Our project consortium agreed to organise the second transnational partners’ meeting and the train the trainers event in Istanbul, Turkey on 14th October 2022. at Şehi̇t Mehmet Karaaslan Uluslararası Kız Anadolu İmam Hati̇p Li̇sesi̇, Turkeye (address: Bahçelievler Merkez, 13, Erde Sk., 34180 Bahçelievler/İstanbul, Тurkeye, 34180, Istanbul). We welcome all interested stakeholders to join us.

Event link: https://www.erasmusdays.eu/event/visage4jobs-train-the-trainers-workshop-and-transnational-partners-meeting-13-14-october-2022-istanbul-turkey/ 

In the period 28-30 September 2022 a national conference was held in the city of Varna on the topic: “The Impact of the Erasmus+ Program on the Development of Youth, Tourism and the Vocational Education and Training Sector in Bulgaria”. The conference was organized by the Human Resources Development Center and the National VET Expert Team. The event was attended by representatives of universities, schools, professional training centers, information and professional guidance centers, as well as representatives of tourist organizations, chambers of commerce, National agency on VET, etc.

The official guest of the event was Mr. Petar Buchkov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, who welcomed the participants and presented the innovations in youth policies and the expected new project programs that the ministry will launch in the coming months. Ms. Lyudmila Nenkova, co-chair of the Varna Tourist Chamber, also addressed the audience.

An important emphasis was placed on the main priority of the Erasmus+ Program on the social inclusion and labor market integration of students from vulnerable and marginalized groups in society – persons with disabilities, persons of Roma origin, etc. In this regard, Mrs. Stanislava Stancheva from the PG on SS “Ivan Vl. Michurin”, Dolni chiflik presented good practices related to the environment, motivation for career and education.

New opportunities for marginalized students for preparation and implementation in the labor market were also presented by Mr. Andrean Lazarov, National VET consultant and CEO of the Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team, who presented the “VISAGE4JOBS” model.

Training seminar with regards to the implementation of inclusive education in Bulgaria and draft presentation of the VISAGE4JOBS project results was held on 10-11 July 2022  in Bulgaria.

55 teachers and resource teachers from 94 SU “Dimitar Strashimirov” were trained with regards to tools and good practices, which may help them on better integration and realisation of accessible learning in Bulgaria with regards to the latest recommendations and strategies offered by the European agency for special needs and inclusive education.

As National accredited consultant on Vocational education and training to the Ministry of education and science in Bulgaria, the CEO of Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team – Mr. Andrean Lazarov was the major speaker at the seminar together with Mrs. Latinka Kovacheva and Mrs. Penka Nikolova from 94 SU. The training seminar was accompanied by practical session including creation of inclusive practices on different subjects as part of the vocational curriculum in Bulgaria.

Our team was invited to the opening of the the Tenth Jubilee European Forum of the Subjects of the Social and Solidarity Economy, which is being held in the fair town in Plovdiv. The event includes over 100 enterprises, cooperatives and non-governmental organizations from Bulgaria and abroad and more than 50 companies from the conventional business. We have distributed project leaflets and were able to speak with representatives from educational and social services, who are working with marginalised youth.

The anniversary edition was opened by Vice President Iliyana Yotova, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nikola Schmitt, Minister of Social Affairs Georgi Gyokov, Minister of Agriculture Ivan Ivanov and Minister of Tourism Hristo Prodanov. According to EU data presented at the Scientific and Practical Conference “Modern Business Models for Social Support”, over 13.6 million Europeans work in the social economy. 90 percent of social enterprises declare that in crisis conditions they introduce at least one market innovation at the time of their foundation.

The International Summer School under the European Alliance project “INVEST” was held in the Plovdiv at the Leipzig Hotel. The event topic was “Ensuring the quality of public services for sustainable regional development”, hosted by University of Agribusiness and Regional Development. The summer school is attended by students from University of Thessaly, Greece, the Karelia University of Applied Sciences, Finland, the Van Hall Lahrenstein University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands, the Slovak Agrarian University in Nitra and the Graduate School of Agribusiness and Development of the regions.

