The youth from the XII Student Guard Squad at “Bacho Kiro” Secondary School in Pavlikeni successfully completed the training “How to Present Yourself,” implemented under the Project “Young People – The Future of Bulgaria – with Unlimited Opportunities,” Contract No. 25-00-20/10.07.2023, funded by the National Youth Program.2021-2025, Thematic Area 1 “Informal Learning for Acquiring Skills and Key Competencies”.
The speakers at the event were Associate Professor Dr. Daniela Pastarmadjieva and Associate Professor Dr. Ivanka Bankova. The official launch was given by Ms. Petya Nedelcheva, the director of the educational institution. At the end of the training, she, along with Zoya Stefanova, the chief expert for the regions of Veliko Tarnovo and Gabrovo at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, awarded certificates to the boys and girls who were extremely creative and innovative.
The students had the pleasure of exploring opportunities for their growth and development as civically engaged individuals. They built abilities to identify opportunities, solve problems, and make decisions, as well as developed basic financial literacy.
Associate Professor Dr. Pastarmadjieva told them about the types of education, the various forms of entrepreneurship, and its impact on social processes. Other useful topics discussed included the path to realizing civic initiatives and the importance of soft skills.
The youth participated in the game “Realization through Civic and/or Business Entrepreneurship” with the goal of creating a project for a civic initiative or a business plan that could be implemented in their city to address local societal challenges and needs. Four teams were formed at random (by counting to four). Team 1 and Team 3 worked on civic initiatives, while Teams 2 and 4 developed business projects. Each team presented their idea, and the other students shared what they liked and what they thought needed improvement.
The game “Changing My Environment Through Civic Activity” took place, where children were divided into two groups: “voters” and “initiative committees.” The initiative committees nominated candidates for mayor and prepared messages for the voters, followed by a secret ballot. The counting included a representative of the citizens, representatives of the initiative committees, and the lecturer.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivanka Bankova presented a lecture on the topic: “Contradictions and Conflicts in Our Life – Problem or Opportunity for Our Development.” Through the communicative-creative task “My Perceptions,” she emphasized the importance of perceptions as a prerequisite for the emergence of contradictions and conflicts. Naturally, opportunities for overcoming and resolving them were also presented.
During the two-day training led by Associate Professor Dr. Bankova, who introduced the participants to the phenomenon of “conflict” and its management, the youths engaged in the brainstorming session “Opportunities for Handling Critical Situations” and participated in additional games related to interpersonal relationships and the development of personal presentation skills. The initiatives captivated the students, who engaged in lengthy debates on these topics.
