18+ Inspiring Ideas About Eco Initiatives from Bulgarian Activists

My community is virtual and includes dozens of professionals involved in cultural and environmental projects across Europe.

In Smolyan, we develop volunteering as a valuable tool of non-formal education. Our main goal is to build community leaders.

We are also an active participant in Erasmus+ programmes related to informal education and constantly engaged in international cultural exchange.

We have a youth centre where we help youngsters to improve their skills and acquire new competencies.

Our latest project is two graffiti paintings, which have quickly become the new tourist attractions in Smolyan and have united many people.

Now the space is wildly popular and is used for selfies, weddings, exhibitions, classes.

Previously, street art had never been popular in Smolyan. Illegal paintings and vandalism were real pains.

We invited those local vandals to try volunteering and organized for them practical graffiti workshops by famous Bulgarian artists.

Now they guard the public art in the town and prevent any vandalism.

But it was essential for young people to change their attitudes. We have noticed that when their attitude changes, so do their lifestyle.

During the participation in various volunteer projects, youngsters actually not just give away their time, but they themselves also benefit a lot.

They develop practical skills, which in a sterile school environment are impossible to acquire.

This, in turn, allows young people to become more competitive in the labour market.

They find better jobs and do it faster because they know how to present their skills.

My family and I try to live in harmony with nature, and we produce clean and healthy food in our garden.

I am currently pursuing a PhD at the Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin. My topic is "Impact of hydropower on rivers."

My social activity reflects my interest in fishing and has to do with the Balkanka Fishing Club in the village of Nikyup.

We organize green schools, clean-ups, fight illegal landfills, send signals to institutions and try to improve water and natural resource management in general.

Those who want to see positive change in their communities need to start by involving their loved ones, friends and acquaintances in their projects.

Surely, there will be those who won't understand why to change something and even those who will interfere. It is normal and should not be discouraged.

To change Bulgaria, it is important to support the social initiatives of others too. Let's start now!

As an informal leader and mediator, I go to local schools and organise classes on Roma culture in my home town.

Many children are ashamed of their background. And I was in that situation due to my mixed Bulgaria-Roma origin.

With my teaching activity, I aim to boost the children's self-confidence.

Another project I am involved in is a women's group that supports vulnerable families. As a keen poet, at our gatherings, I particularly love to share my poetry pieces. Using figurative language it is easier to discuss uncomfortable issues.

We also work with negative stereotypes against Roma women with different educational community events in collaboration with local social services.

In fact, Roma women are wonderful mothers and their experiences can be appied in different communities! At the annual competition for the best mothers in Sliven, a Roma woman who raised ten children besides her own became the winner.

In Sliven, we organize many events where families from Bulgarian and Roma communities meet and share their experiences on how to take care of children.

We need to open our hearts and souls and spread goodness.

If we pass on the good, like a boomerang, the time will come, and people will become better.

The main goal of the platform Dialogues for the Future of Botevgrad is to connect active people to generate ideas and actions for the city development by improving culture and education, sports and tourism, and other social matters.

Citizens use the platform to complain and inform specialists about the identified problems and discuss possible solutions.

The main idea is to submit a complaint and offer a solution at the same time.

To bring about a change, try working in a structured way with like-minded people, whether within the neighbourhood or a working group.

It's not enough to like something on Facebook to show that you are engaged. It has nothing to do with any real commitment.

Engagement is when you take something into your own hands, write a proposal, or form an initiative.

At the Centre, I research and write about the issues related to climate change and human health.

Our goal is to produce high-quality content on climate change to reach and engage as many people as possible.

The challenge is a lack of data for research and a low interest of the Bulgarian health authorities in the problem.

I think that will change soon. There has been great public interest in such information over the past years.

I can advise everyone to constantly develop and enrich their networks; participate in different training or seminars.

There is always some person or information that can be inspiring.

I created a platform that allows people to find groups for practising sports or organize online training. Many ideas were borrowed from Germany, where I lived for several years.

My biggest achievement was last year's '100 Days of Sports in Ruse' initiative.

The project brought together hundreds of people who participated in 30 sports in 100 days.

In addition to sports initiatives, I organize voluntary clean-ups and planting of trees in Ruse.

An attempt to do something is essential, even if it fails. I have a lot of experience in failed projects.

Every time, I learn from my mistakes, and this helps me understand how to be helpful to other volunteers involved in my cause.

