Project "Increasing the public environmental awareness in the cross-border region between Vidin and Craiova and enhancing the youth involvement and cross-border cooperation in environmental activities" BG2005/017-455.01.03.01.08

The overall objectives of the action are to increase the public environmental awareness in the cross-border region between Vidin and Craiova and to enhance the youth involvement and cross-border cooperation in environment protection and in general ecological activities.

The specific objectives of the project include to strengthen the local cross-border cooperation of the two border regions of Vidin and Craiova, to increase the awareness among citizens about the positive effects of environmentally friendly way of life and to the specific regional environmental problems that should be solved, to increase the information flow between the youths from the municipalities of Vidin and Craiova and boost the cross-border youth exchanges, to promote the introduction of environmental education to the school system, to create a permanent mechanism for cross-border youth cooperation in the field of environment protection initiatives, to increase and strengthen the capacity of the Development of Cultural Heritage Foundation to prepare and implement adequate cross border projects in the context of the Bulgarian accession to the European Union and to disseminate results of the project in the entire CBC region.

The expected results of the action will be increased environemental awareness of the local community, increased involvement of youths in environmental activities, improved information flow between the two regions, closer cooperation between youths from the CBC region and creation of a mechanism for joint cross border solution of common regional problems.

The target groups of the action are 15 Bulgarian youths that will participate in the environmental training, 5 Romanian youths that will take part in the training as well, the participants of the workshop that will be organized under this project, the two employees of the Youth Eco Club and the partner organizations.

The final beneficiaries of the project include the local communities of the CBC region between Vidin and Craiova, the primary and secondary school students from the municipality of Vidin who will be impacted by the action and the ecological activists who will benefit from the organized events and initiatives.

The main project activities of the action are :

• Organization of a press-conference, elaboration of effective techniques for the introduction of environmental education in the school system;
• Organization of a workshop “Raising the environmental awareness of the residents of the cross-border region from the both sides of the border”;
• Organization of a 7-day training for 20 youths on environmental protection, establishment of a Youth Eco Club;
• Design of a website of the Youth Eco Club;
• 2-day public environmental awareness campaign of the 10 Bulgarian youths in Romania;
• 2-day Visit of 10 Romanian youths to Bulgaria during the celebrations of the river Danube day on the 29-th of June and promotion activities.

Contacts:
e-mail: chdf_jspf_ro@yahoo.com