Civic education, democratic values, and increasing young people’s engagement in causes that they care about will be the focus of the new Depend on You project, implemented by GLBF in partnership with the American Corners in the regional libraries in Burgas, Plovdiv, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo and Sofia.
At a seminar held at Sofia City Library on 12-13 December, library professionals from the American Corners, university lecturers, experts from the Ministry of Education and Science, teachers, students and other library specialists discussed ways to encourage young people’s civic engagement and active participation and foster their interest in socio-economic processes. Led by Associate Professors Rumen Petrov and Lyuba Devetakova (New Bulgarian University), Associate Professor Albena Taneva (Sofia University),Kosta Kostov (Ministry of Education and Science), and Bilyana Bogoeva (Dimitar Panitsa Bulgarian School of Politics), participants explored engaging ways to introduce young people to civic education topics, cultivate a sense of community belonging, and foster a critical, responsible attitude toward their environment and society.
Atanas Radev, Chair of the National Youth Forum, highlighted that by failing to be active participants in the electoral process, young people leave themselves subject to the decisions of a select group of people that they may not like very much. Students from the Albert Einstein 128th Secondary School shared their views on the topic. They expressed a desire for more practical, hands-on learning, including planned group activities and projects focused on themes that matter to them.
‘Depend on You, fostering democratic education and civic participation in Bulgaria by positioning public libraries as hubs for information and non-formal education’ is funded by the Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sofia.
PROGRAMME
12 December – Tuesday
13.00 – 13.30 Registration
14.00 – 15.30 Session 1
- Opening
- Spaska Tarandova, Executive Director of GLBF | project presentation
- Atanas Radev, political scientist and Chairperson of the National Youth Forum | Why young people don’t vote
- Kosta Kostov, Expert at the Ministry of Education and Science
- Dr Lyuba Devetakova, sociologist
- Associate Professor Rumen Petrov, New Bulgarian University
- Online participation of teachers from across the country
15.30 – 16.00 Coffee break
16.00 – 17.00 Session 2
- Alexander Ilchev, Dimitar Panitsa Bulgarian School of Politics
- Desislava Ognyanova, Deputy Director, Albert Einstein 128 Secondary School | Civic education in schools
- Kamelia Koneva, Sofia City Library | American library experiences
17.00 – 17.30 Discussion and summary
13 December – Wednesday
10.00 – 10.30 Session 3
- Involvement of civic education teachers from across the country
- Associate Professor Albena Taneva, Faculty of Philosophy, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
- Students taking Civic Education classes
10.30 – 11.30
Workshop for American Corner librarians
11.30 – 12.30
Wrap-up and close
