One of the main reason to meet in Bulgaria was to discus the final outcome of all the enquiries, investigation and research. After a long debate we came up with the following outcome.
TOPIC 1 – active European citizenship
Opinion Youth.
Bulgaria: There is not enough information about: the European Union, project possibilities, intercultural learning, youth issues and volunteering work.
Estonia: Youngsters don’t have sufficient knowledge about the opportunities for them in Europe. Also there is not enough support to realize projects.
Netherlands: A lot of youth from our region / community feel like Europeans. But young people miss information and do not know where to find the budget to set up projects.
Denmark: It is important for Danish youngsters to take part in a European society because it gives the youngsters so many opportunities.
Italy: our youth do not know much about European possibilities, both because of a lack of information about it and a lack of interest in this topic.
Opinion Policy makers.
Italian politicians believe in Europe and think it is important to create synergies between different realities. They are aware of the existence of European programs but they think they are not well advertised.
Bulgaria; They consider that for those who search there are enough opportunities for participation. They suggest that schools have to collaborate better with youth centres.
Netherlands: Our politicians thinks it’s a good initiative and they encourage it. They hope that youth from the region will be more interested in Europe.
Danish politicians are trying to reach everyone through interactive information campaigns. They are aware of the European dimension but it’s also far away from them.
Estonia: European vs. local awareness? There is plenty of information about EU. The essence of local government should be explained more: connections between EU and local level and which exactly the power range of making decisions is.
Overall outcome …..
Information about the European Union is not equally spread and the accessibility differs from country to country. Youngsters miss the direct link between EU and their life.
Youth can search on the internet to find more EU info but the EU websites are not youngster friendly and they do not appeal to the young people.
The distance between the youth and the European Union is big. Brussels feels far away.
Brussels expects that youth will come to them instead of they going to them.
More knowledge about the EU can lead to a better understanding.
The youth want to be more informed about the European Union.
The government needs to spread more information about the European Union.
European Union is not as popular as Brad Pitt or Kylie Minoque.
Make recommendations about the EU to make it popular.
We recommend to make special Youth groups that’s has only one task and that’s to promote the European Union.
Slogan: Democracy is our playground.
TOPIC 2 – Structure for the youth council
Opinion Youth.
Italy: The youth council is not known by Italian youth unless they are involved in it. They think politicians should pay more attention to them.
Denmark: We all have different problems to approach the youngsters. We have problems to get in contact with local policy makers, rules and budget.
Estonia: The connection with politicians is good but there should be more self-initiated projects which include the local youngsters
Bulgaria; In some schools youth councils exist and are actually supported by NGOs or youth centers. Young people there are active.
The Netherlands: It’s normal that we have school councils because it is forced by law. Youth councils should have the same priority as school councils. In our region we are lucky to take part in a well organized youth council that is organizing all kinds of projects and workshops.
Opinion Policy makers.
The Danish Government came to the conclusion that the task of gearing Denmark for the future can’t be carried out by the Government/Parliament alone. Everyone should take their share of responsibility to innovate. There is a big role for young people in this process.
The Netherlands; priority to youth councils given from Dutch politicians is different from region to region. It’s also dependent on the personal interest of policy makers. In general there is good cooperation and structure between youth councils and local politicians in Holland. So there are many roads to success.
Italians politicians are aware that this is a new phenomenon and they are willing to support it by giving a budget and by taking it into consideration. But they are against the idea of paying the youth council's members for their participation.
In Estonia the policy makers see youth councils as a link between town government and youngsters. The election system should be improved to decrease the fluency of membership and improve continuity in the process. A second option is not to consider fluency as a problem- it keeps the ideas fresh.
Bulgaria: There is a municipal youth development strategy but doesn’t work properly. Youth participation could influence decision making.
Overall outcome….
All the youth councils should be more organized on the initiative of policy makers. Ideally every town would have a youth council. The structure and opportunities should be the same throughout Europe. There should be better connection between youth councils and schools.
Youth counsels should work with their own budget and under independent organizations to avoid the conflict of interest of making decisions at a government level.
Slogan: The future needs You(th)
TOPIC 3 – Passive youth
Opinion Youth.
The Bulgarian youth think that activities for youth should be more attractive for them. To have safe activities with free entrance is important. Activities especially for young people in rural areas should be a priority as they are mostly forgotten.
