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Description
2020 was marked by a strong political pressure and obstruction of the work of the civil sector (BHC, 2019). Media campaigns against organizations working to protect liberal values and human rights increased and hate speech entered academic circles. The state of emergency further hampered the work of the civil sector and made even more visible the extent to which organizations rely on support from volunteers. This project aims at supporting the latter organizations by further developing the interest and involvement of school and university students across Bulgaria with the issues addressed by the NGOs in Bulgaria, human rights in particular. The project builds on the successful model we achieved last year based on the competition The Heroes’ Cup, year-long mentorship, online and printed resources, structured monthly challenges on human rights issues, involvement of youth opinion leaders. Encouraged by the success of this formula (in 2020 alone more than 830 young people/100 initiatives/25.000 platform visitors /700.000 member-strong audience reached), we are looking for support to add a number of new activities. We plan video lessons and a guide relating volunteering to human rights topics, online meetings between young people, NGOs and the Foundation’s team to increase young people’s knowledge on human rights topics directly from people involved with field work; developing young people’s capacity and building new skills for them to get involved as volunteers in the work of NGOs; speed dating/“an exchange” for young people to meet the largest number of NGOs for future cooperation; marathons about real human rights cases; engaging digital activations, etc. The project aims at enhancing support for human rights by further developing and enriching knowledge and creating tools which can help young people take part actively and build the society around them through involvement in NGO initiatives.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to extend and enhance the foundations’ collaboration with young individuals on human rights. The project facilitated NGOs in reaching a younger audience and established mechanisms for integrating young volunteers into their organizations. Additionally, the initiative addressed the issue of limited extracurricular activities and informal education opportunities in smaller communities nationwide. Over 70% of youth clubs in our network “Kupata na geroite” are situated in small villages and towns, where volunteering opportunities are scarce. The project directly supported their active involvement in local-level change through volunteerism, emphasizing human rights advocacy.The project also strived to develop youth-friendly resources on human rights, presented in contemporary and accessible language.
The project expanded upon the successful “Kupata na geroite” competition model, encompassing a nationwide network of student volunteer clubs, ongoing year-round mentoring, provision of online and print resources, structured monthly challenges on human rights topics, and active engagement with youth opinion leaders. To connect young people with diverse volunteering opportunities, we organized two speed-dating NGO fairs, drawing the participation of nearly 200 youth. Our online interactions included two volunteer marathons with NGO involvement, where youth addressed issues related to their rights. We also conducted seven online meetings featuring journalists, experts, and various organizations, inspiring youth to take action. The project featured four publicity events, including one for the competition finale, providing young people with opportunities to meet and interact live. Activities during these events included improv theatre, graffiti-making, and urban culture workshops. The project''s impact extended to an audience of 542,613 people on social networks and was highlighted in 132 media publications through 10 partnerships.
Through the youth volunteer competition "Kupata na geroite," the team supported 114 school volunteer clubs nationwide over the three years of the project, with a total enrollment of over 3,100 participants. These participants came from 38 towns and villages, including areas with a high percentage of residents with low socio-economic status and/or a significant Roma population, such as Varshets, Sliven, Tervel, Valchi dol, Lukovit, and others. Throughout the project, the clubs organized more than 600 volunteer initiatives supporting various causes. These initiatives ranged from campaigns to collect free sanitary and menstrual products for at-risk women to cooking in social kitchens for the underprivileged, delivering food to disadvantaged individuals, and providing free haircuts for the elderly in nursing homes. In addition to these activities, the project team produced a series of 12 video lessons in collaboration with the largest Bulgarian educational platform, Ucha.se, which garnered over 145,400 views on our social networks. Throughout the project duration, the team authored and shared 18 educational "Topics of the Month" with participants, covering issues such as gender equality, anti-racism, eco-social justice, and the rights of people with disabilities.