Civic Education and Training Platform – Bulgaria (CET Bulgaria) is a voluntary, non-profit, non-governmental organization. It was established in July 2016 by a group of young, motivated and experienced youth workers who are active in the civil sector. We are part of the international youth network CET Platform which works in the field of civic education in Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Italy and Montenegro.
Our main activities are related to fostering young people’s participation in a variety of local and international activities and also encouraging them to contribute to projects under the European Commission’s “Erasmus +” program. We work closely together with many youth organizations in Bulgaria as well as the Bulgarian National Youth Forum.
Main goals of the Platform are:
- to provide support, help, services and expert knowledge in the field of civil society
- Development of democratic processes, civic values and non-formal education to all citizens, especially the youth.
- Conducting activities related to advocacy issues of public policy as well as organizing various events – debates, trainings, seminars and workshops – in the field of civic education.
- Promoting volunteering and exchange about human rights, development of local, regional and European relations and cooperation.
- Another main goal is the encouragement of creativity, innovations, entrepreneurship and sustainable development in a civil society.
The means to achieve the objectives are:
- Organization of specific program activities;
- Implementation of joint projects and cooperation with local and foreign associations, foundations, local government units, state institutions and other organizations:
- Organization of conferences, seminars, trainings, discussions, creative meetings, scientific meetings, counseling and other public activities and forms of education and training;
- Organizing, conducting and providing support for professional and scientific research through realization of different projects and activities;
- Publication of advertising materials and publications in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria.
- Organization of volunteer activities to raise awareness on issues of public importance, as well as actions for active participation of citizens in the decision-making process;
- Creating expertise for individuals and other organizations that are within the scope of the Association’s objectives;
- Encourage the initiatives of the competent authorities and institutions in order to achieve the objectives of the Association and the public interest;
- Perform other activities necessary to achieve the objectives of the Association, which are provided with this status and are in compliance with the laws and the constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria.
We believe that together we can achieve more and become better!
The experience includes the successful implementation of 12 Training Courses under “Erasmus+ KA1 and KA2”: 1. “Creating of tomorrow’s leaders” (2015-1-BG01-KA105-013495) took place 15/05 – 15/11/2015. Its aim was to encourage and improve the level of key competences for the development of leadership qualities in individuals working actively with young people and youth organisations. In this way their collaboration capacity, exchange of good practices and the quality of work between youth organisations was boosted. Building leaders with higher qualification, aware of the needs and problems in the youth sector, helps to see opportunities clearly and accomplish the goals. Main subjects in the Training course were: communication skills, teamwork, building trust in a group, presentation and rhetoric skills, planning and organising, time management, conflict tackling, building leadership skills, self-motivation, social commitment, positive attitude, flexibility and confidence. 2. “Creating of tomorrow’s leaders 2” (2015-3-BG01-KA105-022779) took place 10/08-18/08/2016. Aimed to build up on the idea of the previous, but at a higher level this time. The project was targeting to develop the organizational capacity of partner organizations and their ability to undertake larger-scale and more effective activities on local, regional and international level. Unlike the first project – whose focus was personal development and gaining competences within the youth workers themselves, here we put an emphasis on a higher level – e.g. organizations and their ability to solve problems of youth on a larger scale and working in international partnerships. In this project we included a trainer from Cyprus. Last but not least this project was awarded the highest score among all project proposals submitted in October 2015. 3. “Unlock your learning potential through Coaching” aims to prepare participant to use the COACHING method to develop skills and competences that will help them discover and unlock their own potentialincrease their strive for learning, self-improvement and self-esteemacquire soft skills (e.g. self-management, active listening, communication and feedback skillsattitude towards developing their organizational culture, team compatibility and satisfactionset goals in life and realize fundamental valuesdevelop entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility and being competitive in the labour market 4. Training course „Unlock your NGO’s potential through Coaching” (2016-3-BG01-KA105-035204) – the project aims to prepare youth workers to use the method Organizational coaching to develop the capacity of NGOs in order for youth organizations: to become more effective in their work with young people, to clarify easily their strategic priorities, to plan and structure work activities and projects. As a result, young people will be more confident in taking concrete steps in realizing their ideas. 5. Youth exchange “You are different but seen through my eyes” (2017-1-BG01-KA105-036141) The aim of the exchange is to provide the young people with the main frame of an attitude of tolerance and solidarity as well as to stimulate the mutual understanding between people of different countries, having different religions, different preferences in their personal and professional life. This basic purpose is driven by the main topic of the project, namely – anti-discrimination and European self-consciousness as a form of behavior and attitude of the young people. The planned initiatives are combination of practical workshops, where the young people will be occupied with team work towards achieving the set goals, presentations, role playing and other methods within the project context. 