Danish schools can be an important instrument to activate passive youth. It’s been proved that the right information is essential.
Estonian youngsters have a big workload in school. Not all of them can manage to be effective in school and be active out of the school.
According to the Italian youngsters, passive youth is a phenomenon that exists in Italy but they think this is starting to change positively.
Some Dutch youngsters are occupied with school, part time jobs, etc. Attempts to activate passive youth should start at schools and in local initiatives.
Opinion Policy makers.
The Bulgarian government wants to develop more programs for non-formal education and to recruit more youth workers and experts to avoid youth being passive. Parents also have to contribute. But the budget is often not available.
Politicians of Italy think passive youth is a problem; they found the origin of it in a negative approach to youngster from adults. They believe more opportunities should be given despite the low participation.
Estonia: If a person is happy in his/ her passivity, is there any need to influence him/ her? We should more focus on these young people who wants to be active but have a lack of resources.
Danish organization should match more with adventures. The Government is trying to encourage the traditionally passive population to become more innovative and active.
The Dutch local authorities try to get in contact with the youth to get them activated and interested in the local community. More structural youth work can be a solution but budget is not sufficient to make that happen.
Overall outcome….
In every country there are passive youngsters but the reasons to become passive are different in each country.
We have to improve the economic situation in some of the EU countries and give priorities to develop the lower class.
To give some opportunities to those who never tasted the cake, to let them eat the cake and to let them eat more if they like it. Preferably they start baking themselves after this.
There’s nothing wrong to be passive as long it’s your own choice, but also the government has to create possibilities where youngster can be active, like a youth council, structural youth work and to initiate different workshops/playgrounds, etc
Slogan: Passive or active, you choose
TOPIC 4 – Leisure time opportunities
Opinion Youth.
In the Netherlands we have opportunities for leisure time. Youth clubs and NGOs should be more aware what is trendy nowadays and appeal to them.
Italian youth claim that leisure time opportunities are enough, the main fields they are involved are sport and parish activities.
The existing opportunities don’t fascinate the Estonian youngsters any more. There’s a need for extreme sports opportunities and information should be more accessible.
In Denmark there are enough opportunities, but are they accessible and are they interesting enough?
In Bulgaria there are not so many opportunities and not always accessible for everybody. Youth clubs and NGOs should work together with the schools to attract young people.
Opinion Policy makers.
Italian politicians think that youth has lost the meaning of free time, they think that youth do not do something constructive and that they pass most of the time at pubs or clubs.
Estonian youngsters should show more self-initiative and write projects so the Municipal Authorities could help them. Because of the low amount of inhabitants it’s not reasonable to build a big extreme sport center.
Denmark has a long tradition for the freedom to establish associations. Many Danish in their leisure time engage in these partly because politicians might impose legal restrictions
Dutch authorities are willing to stimulate local youth initiatives and give budget for organizing activities. Unfortunately it will not come in structural funding.
The Bulgarian government has a leading role to inform teachers, youth organizations and parents about the leisure time activities that they provide. There are funds to develop such information campaigns.
Overall outcome….
There are many opportunities for leisure time but they don’t fascinate youngsters any more.
Old fashioned activities kill the fun, not trendy any more, boring.
There should be equal opportunities. Young people have the right to take part any kind activity and it shouldn’t depend on many.
A structural budget is a good method to activate young people and the budget should not based on what is left over in the total budget of a city or on priorities.
Recommendation. Youngsters should be motivated through good opportunities and financing.
TOPIC 5 – School system and dropouts
Opinion Youth.
The Estonia youngsters would like to have bigger amount of elective studies. Each student should be looked upon as an individual
Italian youth think that school drop-outs are not a problem because, especially in their region, there are enough work opportunities.
The Danish government should be aware that the schools need a study buddy in class to help students who want to learn but come from a lower social economical background.
Dutch youth that leave early school should have a whole social safety net before they become drop outs.
Youth in Bulgaria think that education is boring and old fashioned. The expectations to get good qualifications are not high. To avoid the amount of drop outs, the system has been changed.
Opinion Policy makers.
The Bulgarian Ministry of education changes the books, materials and trained teachers to use interactive methods of teaching. It’s a first step, but there is a long way to go.
Danish Politicians are aware of what happens in schools. Right now they are focus on the improvement of education.
