Four Organisations, One Shared Direction
1 June is Children’s Day. For us, it is also an opportunity to look a little further ahead – to the moment when children grow up and become young adults.
Over the past few months, this has been at the heart of a series of partnership meetings within PACT/129 “Different, but Together – Artivism for Equality, Human Dignity and Solidarity” – exploring how we can create more opportunities for young people with disabilities to connect with others, create, participate and be an active part of their communities.
During our meetings in Varna and Burgas, we distributed roles and responsibilities among the four partner organisations, agreed on coordination arrangements and the working schedule, and began preparing the #DifferentButTogether online platform and gallery, as well as the initiative’s visual identity.
We focused specifically on how to reach young people aged 18–29. We identified opportunities to establish contacts with social services and Family-Type Residential Centres (FTCs) in Varna, Topoli and Aksakovo, explored the possibility of involving a Scout organisation, and discussed how to use our local partner networks in Varna and Burgas.
An important part of our meetings was also the preparation of the Art Camps in Varna and Burgas. We discussed initial options for venues, participants and organisation, and agreed that the detailed concept would be developed jointly by the four partner organisations during the upcoming team training.
We have already made one important decision: on 8, 9 and 10 July, we will come together at Salla Estate in the village of Blaskovo for a three-day training programme on the rights and values of the European Union. We have clarified the participants, accommodation, meals and key training topics – human dignity, equality, tolerance, acceptance, solidarity, inclusion, active participation and the rights of persons with disabilities.
We have also set aside time for joint partnership work, during which we will take the next important step – detailed planning of the Art Camps and exploring how ARTIVISM can transform European values into experiences expressed through art.
And perhaps it is no coincidence that one of these working meetings takes place on 1 June.
Because every child grows up. And when they do, they should continue to have friends, opportunities, choices, a voice and a place in the community.
That is exactly what we are working for.
Different, but Together.
The initiative is implemented within the framework of PACT/129 “Different, but Together – Artivism for Equality, Human Dignity and Solidarity”, funded by the European Union and the Open Society Institute – Sofia Foundation (OSIS).