At an EU Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council meeting in Brussels on Monday, Bulgaria’s Youth and Sports Minister Vesela Lecheva joined a debate on the role of young people in public and political life, for building a society of peace and solidarity, Lecheva’s Ministry said in a press release.
The Minister noted that Bulgarian municipalities with population under 10,000 and schools functioning in under-15,000-strong municipalities and informal groups are already eligible to apply under youth programmes. She described this as a significant step towards having state youth policy reach small settlements and unorganized young people and creating a new environment for youth activity, participation and empowerment. “Bulgaria will be working for a consistent alignment of its national youth policy with European practices and for utilizing and promoting the intergenerational dimension. This is exemplified, among other things, by a revision of the Youth Act allowing young people aged under 29 and older people to participate on equal terms in the governing bodies of youth organizations, which helps the different generations to share experience, exchange views, and make decisions jointly,” the Minister said. “Promoting active citizenship through the academies for young leaders, providing opportunities for creativity, popularizing the benefits of sports and physical activity should be retained as sustainable practices and should be built on in future. The Ministry of Youth and Sports is working proactively to make sure that young people and youth organizations are represented at the centre of public policy making,” Lecheva said, addressing her EU counterparts.
