Training course in Bulgaria | June 2017
“ART AND CULTURE FOR UNITY” – TOGETHER AGAIN!
Emotional and inspiring start of the second project with colleagues from Tanzania, Uganda and Italy!
Issues with visas, suspended participants in Istanbul and Rome (on the way to Sofia), and canceled return flights – are only part of the drama that launched the new project ‘Art and Culture for Unity’. And perhaps because of all these difficulties, the group that gathered in Sofia was highly motivated and 110% committed to doing even more than planned! 7 working days, during which youth workers from Uganda, Tanzania, Italy and Bulgaria gained knowledge and developed their skills to work with young people. To equip them with skills:
– To recognize the multiple intelligence and the different way in which each one learns and develops;
– To manage their time and workflow;
– To communicate and to present;
– To explore and assess their needs (their own and the young people they work with);
– To evaluate performance;
– To take cultural differences into account and take into account the individual pace and specificity of each participant;
– Plan to work with young people – in an international and local context;
And at the end to know that they are not alone and have someone to turn to and seek information or help. After the days spent together, we understand the meaning that even if you only share your successes or the momentary difficulties, it is important to have people with you to share, but also to know that they will understand you. ‘Emotional and very strong start!’ is the evaluation of the participants. And the next-and-a-half-year project on the territory of the four countries and on-line on the Internet aims to develop the capacity of youth workers to work in an international and local context to adequately support young people in solving the problems they face in their lives every day. The project includes a number of activities:
– Training courses for youth workers;
– Possibility for practice: through an intensive short-term program with international participation (youth exchange) and provision of short-term support and support (of volunteers in other countries);
– Study visits to partner organizations (In Bulgaria and Italy);
– Providing space for young people to be involved in activities:
through local training and providing logistical and financial support for large-scale youth initiatives;
– And giving publicity and visibility of people through radio broadcasts.
The project is a continuation of our work for the 2014-2016 period (project “Art for social change”) and will seek to deepen our joint work and support and to provide new partners and know-how to meet our organizations’ needs of development in the long run. Together we are stronger. And by sharing knowledge, experience and ideas, we can make progress for ourselves and our environment. We are grateful for the support of the European an, and especially the Erasmus + program, which allows us to be together again and to learn from each other.
We also thank the Embassy staff of the Republic of Bulgaria in South Africa for their professionalism and humanity! Without their timely intervention, four Ugandan participants would have missed these precious days of learning and exchanging between us! AWARENESS for all involved in this difficult preparation and travel phase!
The project “Art and Culture for Unity” is implemented with the financial support of the European Commission, Erasmus + Program, Key Activity 2: Developing the capacity of youth workers in the youth field.
