Sofia, May 26, 2021
Seven projects began with a flying start on May 26 under the domes of the Largo at the very centre of Sofia. 54 young people won the right to participate in the "Academy for Visionaries" of Sofia Municipality - an idea created to provoke the younger generation in searching and identifying socially significant problems and then discovering solutions for them. The Academy has developed into an incubator of innovative ideas from young people for the community. Established experts in five areas assisted young visionaries in the process of creating and implementing innovative ideas with causes. Here are the five areas:
- Ecology and urban environment, with motivators - Lubo Georgiev and Elitsa Panayotova
- Sports and health, with motivators - Victor Kirkov and the Olympic champion Tereza Marinova
- Art, culture, education and science, with motivators - Svetlana Lomeva and Lyubov Kostova
- Civic and health education and media literacy, with motivators - Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova and Yana Pelovska,
- Support for disadvantaged people, risk groups, animals at risk, with motivators - Julia Georgieva and the Four Paws Foundation
The young visionaries publically presented their ideas for the future of Sofia. For almost two months, they worked side by side with their mentors - top experts in various fields, to build concepts that change the environment. In addition to ideas with a cause, the Academy also managed to create teams. From strangers, young people have become colleagues and friends, authors of innovative projects. Sofia Municipality will finance the ideas of the young people.
"Our" project "It's not the end of the world" (with the working title "Stories from Uhanovo") of the Civic, Health Education and Media Literacy Department, with mentors Radosveta Stamenkova and Yana Pelovska is focused on creating a podcast, distributed on the Internet , which will inform, in an accessible and engaging way, children aged 11 to 15 on key issues needed to better understand the Covid pandemic. The project will also enrich students' knowledge in the field of health, civic education and media literacy.
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