The second Erasmus+ youth exchange of the year of the For Tomorrow Foundation, Bulgaria - “Green INclusion - Environmental practices for social and labour inclusion of young people with intellectual difficulties” has finished. It took place from 19 to 30 May 2025 and was based in the Radomir village of Dolni Rakovets. It was attended by participants from Croatia – Eutopia NGO, Turkey – Back To Nature NGO and Bulgaria, and the initiative gave young people the chance to both learn about other cultures and make new friendships, as well as to get closer to their peers with intellectual disabilities and help them in their inclusion. A deaf participant from Turkey also participated fully in the project together with three young people with different special needs.

By completing the project activities, the participants learned practical skills for interacting with young people with intellectual disabilities, helped with their employment inclusion and proved in practice that “special” youth are able to work, communicate and learn alongside their “normal” peers and can, and should, be actively included in the daily life of society.

The young people improved the playground in the village of Baikalsko by building a wooden fence, which they decorated with hand-painted natural elements; they planted flowers in flower pots made of recycled materials, which they also decorated by hand. Participants in the project made an eco-trail in the forest near the village of Dolni Rakovets, constructed and placed bird houses, a forest library and forest first aid kits, made a reforestation action, and participated in a volunteer action to improve and build a fence on a playground in the village of Baikalsko. In the village of Dren, they visited “DrenKo” - part of the Social Enterprise “SOS Children's Villages Bulgaria”, where the young people went through the whole process of clay purification and made objects from wild clay from the area. The 3D ceramic printer in the centre was of real interest.

The different environmental practices and activities not only helped the volunteers to get to know the nature, but also to interact fully with their peers with special needs, for whom such activities are crucial for their successful social inclusion and personal development. “We are very proud of the results, because young people who had not even encountered their peers with special needs built friendships with them, communicated despite language and intellectual barriers and proved that barriers are only in our minds,” said project coordinator Borislav Slavchov. “The Erasmus+ projects help to build an international community that connects the young volunteers with their ‘special’ peers so that they can build their personal and work skills together,” Borislav Slavchov added.

On May 24, the young people took part in the volunteer action for the repair and restoration of the school building in Dolni Rakovets village, which will become the Institute of Ecological Construction - IEC. They got acquainted with different ecological materials and the basic principles of ecological construction, and in the evening they enjoyed a Bulgarian evening with live music performed by the band MiRa. On the 25th of May, they went through training on sustainable landscaping, based on the principle of permaculture, drawing up conceptual designs for the transformation of the school yard in Dolni Rakovets (IEC). As part of the sustainable landscaping workshop, they prepared seed bombs from natural clay and a variety of seeds that were scattered on the deforested hills of Dolni Rakovets village.

The young people had a special day of Art activities led by Anelia Kirilova - the founder of the social enterprise “Made with Love” in the town of Raska. Together they made various souvenirs from ecological materials. All made souvenirs were given to support the social enterprise.

Throughout the project the participants created and sang together, played sports, cooked and learned a lot about the traditions and culture of the countries involved in the project. On one of the days, the young people went to the waterfall Polska Skakavica in the Konyava Mountains and learned basic survival skills in nature - making and lighting up a fire, preparing food outdoors. (Pictures and Video here)

The youth worker training programme “Green INclusion - Environmental Practices for Social and Labour Inclusion of Young People with Intellectual Disabilities” is another step towards supporting the social and labour inclusion of young people with mental health problems, intellectual disabilities and special needs through experiential learning, youth exchanges and joint activities with peers from different countries and cultures.

The activities of the team of For Tomorrow Foundation, Blagoevgrad are aimed at improving the quality of life of people with special educational needs and their integration into society as equal members. For Tomorrow Foundation promotes the exchange of information, good practices, experience, awareness and support for families in order to enable them to stimulate their child's development despite the medical and social challenges they face.

The youth exchange activities “Green Inclusion” of Foundation “For Tomorrow”, Blagoevgrad are part of the youth mobility project № 2024-1-BG01-KA151-YOU-000226276, funded by the EU Erasmus+ programme.

Foundation For Tomorrow, Blagoevgrad, BULGARIA

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https://zautre.bg/bg 

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