A long – awaited wish of ours is a fact! International Youth Center – Burgas has its own home. The building is located in “Meden Rudnik” – the largest residential complex in Burgas, and is on three levels with built-up area and parking.
The building meets all European standards for an accessible environment for people from vulnerable groups. The Youth Center offers conditions for international youth exchanges, non-formal education, regional visits, interest clubs, trainings, startup spaces. The services will be available to all young people.
On the first floor there is a wide amphitheater lobby that can be used as a shared space /co-working/ for scientific and educational projects. There is also an exhibition area, a cafe and a multifunctional hall with folding tribunes with 180 seats and a stage for performances, concerts, conferences, forums and round tables.
The second level of the building has a conference hall and premises that can be used as smart offices, and the third level is intended for temporary accommodation of visiting teams from other cities and countries. It has a bed base with 35 beds for guest speakers and participants in national and international events and a terrace that can also host outdoor activities.
The opening of The Youth Center took place with solemn program in the presence of many guests and friends of the International Youth Center – Burgas. Among them – the Mayor of the Municipality of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov, the Deputy Mayor of “Education, Health Care, Social Activities and Youth Policies” in the Municipality of Burgas Mihail Nenov, Maria Teodorova – senior expert in the Directorate “External European Programs” in the Ministry of Education and Science, Madlen Miteva, chief expert in the Directorate “Youth Policies” in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, our partner organizations in Iceland, the National Youth Forum and the other Youth Centers in Bulgaria.
In addition to the ribbon cutting ceremony on December 19, YIC – Burgas hosted another large-scale event of national importance – a conference for discussing the future of Youth Centers in Bulgaria. It brought together prominent specialists from several different structures, who together outlined the development paths for the total of 8 similar centers in the country.
YIC – Burgas managed to start a new stage in the development of the local youth community, which quickly recognized the space as its own. Already on its first day, the Center gave an opportunity for all of the youth organizations in the city to present their activities.
The evening ended more than great – with a spectacular concert under the open sky! The star couple Arti and Krisi were its presenters, and the participants – Dance formation “Dune”, Dance studio 29, Black Style Squad, Paola Yordanova, Nia Stoyanova, Alexandra Ivanova, Jaklin Kostadinova. The highlights of the program were some of the youth’s favorites – Boro 1 and Atanas Kolev, whose participation will be remembered for a long time!
The International Youth Center is implemented under the project “Creation of the Burgas International Youth Center”, which is implemented with the financial support of the “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Improved Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups” program of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA FM ) 2014-2021.
