”(Non)Action Has Consequences: Reasons and Ways for Young People to Participate in Decision-Making Process at Home and EU”

SEMINAR

(Non)Action Has Consequences: Reasons and Ways for Young People to Participate in Decision-Making Process at Home and EU”

Under the EU Youth In Action Program[1]

Velingrad, Bulgaria, March 19th – 25th 2012


The Seminar

The seminar ”(Non)Action Has Consequences: Reasons and Ways for Young People to Participate in Decision-Making Process at Home and EU” under the European program “Youth in Action” was held from 19th to 25th  March 2012 in Velingrad, Bulgaria.

The participants included 21 young people from Bulgaria and Romania and with 8 experts from the promoting organizations – the Institute for Market Economics (IME, Bulgaria), the Agency for Economic Development – Varna (Bulgaria), the Institute for Liberal Studies (ILS, Romania) and the Association “Young people changing Romania” (Romania). The full schedule of the seminar could be seen here.

During the six-day seminar the participants took part in various lectures, presentations, discussions and role-play simulations. On 21 March 2012 there was a meeting with students from  „Vasil Levski” School that presented 4 presentation.

The main topics that formed the core of the discussions during the seminar were:

  • Youth unemployment in the EU
  • Problems and obstacles that young people face when entering the labor market
  • The decision making process on local, national and European level and ways young people could participate
  • Volunteering and the gains of volunteering
  • The Europe 2020 Strategy and its implemetation through the national reform programs in Bulgaria and Romania

Some of the presentations of the lectors and the participants in the seminar could be seen on our website:

Meeting With the Local Authorities

On 21 March the participants in the seminar met the deputy-mayor of Velingrad Georgi Yanchev in the Municipality.

During the meeting there were discussions held about the policies of the municipality aimed at  encouraging young people to stay to work and live in Velingrad, and about the overall vision of the administration regarding the city`s development.

Volunteer`s Day

On 23 March 2012 all the participants took part in a volunteering day in the “Radost” Kindergarten and the Muncipal Child Complex – Velingrad.

There were publications about the seminar and the volunteer`s day in local media:

[1] This project has been funded with support from the Youth in Action Program of the European Commission, managed in Bulgaria by the National Centre “European Youth Programmes and Initiatives”. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission, the Youth in Action Program and the National Centre “European Youth Programmes and Initiatives” cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.