Opaka is a small municipality with a high unemployment rate and located far away from the regional centre – Targovishte. There is a lack of clear vision for supporting the development of young people. Young people are de-motivated and migrate to bigger towns and cities, where there are more opportunities for work and fulfilment. The idea behind our initiative was the fact that people in the Municipality of Opaka (including young people) are isolated from the processes of regional development and few people are prepared to work for the benefit for the local communities. Nevertheless, we knew that there were educated young people of entrepreneurial spirit from different ethnic groups in the Municipality of Opaka. Therefore, we decided to focus our initiative on these young people and develop their skills and competences, to train them and to enable them to get involved in the community life of the municipality. As an ultimate goal, we planned to set up a youth organisation and produce a strategy for the development of youth activities for a five-year period, which would be the first big step towards solving the problems of young people in the municipality.
The main objectives:
- To raise awareness among young people in the Municipality of Opaka about the process of European integration and the participation of civil society in the process of harmonisation and application of EU legislation.
- To develop young people’s capacity for active participation in public life in this region by training, consulting and implementing need-based mini-projects.
- To ensure stability and perspectives for young people to participate in the solution of significant community problems by establishing a youth NGO /workshop for ideas/
Young people from three areas within the municipality were included in the project. They participated in 2 training modules on need analysis and project development and implementation. Three important events happened for the first time in the Municipality of Opaka which provoked public opinion and contributed to the self-confidence and motivation of young people - young people themselves implemented 3 youth initiatives. They established a local Volunteer Center in the town of Opaka and built a pavilion with tables and barbeque in the area ‘Hizhata’, visited by the whole population of the town. In the village of Goljamo Gradishte the young people designed a flower lane and built benches and playground facilities in the park. In the village of Krepcha young people established a youth club in the local community center (chitalishte), which they furnished with tables for playing chess and other games.
A particular achievement was the development and approval of a municipal strategy for the development of youth activities in the period 2010-2015. The strategy included ideas by young people from the Municipality and young people from the newly founded youth organisation.
We managed to motivate the young people from the Municipality of Opaka to participate in public life and develop their citizen skills. The youth initiatives which were accomplished, the development and ratification of a municipal youth strategy, and the founding of a youth organisation all contributed to enhancing the capacity of young people and achieving sustainability of the project.
Contact Information:
Diana Yakimova
76 Bulgaria Str., et.2
7840 Opaka, Bulgaria
Cell Phone. ++359 894 68 28 70
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