (hug it out), I came back in Bulgaria ready to share what I have learned and discovered, ready to show that magic lies even in the things that you already know how to do, ready to contaminate with the Erasmus+ free spirit, open mind and heart, and meet you with the amazing and full-of-stories to tell people I met there.
I could keep on talking “Latvia and magic” and not finish this text any time soon, but if I have to actually sum it up in a few words, they would most probably be:
A big THANK YOU to each and every one of you for the amazing time we spent and the unforgettable memories we created together. Thank you Ginta, Natalie and Liga, for giving us a new insight into what a magical project is! Thank you for guiding us through the way of planning, organizing, and making a project as memorable as this one.
In the period between 7th and 14th July 2019 the Training course “Magic in the Projects” took place in Latvia. The project was realized due to the financial support of „Erasusm+ Programme“. The organizers from Baltic Regional Fund hosted their partners from nine other EU countries in the village of Puduri and the finale was put in the capital – Riga. The participants in the project were an ideal mix of youngsters without any Erasmus+ experience and youth workers with many successful projects under their belts. The TC aimed the participants, guided by the well-prepared trainers from Latvia and Bulgaria, to exchange their previous experience with the Program, to share good practices and draw conclusions from previous mistakes as well in order to workout a formula of what makes a project true success and… really magical. The trainers had scheduled an intense pool of various activities and NFL methods, including discussions, games, team work, simulations etc., encouraging creativity and inventiveness in solving different cases. The team spirit of the participants was strengthened not without challenges that put them out of the comfort zone in order to test their own firmness, flexibility and potential to work under stress. The hard work throughout the days quickened the communication, sharing and partner networking for future magical projects. The camp fire and drum circle were just an alternative place and tool for team-building. Another demonstration of the balanced and detail-driven program was the special surprise by the organizers for all the participants: the incredible festivity for the senses at the multimedia exhibition „The Great Modernists – from Monet to Kandinsky“ in Riga’s Old Town.
After a week in Latvia’s countryside, clear air and on Daugava’s banks – an ideal atmosphere for harmony and truly devotion to activities, I can conclude that the recipe for the Magic in the Projects lays within the perfect preparation and dedication, persevering hard work and positive attitude toward all team members, because only then our common efforts make sense and produce good results.
And the training in pictures
Arrival dayDay 1 Day 2Day 3Day 4 Day 5Day 6
The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
From 24 June to 1 August 2016 in Mladinski center Krsko, in Slovenia, the EVS short-term group project “EVS VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION” took place. It gathered 24 volunteers from 6 countries and the main aim was to promote EVS as an opportunity for young people and celebrate 20-year anniversary of EVS. CVS-Bulgaria was the sending organization of two Bulgarian volunteers – Asen Dzhugdanov and Tsvetan Iliev.
The project is financed under the Erasmus+ Program.
The simple answer is – go for it. Do not overthink it, because if you go, chances are you will love it. But before jumping to conclusions, let’s follow my story with EVS and the project in Slovenia which I attended.
Tsvetan
My name is Tsvetan Iliev and I am a 29 years old Bulgarian. I learned about the Erasmus+ programme just a few months ago and immediately decided to go on a project while I still can. So I am not the typical EVS volunteer. Not only did I learn about these opportunities quite late, but I also had a full time engineering job when I started looking for a project and had already completed my undergraduate and postgraduate studies quite some time ago. This is as opposed to the majority of volunteers that I’ve met – recent high school graduates, university students, recent graduates, or youths with no stable careers yet. Anyway not willing to make any huge gaps in my CV (because volunteering may be a great addition to some people’s resumes, but let’s be honest – engineering managers don’t care about it too much) I found myself a nice, short project in Slovenia and towards the end of June 2016 I ended up in the small town of Krsko.
The project I joined was a 40 days EVS for 24 volunteers and our goal was to organise a few sports events for the local youths and to spread the word about Erasmus+ (that’s what I’m doing now, right?). So upon arrival we were welcomed to Krsko’s youth hostel, which was where the local sending organisation was based. Anyway to keep things short – people started to arrive and soon we had 24 people aged between 18 and 29 from six different countries creating some very positive vibes in the old building, which I would expect is a bit boring and empty when there are no volunteers staying there.
