We had the amazing opportunity to visit Iceland, and to witness firsthand how is youth work done there.
We had a meeting with Hortur Aguston from the Municipality of Reykjavik, and we also visited a primary school and two youth centres (Hitt Húsið and Gleðibankinn youth house) in the centre of the capital. There, we learned how youngsters go through the hard but successful path to finding themselves and becoming active members of the society.
Iceland undoubtedly serves as an example for well cone youth work. For the past 20 years they have managed to drastically decrease the tendency of inaction, drug /alchohol abuse and admiration amongst teenagers.
How did they do that? In 1992, Iceland starts a project called Project Self-Discovery, that offers alternative activities to youngsters in the form of free interest clubs, where they can express and develop themselves. United in one common goal, parents, teachers and municipalities help young people develop good values, qualities like proactivity and creativity, and learn about their rights in the society.
We want to thank our hosts for the warm welcome, and we are expecting them to come for a visit in Bulgaria soon!
And did you know that we will have another exchange in Iceland? And this is not all – there will be a few lucky youngsters who will also have the opportunity to visit the beatiful country “of fire and ice” and to take part in the project we are organizing. When the time comes, we will tell you more about the project and the way we will pick the participants.
Iceland is our partner and the work visit is in line with *Project No. BGLD-2.001-0002 “Establishment of International Youth Center – Burgas”, implemented under the “Local Development, Poverty Reduction, and Enhanced Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups” Program, funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism (EEA FM) 2014–2021.