6. Training course „Social Entrepreneurship Training“ (2017-1-BG01-KA105-035962) The project aims to prepare youth workers to apply the concept of social entrepreneurship in their organizations and communities by developing their entrepreneurial skills and competencies. Furthermore, the project aims to identify the entrepreneurial potential of people and organizations involved in the project to provide participants with examples of successful businesses developed by young social entrepreneurs, develop knowledge about the process of development of social enterprise. During the training, the participants will plan how to transfer entrepreneurial skills and practices to young people they work with. It will support young people in their personal and professional development, facilitate their social inclusion and full contribution to the community and its development. 7. We are co-beneficiary in KA2 project – Online Platform for Exchange of Special Needs Youth Work Methods (OPEN). The main objectives of the project are: – To develop an online platform (OPEN platform) in 6 languages (BG, RO, SI, MK, IT and EN) for exchange of good practices in the field of youth work with young people, facing learning difficulties and conducting 2 thematic webinars; – To develop an evaluation methodology for validating the good practices as applicable in one or more of the 5 areas of learning difficulties (Autism, Visual and Hearing Impairments, Dyslexia, Physical Difficulties); – To conduct piloting of the platform, involving validation of 10 good practices and implementation of 2 thematic seminars; – To provide ongoing dissemination of project’s results among youth workers communities in partner countries and across Europe. 8. Training course “Social Entrepreneurship Training 2” (Project 2018-1-BG01-KA105-047615”, September 2018. The project aims at developing the organizational and management capacity of partner organizations, which deal with and deploy social enterprises/youth centers. The focus, on one hand, aims at increasing the organizational capacity to create, develop and successfully manage and promote social entrepreneurship, and on the other hand to set up trained youth workers to work with marginalized and socially excluded young people. The main needs which the current project addresses are concentrated at increasing youth employment and social inclusion. Through this project the participants and the participating organizations will gain skills that could be implemented to specific business and entrepreneurial tools to solve social problems. The participants will also be informed about the opportunities offered for developing of Social enterprises and will increase their motivation for using innovative tools in their work. 9. The Youth Exchange „Change your old life to achieve your new aims as a Leader” will be conducted in Uzana, an area near the city of Gabrovo. 33 young people between 16-30 years from Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Greece and Croatia will have the opportunity to participate. The duration of the project will be from 01.02.2019 to 31.08.2019, including the days of the program activities (10-18 March, 2019). The main goal of the project is by building up every skill and quality the young people to build themselves, adding each part to the “lego” of their abilities, which will turn them into complete personalities and leaders and to prepare them to be competitive of the labor market. The project will help participants to identify their needs and a wide range of opportunities to unlock their leadership potential. By participating in the project, they will develop their skills to be proactive, take responsibility, generate ideas, develop and grow with the people they work with while contributing to positive social change! 10. Training course „Critical Thinking Skills” will take place in Pamporovo, Bulgaria. 32 youth workers from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Spain, Saint Martin, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Macedonia (FYROM) and Croatia will participate. The project duration is from 01.01.2019 till 31.07.2019, including days of program activities (04-05-12-05.2019). The main goal of the project is to build critical thought in the participants aimed at developing cognitive skills for improving various personal and professional qualities. Also create an entirely new view for organizing and planning activities, problem solving, decision making based on proper arguments, applying common sense, mental discipline, sense of initiative, interpretation, communication, analyzing and assessing the thoughts, drawing conclusions, self-regulation, self-assessment all of which are related to successful social and professional development. 11. The Youth exchange “Say NO to discrimination!” was held in Bulgaria in the beautiful village of Uzana, near to Gabrovo city. 40 young people, aged between 16 to 29 years participated in the project from Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Slovakia and Greece. The idea behind the implementation of project “Say NO to discrimination!” is dictated by the need for young people to fight, understand and apply equality and tolerance every day and to demonstrate anti-discriminatory behavior, identifying different ways of responding to situations of inequality and discrimination; coping with them. Participants will discuss the importance, the elements and the various forms of inequality and discrimination and will try to find a mechanism to address these issues in their communities and organizations. By discussing the intercultural differences, similarities, values and problems that young people have in their communities, it will be clear what should be the guidelines for tackling with discrimination in their countries and Europe as a whole should be and how to eliminate inequality. 12. Training course ‘’Youth workers for Peaceful Conflict Transformation’’. The main needs addressed by the project “Youth workers for Peaceful Conflict Transformation” are driven by the opportunity to bring together representatives of youth organizations coming from these “critical” countries of Europe that have been associated with persistent conflicts and accumulated tension for decades and aims at: 1. To train youth workers with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the transformation of conflicts 2. Promoting the universal understanding between young people across different countries 3. Raise public and civil participation and encourage their active involvement in common causes 4. Encourage young people from different countries to cooperate despite the borders in the name of a common goal – the peace between them and 5. To become a peace ambassadors in Europe and around the world! |