Now the thing is that our voluntary service was definitely not only work (actually there was very little work involved).Well yes, we were kept busy, but a lot of it was to created bonds between us – the volunteers. For instance, our first organised event was participating in some local, village games. This was a fun experience and by the end of the day we already knew the names of all of our fellow volunteers and we were already starting to feel like some sort of a small community.
Pictures from the Village Games
Pictures from the Village Games
We had good fun on daily bases too – from going to the swimming pool, to visiting a castle in a nearby village (also going to their youth centre), going on picnics, and tons of other activities. I would say that most of it was like one huge teambuilding, which prepares you to work well with your team and create a good end product – this being the sport activities in our case.
At Sevnica’s Castle
Having a short lecture in Krsko’s nuclear power plant
So this whole thing culminated in three sports events – a sport event in the park, a sport event at the swimming pool, and a sport event for people with disabilities. However I have to say that the success of the whole EVS was not making these sport events happen – it was turning all these people from across Europe into friends. That’s what Erasmus+ is all about.
A short rest during a long hike
And me? I am very happy that I took a break from my nine to five job. It was refreshing, it was fun and I now recommend EVS to every single one of my friends and especially to the ones feeling a bit lost in their plans and desires about the future.
Without exaggerating, I could easily say that it was a life – changing experience. Personally, it was my first time going abroad for such a long time, and even more, on my own. So, that was a huge step for me, which I was not sure if I wanted to take, but I decided that I shouldn’t miss the opportunity.
And I’m glad I didn’t.
All together
In Krsko I had the chance to meet people from six different countries and spend 40 days with them. Therefore, I was able to get an insight on each one’s culture and develop my English skills, as well as learning a bit of Spanish. We were also involved in a large variety of sports activities, some of which include canoe – kayaking, organizing games for people with disabilities, pool games and so on. Also, we used our free time to travel to some beautiful places such as Trieste and Ljubljana. Probably, though, the most important part for me was learning to live on my own. I was able to learn how to cook, do the washing – up and effectively learn to manage my time and money.
That being said, I believe that EVS is a great prospect for every young person, looking to make a change in his life.
Our EVS volunteer Aleksandar Yordanov participated in the project Youth for future, that took place in Romania from 1 October 2015 till 30 April 2016. The hosting and coordinating organization of the project was Asociatia Tineret pentru Dezvoltare Durabila, and CVS-Bulgaria was the sending organization of the Bulgarian volunteer.
The project is financed under the Erasmus+ Program.
Enjoy the pictures and VIDEO of the EVS story “Youth for future” in Romania.
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The current education system in Romania faces a lack of practical skills to be transferred to students from small ages. Most of the teaching methods are based on theory and big amounts of information, thus the students reach the point to have a serious lack of practical key competences, which are essential for personal development since early ages. The civil society and NGOs have an important role in trying to sustain the young people since early ages, in order to implement complementary methods of non-formal and informal education, in order to sustain the development of individuals.
In order to create an entrepreneurship environment for children aged 5-10 from Romania, Asociatia Tineret pentru Dezvoltare Durabila implemented an EVS program, where 6 volunteers from Spain, Bulgaria and Italy were working for 7 months with children in schools. The project “Youth for future” proposed a different approach for the work of youth in the field of volunteering using non-formal education. We aimed to create the impact for participants and the local youngsters as the activities were implemented to multiply the concept and the activities experienced in all the communities of the partners, so we could integrate the concept in a mainstream for youth work, with a lot of visibility and participation of the community.
The main objectives of the EVS stage were:
Development of entrepreneurial skills, cultural skills, communication in a foreign language, social and digital competences for volunteers and young people using means of non-formal education.
Development of the “Small Entrepreneur Interactive Guide”.
Creation of a large-scale network with the role of a meeting point for young people, volunteers, NGOs, youth workers, etc
Implementation of youth events with young people from Bucharest.
Posted by Natalie at 15:28Volunteer activitiesComments Off on Experiencing EVS – Youth for future in Romania
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