Activity 1 – Project organization and management

This activity is directly related to the proper project implementation, the financial management and control, the internal monitoring. The project organization and management will be implemented by the employees of Dobrich municipality and the project partners.
The management team members:

• Allocate tasks and responsibilities of the experts involved in the project team;
• Develop rules and principles of work, internal monitoring, accountability and reporting;
• Review the schedule of the project activities and develop a detailed plan;
• Review the schedule of tender procedures and update it if necessary.

“Project organization and management” is ongoing activity and will be implemented during the whole process of the project implementation.

Activity 2 – Construction and repair works and equipment supply

Building repairs and supply of furniture and equipment for the Youth Center Dobrich.

• Thermal insulation in walls, roofs and floors, replacement of depreciated windows with new PVC;
• Replacement of depreciated water supply and sewerage networks inside the building; improving the drainage system of roof spaces and repair of sanitary facilities;
• Replacement of the existing electrical wiring, electrical panels and replacement of lighting fixtures with energy-saving ones;
• Replacement of the heating system’s pipes, reconstruction of the boiler installation and reconstruction of the systems of ventilation and heating of the concert hall;
• Formation of a “campus” with 35 beds and renovation of facilities in order to create conditions for carrying out activities in the Youth Centre;
• Renovation of the Concert Hall with a modern interior, equipped with modern technologies in sound and stage lighting for concerts, conferences and seminars; safe stage mechanization.

Activity 3 – Youth Center activity

This activity will be implemented in three stages as follows:

STAGE 1:

Identification of the risk groups and the risks for the young people development, their families and social environment of living, as well as their needs of adequate services. It is planned this to be done in close cooperation with the project partners – Cultural club “Romano drom – 2002”, High School “Luben Karavelov” and High School “Dimitar Talev”. With this stage will be covered young people between the ages of 15 and 29, including those who are at risk of social exclusion, disadvantaged, Roma and from other ethnic groups

STAGE 2:

After identifying the problems and needs of the described risk groups will be hired experts working mainly with children and young people at risk – two Roma mediators, two psychologists, five youth workers employed at the center.

STAGE 3:

Further activity development and services expansion in the center, in order to satisfy the needs of target groups and the to involve new participants. Within the youth center there are formed studios, clubs and groups of interest with different focus. To give substance to the results of the previous two stages, during the implementation of this will be set up several such groups for giving possibility of more young people to participate, including those from the target group. Fot this purpose 4 new studios, clubs and groups of interests will be formed: studio “Hip-hop and dance music”, studio “Folklore”, School of Applied Arts and Photo-Video club.

The late start of the project resulted in shortening the time for implementation of the activities, which led to saved funds. By exploring the interests of young people, carried out by the youth workers and the roma mediators, were defined clubs of interest aiming to broad the scope of young people in activities of the Center. 13 new forms are formed with approximately 195 participants: Karate; Volleyball – 2 groups; Basketball – 2 groups; Swimming – two groups; Athletics; Ping-Pong Club; Latino dances; Vocal Group; Drama Club; Dance Theatre.

Activity 4 – Development and implementation of mini projects

The team of youth workers and Roma mediators will be trained in September 2014 and September 2015 by a team of experts from the Council of Europe under Component 3 from the Program “Children and youth at risk”. After the trainings, the team will have the task to formulate and implement mini projects, which contribute to improvement of the welfare of the children and the young people, the integration of disantvantaged young people, and those who are at risk of social exclusion, Roma and other ethnics groups. These mini projects will have also the task to stimulate the participation of the communities, NGO’s and Dobrich Municipality in the Youth Center activities, as well as developing the abilities of young people in the decision-making process, related to the social life in Dobrich. The main aim of this activity is to introduce the practice of cultural, educational and social exchange for children and youths including those from the target group.

Currently five are the approved mini projects and that will be realized within the project:

Mini project 1 – “Course”Lifeguard” – this mini project will provide the involvement and the training of 15 youths from the target group for qualification “lifeguard”. The training will last three months, 65 hours divided into 21 hours theory and 44 hours practice.

Mini project 2 – “Course “Literacy” – will include 10 young people from the target group aged 16 years and up, and are illiterate. Training will be conducted within 5 months with the curriculum and methodological instructions of the Ministry of Education and Science and the classes of the courses is 600 hours. The young people that will participate in the course, pass a test to diagnose incoming literacy level and, on completion of the training – a test for outgoing level. The successfully passed the test for levels of literacy achieved, will receive a certificate of course completion “Literacy”.

Mini project 3 – “I play sports – I communicate” – consists in organizing and conducting of 2 sports tournaments (football and table tennis). The football tournament will involve 16 teams of 8 players (including target group) and will last five days, and in the table tennis tournament will take part 32 participants, including youths from the target group, and will last one day.

Mini project 4 – “Festival “Extreme connection” – will be held for a few days in September 2015 on the territory of City Park “St. George”, where the skate-park is situated. The festival aims to bring together the various contemporary arts and extreme events, which are aimed primarily at young people as the most active group in the street urban culture. The following initiatives are planned – jump from finger mountain bike, painting the skate park with graffiti, playing hacky sack and street dancing. DJs will provide good mood, free riding, training in skateboarding, skating and BMX, workshops, graffiti, skating, skateboarding, BMX, mauntiyng bike, extreme photography and design training for young DJs, night riding. There will be performances by young rock bands, DJ Performance, open mike session, where the microphone will be available to anyone who wishes to sing something in rhyme sounds of funky hip hop turntables. There will free lessons for skating, biking, graffiti, photography and cinematography. The event will be ensured with the police, fire and medical services.