Estonia: This subject should be closed because the lack of the students makes that the schools are competing for every student. It´s impossible to force everybody to get the basic education
In the Netherlands there are facilities for drop outs. And there is good cooperation between authorities, local NGO’s and schools.
Italian politicians think school drop-outs should be prevented by establishing a dialogue between institutions, schools and families. The school system should be improved and nearer to the local realities.
Overall outcome….
The school is too busy with producing youngsters for the labor market instead of focusing on individuality. The school is a learning factory which produces for the market.
The school is overloading the youngsters with information and this makes them stressed.
Most of the schools teach in an old fashioned and not interesting way.
A lot of pressure on the shoulders of young people, because of expectations of society and schools, makes some youngsters passive.
Slogan: Don’t stay off line Be connected!
TOPIC 6 – Career opportunities
Opinion Youth.
The Dutch youth from rural areas are sometimes forced to leave their region because of a lack of jobs.
Italian youth think that career opportunities should be connected with ambitions and talent. In Estonia there should be more possibilities to explore a variety of professions. Also the amount of jobs and study opportunities has to increase.
Danish youth think that career opportunities should be based on talent instead of age, sex or nationality. The government has to connect the different Danish schools to the educational systems of Europe.
In Bulgaria we have the problem that many young people escape from Bulgaria in order to find a better job. When they can’t find a job they live for a longer time with their parents.
Opinion Policy makers.
Policymakers of Italy think that career opportunities should be based on personal skills and abilities. They think that mobility is good, and that youngsters should not expect to find work near home.
Local Dutch authorities are trying to create more jobs in the local area. Policy makers are aware that investment in jobs can provide a good harvest, a spin off in the future.
The Bulgarian government tries to influence companies to create working places for young people in the regions and areas they live.
The Estonian municipal authorities can make the infrastructure for companies, which will bring jobs for people, but the city hall doesn’t engage in business.
Danish politicians have focused on giving training and career development and opportunities for employment, education and working conditions based on personal interest instead of nationality and social background.
Overall outcome….
Some of the countries don’t have enough career opportunities. Young people are forced to move into the big cities to have a career and the small cities are getting smaller and opportunities there are getting less.
Recommendation. Local authority should focus more on what the local environment can offer to develop jobs and career opportunities.
TOPIC 7 – Voluntary work
Opinion Youth.
In Estonia the information about volunteering is hardly available. Politicians should support volunteers more and should upgrade their position.
Not many youth from the Netherlands are aware whether or not they are involved in volunteering work. Volunteering has a very dusty image amongst young people. The ones that do volunteering work have to be rewarded more.
Bulgarian youth like the idea of volunteering work, but have no motivation. It’s not recognized and young people need money to live independently.
Italian youth think that voluntary work is positive because it unites society creating links with people that have different needs.
Danish volunteers often make a difference so it would be a great help when politicians could
help out to inform, to promote and to support volunteering work.
Opinion Policy makers.
Italian politicians consider voluntary work a resource. They are aware that this reality is widespread in our local area and they think that it should be better promoted but that voluntary workers should not get paid.
Estonia authorities think that volunteering work starts from home, and family and old people. The real problem is lack of motivation and information.
The Danish politicians are making promotions through campaigns for those who are related to the people who are in need. It is up to the public to choose to do volunteer work and to make the change.
In Bulgaria the authorities develop programs to promote volunteering. Economic difficulties are obstacles to motivate youngsters to be active volunteers. Parents should also set an example.
The Dutch government highly respects volunteering work. There are special organisations in the field to promote volunteering work. Despite this it’s difficult to find young volunteers because a lack of knowledge about volunteer work.
Overall outcome….
Some people do not realize that volunteering can give you an experience which is more valuable than money. In some countries the system for volunteering activities is underdeveloped.
Doing voluntary work in another country can be stimulating for youngsters to start volunteering at home. Experiences which were gained in other countries can be brought home.
Volunteering should be recognized as a vital part of a healthy society. Governments should promote, support and facilitate volunteers and voluntary work in their countries. Young people that are involved in volunteer work have to be rewarded (free library card)
Voluntary work is not voluntarily/for free
Voluntary work, no money but rich anyway!
TOPIC 8 – Environmental awareness
Opinion Youth.
There is in Bulgaria no environmental awareness. People throw garbage everywhere. There are lots of old cars on the streets. Schools don’t teach anything about the environment. Parents are a bad example for their kids.