Bear in mind: volunteer initiatives do not have a financial dimension, and it's impossible to measure their impact quickly.

"Stand by me" is a recent art installation by the Center for Social Rehabilitation and Integration Chaika and Varna Day Care Center for Adults with Disabilities Riviera

We prepared it for International Women Day with the financial support of the Bulgarian Women's Fund.

The project represents two giant shoes placed in one of the popular Varna public spots - at the entrance to the Sea Garden.

Everyone could wear the two giant shoes and, in this way, metaphorically put oneself into the shoes of people with intellectual disability.

In this way, we drew the public's attention to the needs of people with mental health problems.

Now the installation is in the centre Chaika. Welcome to try the shoes on!

Last August, I organized the environmental initiative For AseNOVgrad. Its goal was to wake up the people of my home town and together tackle environmental issues through cleaning the public places and organising community art gatherings.

It all started with a clean-up of the two largest local parks.

Passers-by, seeing our small group cleaning the area, started joining us. Gradually, more than 30 strangers worked together like good friends.

That day among the volunteers were employees of the Municipality of Asenovgrad and the owners of the restaurant "Summer Cinema".

Since then, together with my team, we have implemented with the help of my supporters more than ten environmental projects: clean-ups, environmental art exhibitions and workshops.

For most of them, neither a lot of money nor a lot of resources are required.

It's enough to have the desire to take small steps and start something with the people around oneself to inspire others.

For more than three years, I have been actively involved in projects dedicated to cleaning up and park regeneration in my hometown Pleven.

Everyone can start an initiative by examining old photos, as we did, and see what was in this place, for example, 50 years ago.

And then you can also say to yourself: 'Our park might look like this again.'

Additionally, try involving as many institutions as possible. And don't be discouraged by their initial indifference. When we started, no one wanted to help us.

But now, things are changing. Each of our clean-ups gathers up to 50 people.

We also have two renovation projects – a park chessboard, which used to be there 40 years ago, and an area for kissing.

With our Feminist Library team, we spread the past and present history of women's struggles, as well as Feminist mobilizations.

In this way, we actively fight against violence against women and the patriarchy in general through protests.

I also participate in the self-organized social space Factory Autonomy in Sofia and organize creative classes for children applying fine arts.

The best advice I want to share is - let our imaginations run wild.

Simply believe that a radically different and better world is really possible, and build it through things that bring us joy and pleasure.

I started my professional career as a volunteer in a non-governmental organization that works with young people.

It happened by accident, and for the first time, I got acquainted with people experiencing poverty, exploitation, marginalization, segregation.

The most striking thing for me was that it is a bitter reality for so many young Bulgarians.

I consider myself a person fighting for social justice, and my goal is to be helpful to those who look for opportunities to deal with difficult situations.

From May 2018 until now, I've been working in the Association "Academica-We, Citizens".

Additionally, I am a consultant to the "Project Generation Platform 2020-2023" and "Active Citizens Fund", "Open Society Institute", further evaluating projects in the social sphere and the NGO sector.

The Academica-We, the Citizens Association works with pro-Roma organizations, minority, discriminated and marginalized groups.

Our goals are to develop a civil society and democratic institutions, motivate young people through social entrepreneurship and volunteering, and support women's freedoms and rights.

And because everyone makes mistakes, I particularly love the fact that our support is about giving a second chance.

I am a recent graduate in Geography and Pedagogy. It's where my passion for learning about the environment and its protection comes from.

I'm doing it with a great team of creative people with whom we create and promote the idea of ​​free play for children in nature.

Our main goal is to involve families, teachers, social workers and all people who work in education or take care of children.

Together, we can ​​create a healthy and accessible educational environment.

With the activities of the association "Play and Nature", we inform the public about the qualities of the natural environment, how to take care of it and how to be part of it without violating its integrity.

The advice I can give to others is to never give up on your goals. With hard work and insistence there are no impossible things!

Our initiatives aim to improve many areas of life in our region and introduce new practices.

For example, the introduction of instrumental and orchestral music, which has never been popular in Haskovo.

It took several years for people to start appreciating these genres. Now our orchestra attracts new musicians and gathers many spectators.

We particularly focus on new collaborations, and one of my latest initiatives is related to the development of new ideas and building partnerships.

My experience shows that often the most splendid idea is not implemented, but it is part of the process. Dreams are an inexhaustible resource!

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