The international training camp for young women leaders from Bulgaria, Lithuania, Cyprus and Spain (Canary Islands) within the framework of the VIeW project, financed by the Erasmus+ program was successfully completed.
For five days, from April 22-26 in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, 16 participants from the four countries discussed current topics: active civic attitude and action on women’s rights, their contribution to social life, building leadership skills, digital skills and creating digital stories. Four girls from the cities of Silistra and Tutrakan and the trainers, Dr. Diana Bebenova-Nikolova and Lidiya Svetoslavova, attended this activity.
One of the most critical moments of the training was the interaction with Ukrainian girls, who, due to the war in Ukraine, sought refuge in Vilnius. The Lithuanian partner Tavo Europe facilitated meetings with the NGOs “Ukreate” and “Ukrainian Youth in Lithuania”. These brave young individuals shared their heart-wrenching stories of family tragedy and hometown destruction. They expressed profound gratitude to all those who have supported their efforts to preserve their homeland.
The training participants were invited to the National Television of Lithuania, where they learned how to organise a national campaign with a public cause. This knowledge will help them implement their initiatives in their countries—Bulgaria, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Spain (Canary Islands)—within the international campaign “We Can” framework and later share their digital stories on the project’s platform.
In a testament to our collective commitment to youth engagement, the partners of the VIeW project have collaborated to create and publish a series of methodological documents for civic engagement. These include a guide for youth initiatives “We can”, training materials for the training “Empowering women for social change”, and a guide for shared practices for working with youth of the project partners, among others. These resources, published in English on the project website https://paralel-silistra.net/view/publications/, are freely available to all who wish to enhance their practice working with youth.
The VIeW project, funded by the Erasmus+ program, is implemented by the Association “Parallel Silistra” in partnership with TAVO Europe (Lithuania), the Association “Amanei” (Spain) and the Educational Institute DOREA (Cyprus).