Dutch youth are aware of the environment and there are several projects at schools to teach awareness from an early age.
Estonia: Acting environmentally friendly is a rising trend. There could be more discussion about it and practical notes for that in schools.
Italian youngsters see an increase in environmental awareness. They think government does not give enough means to preserve nature.
Danish youth are aware of the Earth that we are living on. We have to save nature and be responsible. A planet full of garbage isn’t worth living on.
Opinion Policy makers.
In Estonia the policy makers think that sorting the garbage is just the top of the iceberg. Industry sees saving the environment as a threat. It’s hard to find the balance between saving the environment and retaining economical improvement.
Policy makers in the Netherlands are aware of the rising environmental problems. They confirm that more information and cooperation with schools and eco NGOs can be a solution.
Italian politicians affirm that we are witnessing an increasing sense of respect for the environment from people, To foster this sense they are also cooperating with some Eco-organization and with schools.
The Danish Government is highly aware about the environment in Denmark. This is one of the main topics in Denmark. The government is running campaigns to reach the society to make people more aware of the environment.
In Bulgaria the government regard it as a serous global problem. In Bulgaria there is not a political structure for the environment. There’s no regular ecological information.
Overall outcome….
People should think more at a global scale when they want to solve environmental topics.
There should be more information spread to people about how to act ‘green’.
It’s not just about the garbage. You also have to think how to make less garbage.
Environment should have the full attention at home, at schools, in city halls, in the parliaments and always.
Slogan: Greenpeace: No Time To Waste! // Cool to be green (by Kermit)
TOPIC 9 – Alcohol and Drugs.
Opinion Youth.
In the Netherlands there is a general awareness amongst youth about the dangers of alcohol and drugs. The law gives a safe playground for experiment with alcohol and soft drugs. Alcohol is more accepted in our community than drugs. The amount of youth that is using drugs is decreasing.
Bulgaria youth drink, mainly because there is nothing else to do. Drugs are easy to find. Unfortunately there are no preventative projects running.
Italians youngster believe restrictive policies do not work, the also think that the network of information works well.
Alcohol and drugs is a big problem in Denmark. Youngsters should be taught to take more responsibility. Society should be made aware of the dangers through promotion and campaigns.
In Estonia the use of alcohol is widely spread amongst youngsters. The image of drinking youth however is not considered as normal. Drugs is not a big issue.
Opinion Policy makers.
The Bulgarian government should take a leading role to support schools and youth centers to create more prevention and health campaigns for parents, youth and children.
Danish politicians are very aware of the problem among youth in the society and they have created preventative campaigns. More information should teach youngsters to be more responsible with alcohol and drugs.
The Dutch government is active in campaigns about the danger of alcohol and drugs. They are aware of the problem and are at the moment more focussed on the problems that it gives than on the preventative side of this issue.
Italian politicians think that alcohol and drugs is a big problem for young people. This problem is not only a social problem but it is related with the local culture. They think repression is not a good policy.
In Estonia the awareness of the influence of drugs and alcohol is too low. There should be more discussion about it in schools
Overall outcome….
All the 5 countries, according to the interviews, consider drugs as a possible problem and they are worried about it.
Preventative activities should start from the family. There should be more preventative activities around alcohol and drugs in all countries.
The experience in all 5 countries is that the amount of drug users is not bigger than 10 years ago but they use more alcohol and drug per person now. There should be more preventative activities especially for parents and school. There should be an emphasis on the healthy use of drugs.
Slogan: Only fools kill their own life
TOPIC 10 – Xenophobia
Opinion Youth.
Youngsters in the Netherlands have a growing fear of the unknown. The intercultural dimension in our region should lead to a dialogue instead of an “us against them” feeling.
According to the Italian youth xenophobia is a phenomenon that exists, and social integration is difficult to establish.
Unfortunately there aren’t enough opportunities in Estonia to explore people from totally different cultures but there is a great interest of that.
It’s not only a main topic in Denmark: It’s a problem in every country. Although it’s different in every country, in a way, the main problem is the same. We all fear something different or new, therefore we must be open minded.
Discrimination in Bulgaria against minorities exists in our country. In general people have equal rights and should access for education and job.
Opinion Policy makers.
The Danish Government is aware of this topic. They try to make the society better through their foreign policies. It takes time to solve the problem, and society must help immigrants to integrate.
