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SMARTPHONE VERSION >>> Stara Zagora International Youth Center is the first “green” center in Bulgaria, it became clear during the final press conference to present the results of the project BGLD – 1.003 – 0003 “International Youth Center – Think Locally, Act Globally”. It was financed by the Financial Mechanism of the EEA in Bulgaria under the program “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Improved Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups”.
The press conference was attended by Nadezhda Chakarova, project manager, Georgi Simeonov – coordinator, as well as center manager Monika Todorova
“We are the first public building to have completed the PV plant on time and we are convinced that this is one of the things that is yet to reap benefits. At the moment, we are also the first center to have won the Quality Mark of the Council of Europe twice. I am happy that we are building something big and I think that this is the right direction,” said the Deputy Mayor of Stara Zagora Municipality Nadezhda Chakarova at the beginning of the press conference. She also emphasizes the newly created and already equipped art and music rooms. “Everything is related to the occupation and interests of young people and their development. I am extremely glad that they are being used continuously,” added the deputy mayor and thanked the entire project team for the perfect and fruitful work.
The project started on April 1, 2020 and effectively achieved its results, part of which was expanding the scope of work of the MMC at the district level. The center’s team organized and conducted numerous trainings and leisure activities for young people in Stara Zagora municipality and in the district. Some of the settlements covered by the team are Kazanlak, Chirpan, Nikolaevo, Zimnitsa, Chirpan, Maglizh and others.
Within the framework of the project, 3 international youth exchanges with young people from Stara Zagora have been implemented, of which two in Norway and one in Serbia. In Bulgaria, the Youth Center has also received two groups of young people from Norway. 4 youth camps were also organized in the country in the form of foreign trainings with over 80 participants.
With the active participation of youth workers and the support of the Municipality, young people from Stara Zagora and the district have implemented 50 youth initiatives of a diverse nature, through which they showed youthful courage and civic activity. They created events to celebrate local holidays, sports and art initiatives, published magazines, carried out activities to improve urban spaces, etc. Through its purposeful and diverse work, Stara Zagora MMC reached over 3,600 young people and over 2,260 people in and out of youth age, and in this way the indicators of the project were achieved.
The extension of the project until April 2024 made it possible to develop the activities and to supply new equipment. The center acquired a new multifunctional, interactive hall, a music rehearsal room, an applied arts studio, as well as a photovoltaic system for green energy.
MMC Stara Zagora is the first green youth center in the country to build a power plant for its own consumption within the project activity “Green energy for MMC, a better future for the young people of Stara Zagora”. Clean energy will lead to savings of about BGN 10,000 from the municipal budget per year and up to 25 tons of reduction in harmful emissions in support of the EU’s climate goals. The built PEP is for self-consumption and is equipped with batteries for energy storage and smart management for optimal use. MMC will realize savings in energy consumption of about 40%-50% on an annual basis, or in the amount of about BGN 10,000 per year. The reduction in harmful emissions will be around 451 tonnes over 25 years and represents a significant contribution to the EU’s climate goals and mitigating environmental impacts.
As part of the extension of the project, from April 8 to 11, 2024, a National Conference was also held, which brought together all interested parties on topics aimed at the institutionalization and sustainable development of youth centers. The fact is that the state administration realized its responsibility and provided support to the network of youth centers in Bulgaria in the amount of BGN 4 million or BGN 500 thousand per center for this year. The National Conference on Youth Policies in Stara Zagora, with the wide participation of interested parties, also contributed in this regard. line ministries. People’s representatives, representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, deputy mayors from the cities with established youth centers, representatives of the program operator, the National Network of Youth Centers, as well as representatives of the youth centers that are to be smoothed under the NPVU took part in the conference. , UNICEF, CRCHR, independent researchers and experts, etc.
Last but not least, in 2021 MMC Stara Zagora once again defended the Quality Mark for Youth Centers of the Council of Europe. The main focus of the center’s work is informal training of young people in support of the formal, and the specific emphasis is on working with vulnerable young people and those from minority groups and in isolation. In the context of the values of the Council of Europe on human rights, this unique specificity of the IMC received unanimous support. The evaluation missions of the Council of Europe awarded for the first time in Bulgaria the Quality Mark of the Council of Europe for youth work to MMC Stara Zagora, and subsequently twice reaffirmed this most prestigious European award.
The project BGLD – 1.003-0003 “International Youth Center Stara Zagora – think locally, act globally” is implemented with financial support in the amount of 956,635 euros provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project is to expand the territorial scope of the Youth Center and increase the variety of activities aimed at supporting the personal development of young people.
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