Representations   Bulgaria

Name

Младежко сдружение за мир и развитие на Балканите
Youth Society for Peace and Development of the Balkans - YSPDB

Type of Members

Individuals

Including NGO leaders, students from schools and universities, young people and ordinary citizens.

Amount of members

104

NGO leaders (4)
Students from schools (19)
Students from universities (57)
Young people and citizens (24)

General Assembly

100

Budget

The total budget is around € 75,000.

Organisation's Staff

4 members of staff.

Year of Foundation

2001

The Youth Society for Peace and Development of the Balkans was created in 1998 as an informal alliance of NGO leaders. In the middle of 2001 it was officially registered as an NGO according to Bulgarian legislation.

Basic Structure

Basic structure

Other Student Unions

There are many regional or municipal student organizations.

Student Representations

Each secondary school has its student council, pedagogical council and school board. Only in the school board representatives from different fields can be present. There are parents involved in the process of shaping the image of the school; usually they help with financial assistance.

Students at School Level

Most of the schools in the cities with a bigger population have their own student council, made up by its students. They are given certain right to propose or make changes concerning the development of the educational system.

Students in Municipal or Governmental Bodies

In Bulgaria there are certain student structures, which represent the interests of young people from one school, university or municipality in front of the municipal or governmental bodies, usually only the chairman can be present at the meetings of these institutions. Still, it is not easy for a single student to be heard, or make change in the society in general.

Success

During the 2003/2004 school year the Ministry of Education announced three months before the end of the school year that 12th grade students will be obliged to sit for school leaving exams. This left no time for preparation. The students went on strike, signed a petition and, together with the help of their parents and other institutions were able not to succeed in postponing the exams at least for one school year.

Hurdles

As mentioned before there are enough students’ organizations, where students can meet and exchange their experience. But there are times that they prove they are not well organized.

Issues

At this moment in Bulgaria there is no organization representing all the young people and consequently the government is trying to make a law, by means of which to create an organisation. The organisation will have to create local councils, but this might prove a hard assignment to full fill.

Project
School Systems
Representations
Tools
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