Description
The project addresses the issue of weak involvement of young people in voluntary activities and low recognition of NGOs as organizations protecting their interests. The project aims at encouraging young people interested in active citizenship to acquire skills and knowledge to work in the NGO sector. First, application criteria will be developed to select 20 young people to be trained at KEY Academy to acquire the necessary skills to work in the NGO sector. Second, 5 active and established NGOs will be selected for 5-week internships of the trainees at the Academy. Next, the selected students will undergo training at the Academy and internship at an NGO. In addition, opinion polls will be carried out to check attitudes to civic participation, NGOs, volunteering among young people. The project will benefit not only the 20 selected trainees who will be able to learn by doing and form a community of shared values to pass on experience but also the future development of the NGO sector.
Summary of project results
The project addressed the issue of weak involvement of young people in voluntary activities and low recognition of NGOs as organizations protecting their interests through the organisation of KEY Academy which proved to be an important and relevant tool to mobilise young people. The successful participation of 20 young people in training, meetings and internship in 5 prominent NGOs (Sofia Breathes Foundation, the Centre for Inclusive Education, Habitat Bulgaria, WWF Bulgaria, SEGA Foundation), the information disseminated, the good project website (
http://keyacademy.info/) and the presentation of the results at the KEY Forum held on 15 March 2014 and 18 October 2014 live at the Modern Theatre in front of 1000 spectators and online stirred a lot of interest and expectations that the SMART Foundation will launch a new call for applications for the next edition of the Academy. The number of applicants for the previous two editions and the strong desire to take the existing opportunity showed that we managed to involve these young people in the civil sector causes and encouraged their active civil participation. The good example of the first 20 participants reached the circles of their friends and relatives, our partners and supporters in the social media and the community in general.
Summary of bilateral results