Mini project 5 – “Talent’s festival” – the festival will bring together different areas of youth development. Within one day in open spaces in the city will be open several workshops in which with the help of moderators-professionals everyone can manifest or discover their talent. The event has as its objective to create the conditions to bring together the young people through the language of art, sport and tradition.

Mini project 6 – “Mobile cinema” – the initiative aims to serve as an etertaining tool with wich it can be broadcasted of a variety of film materials (especially for the young people who can not afford to go to the cinema or to the theater) and to be broadcasted educational film materials for information or education (for exemple: movies about prevention and control of HIV / AIDS, prevention of drug use, sexual health, etc.).

Activity 5 – Organization and implementation of motivational, educational and cultural initiatives

In the project it is planned the organization of cultural, educational and motivational initiatives (seminars and workshops) in which the young people will be able to participate, including those from the target group, and also the parents, as these activities are aimed at supporting the personal development and social integration of young people. The following initiatives will be organized and implemented:

I. Motivational initiatives:

1. Two-day seminar on “First steps towards a successful career” – the seminar will include two groups of 15 participants each including young people from the target group, who graduate their secondary education in the schools, involved as partners in the present project. The aim is for these young people to make the most appropriate choice for them in their professional orientation.

II. Educationl initiatives:

2. School for parents – the parents will mainly participate in the three-days school for parents (2 groups with 15 participants in each group). The Roma mediators, conducting the workshops, will help with the selection of the parents who will participate in the initiative

3. Academy “Young Leader” – this initiative will involve two groups with 15 participants in each group, who will be trained in leadership abilities and skills for three days. During the time of their studies, the participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own behavior and relationships, that they establish with the others, to experiment and learn new effective behaviors and strategies in the interpersonal relationships

4. Seminar ” Healthy life style ” – this will be a two-day activity and for a group of 20 participants. The main topic of discussion will be “Drugs and alcohol dependence, safe sex”.

5. Quiz “I know the history of my hometown” – the participants (8 in each team) will be students of both schools, involved like partners in the project, who will play in two teams against each other. All the questions asked during the quiz, will be connected to the history of Dobrich aiming to enrich the knowledge of the young generation.

III. Cultural initiatives:

6. Workshop “Older children educate smaller ones” – the workshop will held within 3 days, it will involve a total of about 15 participants. The participants will draw in different places the town’s park. During this workshop the older children will teach smaller ones by sharing their knowledge and their talents with them, and will help them and encourage their skills in painting. In the end of the initiative there will be an outdoor exhibition of all paintings that were made during the three days.

7. Workshop “From children’s hands with a heart” – it is planned that this workshop take place before the celebration of several holidays – Baba Marta, Easter, Bayram and Christmas.

8. Singing competition – children and youth from the music groups to the Youth Center will participate in the competition.

9. Days of youth activities 2015 – the initiative will be implemented within 3 days and it will be devoted to the transformation of Dobrich into a cleaner and attractive place for living. It will be supported by local NGO’s working in environmental protection area. Children and youths from the Youth Center will participate in this activity and there are a lot of eco initiatives planned.

Activity 6 – Youth exchanges in Norway and Bulgaria

Within the project the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) will facilitate relevant practical exchange of experience for a total of 10 people, including Roma mediators, youth workers, representative of the Youth Center and interpreter. The aim of the exchange is to give an opportunity to both sides to get information about each others’ activity, to exchange experience and practices in youth policies area, respect of the democratic rights of disadvantaged children and young people, and their reintegration into society. On the other hand, in this way, a long-term partnership could be established, including partnership in different projects, oriented to the resolution of problems of disadvantaged children and young people, encouraging their participation in such initiatives, cultural exchange etc.
Moreover, it will be organized a visit to Youth Centers in others municipalities in Bulgaria, that have also received funding under this program in order to exchange best practices and experiences.

Activity 7 – Audit

In the end of the project implementation an approved auditor will audit and will prepare an audit report related to the financial implementation of the project. The report will contain exhaustive information on all financial aspects of project implementation.

Activity 8 – Publicity and Information

The activity includes measures that aim to promote the financial support given to the project by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism. The measures for information and publicity target to raise the awareness of the community of the project and to demonstrate its role and importance for the citizen of Dobrich. The activities are aiming to attract the target groups, beneficiaries and the community including:

1. Elaboration of web-site that will contain information in English and Bulgarian. The information on that site will include all the project information, project progress, achievements and results, cooperation with the partner from the donor-states, pictures, contact information and visualization of the financial contribution of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism and the donor-states;
2. Conducting 3 informational campaigns (starting press-conference, official opening of the Youth Centre Dobrich, conference of the end of the projects);
3. In order to broad awareness about the informational campaigns and about all the activities involved in the project, it is planned an elaboration and dissemination of promotion materials.