Between 8 and 12 September 2022, an international youth exchange took place in Plovdiv with the participation of 40 young people from Bulgaria and Norway. Young people from both countries were trained together in the programme “Youth in Action”. The programme is developed by representatives of the Youth centres in Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Vratsa and Dobrich, the Applied Research and Communications Fund – coordinator of the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre, the Norwegian organization “Norsensus Mediaforum” and the program operator of the program “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Enhanced Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups”.
The aim of the training was to equip young people with key skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making and active citizenship. The training programme is the result of the cooperation between the Bulgarian SIC, the Network of Youth Centres, and “Norsensus Mediaforum” under the “Youth Centre Plovdiv – a powerful factor for local development” Project under the “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Enhanced Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups” Programme with the financial support through the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area.
At the opening of the international exchange, the Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv Municipality in charge of Sport, Youth Activities and Social Policy Georgi Tityukov welcomed the participants from both countries and pointed out that working with young people is a priority for the municipality.
During the training, young volunteers from Bulgaria and Norway had the opportunity to identify specific problems in their communities and propose possible solutions, to develop creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills, as well as the skills to set long-term goals and work in a team, to be youth leaders successfully engaging their communities to address specific issues and to use professional principles and tools to create media products promoting their causes, avoiding in the process the main online risks. The international exchange in Plovdiv also marked the beginning of building an international network of youth leaders to share experiences and implement future joint activities.