The introductory lecture was by Mr. Andrean Lazarov, who emphasized the need for an inclusive approach in the development of education and, in particular, how the European  Alliances may contribute with their activities to the practical application of the principles of universal teaching design. He also introduced the concept of “VISAGE4JOBS” project.

During the virtual two weeks of the summer school, students worked on individual assignments related to the four themes: Quality in education and training, Social services and social inclusion, Social innovation and sustainable regional development, Social entrepreneurship. This week they presented their developments, and the most original ideas was awarded.

The 31st EURASHE Annual Conference ‘Next Generation PHE: Skills relevance, Inclusion, Digitalisation, Innovation’ took place on the 23-24 May 2022 in Brussels at the EPHEC campus. The conference discussed the most pressing issues in Europe in relation to COVID-19 and the role of professional higher education (PHE) to recovery and resilience summarized in four key words: skills relevance, innovation, digitalisation and inclusion. The conference had its particular focus on European Commission’s policy priorities and addressed the EU key initiatives, such as  the New Skills Agenda, Mission orientated R&I and Smart Specialisation. In the European Year of Youth students were put at the center of discussions. 10 students from all around Europe came to the EURASHE31 Annual Conference and shared their insights about the Next Generation PHE.

Welcoming words were given by Pierre-Yves Jeholet – Minister-President of the Government of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, Armando Pires – EURASHE President, Emmanuelle Havrenne – Vice-Chancellor and Managing Director, Haute École EPHEC, Laurent Despy – Administrator, Academy for Research and Higher Education – ARES, Mariya Gabriel (video message) – European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.

Keynote speeches were delivered by Antoine Kasel – Head of Cabinet of European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, Luciana Vaccaro – Rector, Haute École spécialisée de Suisse occidentale, Chair UAS4Europe, and Victoria Kis – Policy Analyst, OECD.

Our project was represented by Mr. Andrean Lazarov, CEO and General project manager of Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team, who participated at keynote speaker at a special breakout session, which raised a huge interest.

The kick-off transnational partners meeting was conducted on 14-15 April 2022 at 94 SU “Dimitar Strashimirov” in Sofia, Bulgaria. The meeting was attended by representatives of all partners’ organisations – 94 High School “Dimitar Strashimirov”, Sofia, Bulgaria (Project coordinator), World Innovative Sustainable Solutions, Istanbul, Turkeye, Uluslararası Şehit Mehmet Karaarslan Kiz Anadolu Imam Hatip Lisesi, Istanbul, Turkeye and Bulgarian Inclusion Support Team, Sofia, Bulgaria. The meeting was attended by the Regional Mayor of Slatina district Mr. Georgi Iliev. He declared the support on behalf of Sofia Metropolitan Municipality. He appreciated the partners’ efforts towards labour market inclusion of Roma students and youth with special needs. The meeting was attended by 43 teachers from the school, who provided feedback on the project concept and expected results.

Then, the meeting continued with administrative and project management activities. There was a presentation of the quality assurance and internal evaluation strategy and tools and discussion about National advisory boards and their role in the project. Partner WINSS presented the dissemination strategy and tools and the partners discussed about the creation of project website and social media pages as well as the production of project leaflet and poster.

The second meeting day was dedicated to the celebration of literacy at primary students, which was attended by the partners.

After that, the meeting continued with detailed discussions abut the draft structure of the pre-employment school career guidance programme toolkit based on Carl Rogers person centered methodology.

Upon completion of the grant agreement with the Human Resource Development Centre (The Bulgarian National Agency of Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Programmes) our project officially started on 1st March 2022. The project coordinator Mrs. Latinka Kovacheva conducted the first online meeting via ZOOM, where she started the planning of the project activities. The partners agreed on the kick-off meeting dates, which will be 14th and 15th of April 2022 in the premisses of the 94 SU “Dimitar Strashimirov”.