Current project
Bulgaria in the European Union 2 – Social and Democratic Cooperation
Project of the association for democratic education FAR in Burgas, Bulgaria In cooperation with the academy for social and political education of the Mainz diocese „Haus am Maiberg“ in Heppenheim, Germany
The current project of the FAR Association „Bulgaria in the European Union – Social and Democratic Cooperation“ from 2009 to 2011 will be accomplished in cooperation with the Haus am Maiberg in Heppenheim and will be financed by the catholic social aid institution Renovabis.
1. The context of the project
Twenty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain Bulgaria looks back on a time full of changes and of challenges. Today the country is integrated in the European and transatlantic collaboration. A drastic transformation process involves not only the change of the economic order but also the transition process from an authoritarian system to a democratic one. Democracy lives from human beings, who make use of their possibilities to participate in it. This includes much more than voting and means that citizens are engaged in political and social issues.
A living democracy is based on enlightened citizens, who see themselves as an active part of a civil society and who can cope and deal with the social diversity in their own country, within Europe and the world. These acquirements are not connate but the result of education. In Bulgaria there is a lack of available offers for political and social education. There is also a missing comprehension of the new democratic order. The acquirement of the politics of the European Union and the chances going with it is very limited.
FAR has been offering extracurricular education for teenagers and adults to advance social, intercultural and democratic competences since 15 years. The choices concerning extracurricular education in Bulgaria are, however, also very limited. There are no corresponding structures in the realm of civil society. FAR met the challenge and contributed according to its means to close this gap.
In the years from 2009 until 2011 FAR wants to focus, in addition to the seminars for youngsters and adults, also on the consolidation of social and democratic competences and contribute hereby towards the common house Europe.
With the new accommodation in Sredetz (see previous work-camps of the IBO) there are excellent basic conditions to improve the level of work of the FAR association.
2. Goals of the project 2009-2011
With the new project FAR will continue the development of non-formal education in Bulgaria to support democratic awareness.
New is the bigger impact of social work. It is planned to include social aspects stronger into the work of the association; and this in a context that a network for social work in Bulgaria is non-existent and needs to be built up. FAR plans to become the platform in the region and in Bulgaria to connect the different organizations and to assist people working in the social sector. FAR also wants to enlarge the exchange of specialists and the exchange of know-how with its European partners.