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Evergreen in the Evergreen: When Tradition Inspires Innovation
Start date: Apr 1, 2015, End date: Aug 31, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The idea of the project is to implement youth exchange within a group of Bulgarian, Macedonian and Greek young people, who will participate in activities for intercultural youth exchange, focusing on the importance of the use of informal methods of education, as a way of developing entrepreneurial skills among young people in the agricultural sector. The leading subject in the project will be: “Growing and producing organic food and products as a way of nurturing and development of an entrepreneurial spirit, social awareness and intercultural dialogue among young people in economically underdeveloped regions”. Due to the discrepancies in the skills gained during academic tuition in high school and university, and those required on the labour market, many young people remain unemployed or have underqualified jobs. This tendency can be observed on a larger scale in the underdeveloped European countries, and particularly in the Balkan region, where the employment possibilities for young people are highly limited. Young people, living in such areas are much more limited in their social communication and career options, compared to young people in more developed regions. For that reason, this project aims to implement innovative methods for informal education, focusing on the agricultural sector and contributing to their integration, personal and professional development. By participating in the group activities within the framework of this project, the participants will be involved in an intercultural dialogue, as well as have the opportunity to gain practical skills and enhance their knowledge base, acquiring skills that prepare them for working in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, they will socialise, integrate and be motivated about their professional realisation, as well as develop eco-awareness. During the project, a meeting for young people of the Balkan region and between the age of 18 and 30, will be held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The meeting will last for an entire week, during which the participants will visit a number of farms and small workshops, specialising in the production of bio products – milk and dairy products, wine, tahini, pastries, honey, herbs. They will attend the “Bread day” hosted by “Bread Houses Network“, where they will take part in workshops for the production of live yeast, kneading and demonstrating different methods for the making of bread, as well as get acquainted with the art therapy method “Bread Therapy”, along with people with social issues and disabilities from the area. The introduction of art therapies and models of social integration through bread and other types of food will present young people with ideas for development in the social sector. Young people will be introduced to successful marketing models by Bulgarian and foreign manufacturers of traditional food, as well as to the opportunities and funds that finance start-ups in eco-farming and bio-production. Throughout the week, participants will be actively involved in numerous activities on the agricultural market in Plovdiv, in order to observe this model of direct interaction between consumers and producers. The project proposes the creation of a “Society of the Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs”, the development of a website with an online communication application – a live chat for all registered users, who will be young people interested in the development of the agricultural sector, by the means of growing bio products. This come to fulfil one of the long-term objectives of the project – ensuring that the project results with a maximum reach of people and helps popularise the manufacturing of bio products, addressing major issues as the youth unemployment and the focusing of working power in the big cities. The project results will be disseminated on a local, national, European and international levels through different channels: the young people themselves – in their respective social communities; through the social media – with the publication of materials and information about the outcomes of the project; the network and contacts of the partnering organisations, as well as other NGOs, local public organisations, youth centres and magazines. The objectives of this project meet the goals of the European strategy for the development of effective systems for the education, training and employment of young people. It will help overcome the social barriers and challenges in terms of professional realisation, which young people in economically underdeveloped regions are faced with, by implementing an intercultural dialogue and creating a more stable environment for career development in a fast-growing sector of the economy. Increasing the capacity and the ability of young people to be actively involved within their society is in accordance with the provisions of the “Treaty of Lisbon”, encouraging the participation of young people in democratic life of the EU.
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