There are immigrants from many different countries in the Netherlands. Besides this we have a very diverse society. The government gives a lot of attention to build bridges between the different cultural groups to fight xenophobia.
Policymakers of Italy are aware of the presence of minorities; they disagree on the methods to use for fostering integration: some think its a government duty but others think it is an immigrant’s duty.
Racism isn’t that big an issue in Estonia. We should more focus on school bullying and problems which are based on differences of characters and statements
Each municipality in Bulgaria has their social integration programs and strategy to prevent discrimination. The government gives information about social inclusion projects
Overall outcome….
Some immigrants don’t want to be integrated and there are also not enough possibilities for that.
Make sure that people don’t have to emigrate, invest in the countries where immigrants come from .
There is also national xenophobia (Estonians- Russians, Bulgarians- Turkish , North and South Italy) and tension between social groups (city-country side, rich – poor, homosexuals-heterosexuals, educated – non educated, etc)
Not all people are xenophobes but it seems that it is a growing topic nowadays.
Xenophobia can be prevented with education. Kids that are brought up with an open mind will be prepared to live in a multicultural society.
Recommendation. To create a tolerant environment there should be debates and also more information spread out.
Quote: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though
passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely
they will be, by the better angels of our nature”.
TOPIC 11 – Health care
Opinion Youth.
Italian youngsters think that public health is well performed, especially in their region, and present some cases of excellence.
Danish youth is satisfied with the health care system. Maybe create better facilities for the handicapped and more focus on mental health care.
Youngsters from the Netherlands are satisfied with the health care system, although there is an increase of youngsters that doesn’t use the health care system because of financial reasons.
Bulgarian parents take care of their children’s health. Despite the fact that they pay health care insurance, the service in hospital is very bad and often you have to go again to the doctor.
Estonian youth think that the availability of health care is reasonable but not the quality. There is not enough attention to mental health.
Opinion Policy makers.
The health care service in Bulgaria has recently changed. The government uses measures to control the fees and taxes for health. They need extra funding for medical equipment
Health care in the Netherlands is well organised and hardly gives any problems. Government is encouraging people to start a better and healthy life style.
The health care in Estonia is a big problem because of the lack of financial resource. People should pay more attention to their health and lifestyle and take more care of themselves.
Italian politicians affirm that in our region public health is well organized, it works and it presents some centres of excellence. They also claim that there is a process oriented towards improving health services.
The Danish government supports a healthy lifestyle. The government has improved over the last 10 years the health care system through an increase of the budget for hospitals.
Overall outcome….
Upgrade the profession of doctors and nurses.
The quality of health care should not be related to the region but to personal interest and development.
Stimulate people to go for a healthy lifestyle.
Slogan: Take care of yourselves
TOPIC 12 – Improve infrastructure
Opinion Youth.
The youth of Italy think that public transport should be improved, they feel that there is no policy oriented to help them to be independent.
The Danish government has to improve public transport and provide access to everybody, under the condition that it’s affordable. Internet should be free and available for everyone.
In Bulgaria there is no such thing as improving infrastructure. Youth should have a discount on busses and trains to promote public transport.
Public transport in the Netherlands is good. There are special roads for bikes and youth feel safe to use them. Internet should be for free and available for everybody.
On the island of Saaremaa (Estonia) we do have a physical bridge to the mainland: we should develop the virtual one more: e-work centre.
Opinion Policy makers.
Main priority for the Government is to implement the necessary economic infrastructure. This is to ensure that Denmark will be capable of globalization and expanding welfare.
In Bulgaria there is simply a lack of money that will improve the infrastructure network in the country. More external funding and experience is required.
Italian policymakers are aware of the lack in the public transport system, they believe this is due to cultural reasons (massive use of private transport). They also are aware of the lack of policies for youth.
Estonian Infrastructure improvement is the way to make the well-being and living environment better. Roads should be good quality and safe to use. Internet should be for everyone and for free.
The Dutch government is responsible for infra structure and provides us with good roads and adequate public transport. The influence of commercial businesses will not make it easy to provide everybody with free internet.
Overall outcome….
Public transport should be available for everyone at a reasonable price.
There should me more opportunities to ride safely on a bike (special roads)
To provide young students with the possibility to become more independent from their family the school infrastructure should be more focused on the needs of young people.
Slogan: Don’t miss the last bus
HURRAH.
