Youth organizations from Sliven and its twin cities have established partnerships. A decision was made to expand these partnerships in the field of environment.

In 12 days during work visits to Sliven and Bitola, the young people worked together at the Sinite Kamani Natural Park, the Sliven House of Water, the Pelister Natural Park, the Prespa and Ohrid Lakes. They discussed the preservation of the natural resources of the Balkans, used simulation games to solve problems and tasks, cleaned recreation areas in the Bulgarian and Macedonian natural parks, learned about the lifestyle, traditions and culture of the two countries (by the city decoding method). In their free time, the youth had the opportunity to interact at Biosphere's fifth anniversary and participate in concerts and meetings in the Karandila area of the Sinite Kamani Natural Park. They had meetings with other youth organizations and developed projects for future initiatives. Together with the local media, they demonstrated the opportunities provided by best practices in youth activities shared during the project.

The participants acquired sustainable positive attitudes and skills with regard to understanding and preserving the environment. The activities during the youth exchanges in Bulgaria (August 8 17, 2005) and in Macedonia (September 7 12, 2005) contributed greatly to the understanding of the natural resources of the two countries. The evenings dedicated to presentations of the respective countries provided ample information about their customs, traditions, cultures and cuisine. The young people understood that besides the close languages, their two countries share the same cultural values. They had no differences in terms of views and culture, overcame the communication barrier by informal interaction and worked in harmony to achieve the goals of the project. The exchange of best practices and positive results from previous initiatives was very important. It enriched the young people and gave them confidence to develop new projects and to expand the network by including other communities in the preservation of the natural riches of the Balkans and the world and in increasing the environmental awareness of the large youth community.

The project was successful and very beneficial to the young people from the Standing Committee on Environment of the Sliven Youth Parliament and from Biosphere, Bitola:

- Lasting contacts and friendships were established between the youth from the two countries, as well as aspirations for the development of future projects;

- The natural landmarks of the two cities were toured and described;

- A CD - ROM was developed to present the natural, cultural and historic landmarks of Sliven and Bitola; a website is under development;

- The participants implemented joint actions to clean polluted areas in the two countries;

- The youth exchanged best practices on environmental preservation and on the role of the young people in this process;

- The young people gained confidence as citizens of Europe, committed to the preservation of the common European home.