Description
Vratsa Municipality has a relatively high proportion of disadvantaged young people, including the Roma population. They are faced with risks factors such as early drop-out of the education system, high unemployment, unhealthy way of life, youth criminality and lack of youth services. According to the census from the 2011, the municipality has a share of the Roma ethnic group (5.4%) higher than the national average (4.9%). The objective of the project is to improve the welfare of children and young people at risk through creation of Youth center and the introduction of services for young people which meet the requirements for obtaining a Quality Label of Council of Europe. The project is expected to achieve the following outcomes: improving conditions for equal access to education, training and employment; enhancing motivation of children and parents from ethnic minorities. The project will address these challenges through the implementation of the following indicators: involving 170 young people and 50 disadvantaged youth (the main target group); 14,996 young people between 15 and 29 years old benefiting from the improved social infrastructure.
Summary of project results
The need of this project was to solve the identified problems with a big number of representatives from the vulnerable groups in Vratsa and in the North-West region of Bulgaria, including a lot of youth from the Roma community. The region’s level of development, specificity and depth of the problems and serious deficiencies in terms of economic activities, human potential, active youth policies cause a need for targeted support for limiting the effects of negative trends in its development. There was a lot of problems to be solved - early dropping out of the education system, high unemployment rate, unhealthy lifestyles, lack of access to youth services with focus on the Roma children and young people as the most vulnerable groups. The main output resulting from the project was the young people reached by the activities of the Youth Centre - Vratsa. This is the result from active work of youth workers and Roma mediators appointed to the center: fieldwork on the territory of Vratsa District; social and psychological support, developing soft skills - long term and short term educational courses aiming to inform the young people about their rights, to develop their personal and professional skills and to create young leaders, individual work with students in educational process, supporting the return to the education system, mediation in solving conflicts on an ethnic basis, and between the young people and the social and municipal institutions, Involving young people in free time initiatives for better socialization. The main achievement of the project was the improved welfare of 2 416 young people (target 170) at risk in the territory of Vratsa District. Created building and facilities delivered a new perspective for the young citizens of the municipality. They receive the opportunity to engage in new practices of non-formal education, to improve the communication, to organize activities. Municipality of Vratsa increases its social engagements to the young people and now has the opportunity to manage a social infrastructure on high European level.
Summary of bilateral results