1. Building the region’s youth into an engaged, connected, and empowered society
One of the main goals of IYC is to provide service accessibility for all young people, including those from the constituent districts of Burgas. The pre-set activities are divided into several segments, the first of which aims to motivate and involve young people in the process of developing local and national policies. The IYC agenda includes training courses, seminars, and lecture series on how to encourage and support independent youth initiatives.
2. Developing key skills
This activity segment is set to encourage young people to reach their full potential in the field of the arts, sciences, and entrepreneurship. The three key skills studios, along with a series of additional events focus at developing creativity and critical thinking, as well as supporting student ideas for start-ups.
3. Education – the building block of the new millennium
IYC’s activities in the educational sector include a variety of measures for prevention and reintegration of dropouts, or those at risk of dropping out of the education system. It involves actions aimed at solving key problems, such as social exclusion, difficulties in school adaptation, lack of educational motivation, and the missing connection between schools and families.
4. The “present-day” challenges
The essence of the IYC’s social strategy is targeted towards building resilience to bad influences such as aggression, juvenile delinquency, social isolation as a result of the Covid pandemic, and race and gender discrimination. There are number of activities, which create opportunities for young people to feel included and reintegrated, and to respond positively to risk.
5. National and international partnerships
The main mission of Burgas’ International Youth Center is to develop sustainable partnerships. Key partners include the participants in the “Local Development, Poverty Reduction, and Enhanced Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups” Program, the already established Youth Centers in Stara Zagora, Plovdiv, Vratsa, and Dobrich. The partnership network is expanding with four new Youth Centers in Burgas, Pernik, Vratsa, and Montana. International activities include joint initiatives with the Youth Activities Department of the Municipality of Reykjavik, Iceland – Burgas Municipality’s main partner in this project.
6. The benefactors of Burgas
The IYC has partnered up with the Youth Cultural Center (http://www.mladite.eu/bg/) and with “Burgas Likes Youth”, initiated by Mayor Dimitar Nikolov (https://www.facebook.com/BurgasLikesYouth). The great variety of these organizations’ activities is the key factor in building a proactive, creative, and socially engaged youth community in Burgas.