The project “The influence of role models on the development of the Roma community in Bulgaria” is part of the initiative of the US State Department – IVLP Impact Awards, which aims to provide additional opportunities for sharing experience and knowledge to contribute to overcoming challenges and the difficulties local communities face on a daily basis.
The project was implemented with the support and participation of Ivan Ivanov, who is also the national coordinator of the Network for early childhood development in the Roma community in Bulgaria, coordinated by the “Trust for a Social Achievement” Foundation.
During the one-day workshops with the teachers, which took place on April 16 and 17, 2022, the following topics were discussed:
- “How to break the vicious circle of poverty?” How Poverty Affects Early Childhood Development.”
- “Successful practices for working with children and parents whose mother tongue is different from Bulgarian.”
- “Successful Practices for Working with Ethnic Minority Parents.” Strategies for their successful integration into the educational process and the influence of role models in early childhood.”
40 teachers from kindergartens and schools located in the territory of Byala Slatina municipality, Vratsa district managed to take part in the seminars.
The other part of the project, the one-day workshops for students between the ages of 14 and 18, which took place on the 9th and 10th of April 2022, had several main objectives:
- To increase students’ motivation to continue their studies after secondary education;
- To create conditions for conducting active discussions, which will lead to the increase of commitment and the desire to support the local community on the part of the students;
- To plan volunteering initiatives that will again benefit their local community.
