BRAVO Coordinator

Kick-off Meeting in Bulgaria, “MOVING”

Posted on July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 by BRAVO Coordinator

Kick-off Meeting in Bulgaria,

“Learning through mobility of sports’ volunteers” (MOVING) is a Small Collaborative Partnership in the field of Sport aiming to support the mobility of volunteers, coaches, managers and staff of nonprofit sport organizations.

The target group will be people aged 18+ interested in volunteering to explore the possibility of a career in sport as well as to further strengthen their competencies. The project seeks to answer the priority European policy challenge of supporting volunteering in the field of Sport as a vehicle of employability, economic growth and social engagement.

The partnership represents 4 countries (5 partners) at the bottom of the chart for volunteering in sports in Europe, with stable trends in the period 2013-2018 – Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Portugal.

On July 20, 2021, an initial meeting was held in Bulgaria. The realization of the “MOVING” project officially started with this meeting

MOVING will put in place activities to reach these objectives:

Support the mobility of volunteers, coaches, managers and staff of non-profit sport organizations;
Creation of a European network to facilitate the possibility for volunteers and NGOs build their own experience in the field of sports via mobility;
Fostering professional quality, attractiveness and operational results of grassroots sport organizations through exchange of best practices and development of quality professionalism of staff and volunteers through non-formal education and e-learning.

The project seeks to answer the priority European policy challenge of supporting volunteering in the field of Sport as a vehicle of employability, economic growth and social engagement.

Activities include:

Design a Research about volunteers condition, what are the activities and fields that attract most volunteers and which are the ones that prepare the most to enter the labor market in the field of Sport, other than moving patterns of volunteers across the European countries involved in the project. The European dimension of research will allow partners to achieve a wider outline of the geographical variation of the challenge as well as analyze and compare different best practices on its countering in sport and through sport;
Develop and pilot a Training Course Format for the empowerment of volunteers across 4 countries. The Format will be based on the results achieved in research and will be piloted in 4 European countries, thereby empowering a cluster of interconnected operators;
Raise awareness (online as well as offline activities) targeted at the audience of young people as well as stakeholders within and outside the field of sport;
Develop a publication in multiple language encompassing the whole process and results achieved in the activities across partner countries. The publication will be a useful resource for organizations in the fields of sport, NGO and beyond interested in boosting volunteering in sport as a vehicle of employability, economic growth and social engagement.

The project “MOVING” is co-financed by the Erasmus + program of the European Union.

If you have any questions feel free to contact

Second Transnational Meeting in Portugal, Lisbon “EU on the Move”

Posted on July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 by BRAVO Coordinator

Second Transnational Meeting in Portugal, Lisbon

One of the specific objectives pursued by the Erasmus+ Programme in the field of sport is to raise the awareness of the importance of health-enhancing physical activity, through increased participation in. With EU on the Move project, we want to address this topic because physical inactivity became not only European, but a global public health problem and because beyond health, increasing participation in physical activity has multiple mental, social, economic and environmental benefits, especially in young age.

The main aim of the EU on the Move project is to increase awareness of the importance of physical activity among children aged 7-11 (elementary school students) by additionally educating sport professionals (trainers, kinesiologists) and by implementing sport activities for children in schools/sport clubs/organizations in each partner country.

Main objectives of EU on the Move project are: raise the awareness of the importance of physical activity among children, increase physical activity levels in children, increase the proportion of children that participate in after-school sport activities, additionally educate sport professionals (trainers/kinesiologists) who work with children, combine sport with culture/ecology/nutrition and educate children on the other values through sport.

The project aim and objectives will be achieved through the implementation of 8 work packages(WPs) as follows:
– WP1. Project management, coordination and evaluation. – WP2. Development of survey and data collection. – WP3. Development of training module for trainers/kinesiologists. – WP4. Training session for trainers/kinesiologists. – WP5. Pilot project implementation. – WP6. Development of “EU on the Move” Guide. – WP7. Organization of the Final conference. – WP8. Dissemination, visibility and communication.

If you have any questions feel free to contact

Open Call for 4 Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina for Youth Exchange in Slanic Moldova, Romania

Posted on July 20, 2021July 20, 2021 by BRAVO Coordinator

Open Call for 4 Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina for Youth Exchange in

Name of the project: iTH!NK
Date of Project: 09.09.2021 – 21.09.2021.
Hosting organization: “ASOCIATIA PENTRU DEZVOLTARE ACTIVA ADA”
Sending organizations: “BRAVO“
Place: Slanic Moldova, Romania
Participants age: + 18
The number of participants : 4
Working language: English
Deadline for applying: 02.08.2021.

This project is financed by the European Commission through the Erasmus Plus Program. This publication reflects the view only of the author, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. By Erasmus+ rules organizers will cover travel costs, accommodation and food.

SUMMARY

The project’s idea was born during another youth exchange, which aimed to promote young people’s active participation in the European Parliament 2019 elections, when, during a session, we have debated the way how social media and fake news may influence decisions (of people or the decision makers) and how much important is for young people to develop critical thinking skills and their social responsibility online, but also to develop specific
competences to fight the hate speech and fake news online.

The project is focusing on the online radicalization of young people and the increasing number
of hate speech cases online and offline, because of fake news and misinformation. In the same time, most of the time, the victims of hate speech online are the young people with fewer opportunities (especially young people from different minorities). The high levels of hate speech in public space and the cyberbullying have a profound impact on the self-esteem and self-confidence of young people, which leads to further stigmatization and exclusion. As a
result of discrimination and marginalization, many young immigrants or part of national minorities face self-segregation or they start hiding and denying their ethnic and cultural identity because they want to be accepted by the majority.

PROJECT’S MAIN OBJECTIVES

To develop critical thinking skills, social responsibility online and the ability to identify fake news and hate speech online among 40 young people from 10 countries, during a 11 days youth exchange.

To raise the participation level of 40 young people from 10 different countries in fighting the online hate speech and fake news, by involving them in planning and implement one international awareness and informing campaign about the negative effect of hate speech and misinformation online upon the immigrants and young people from different minorities.

To promote the European values as tolerance, acceptance, equality, non-discrimination and cultural diversity and to develop the social inclusion opportunities for 20 young people with fewer opportunities which have faced cyberbullying because of their origin.

PROJECT’S MAIN ACTIVITIES

The project’s main activity is a youth exchange with participants from Partner countries to be held in Slanic Moldova, Romania, between 9 th of September 2021 (Arrival Day) & 21 st of September 2021 (Departure Day), with the participation of 40 young people with the age between 18 and 30 years old and 10 group leaders with the age above 18 years old, from 10 different countries: Romania, France, Albania, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Italy, Turkey, Estonia and Greece.

iTH!NK is a carefully planned social inclusion project, which aims to contribute to the personal, professional and social development of 40 young participants, of which 20 with fewer opportunities by developing a safe environment and facilitating the involvement of all young participants in all project’s phases.

During the youth exchange we will organize: teambuilding sessions; working sessions aiming to develop the young people understanding about inclusion and exclusion; a World Café aiming to identify the challenges online of the young immigrants or young people part of national minorities; working sessions about the advantages and disadvantages of using social media, rights and responsibilities online, GDPR, internet threats and online misinformation, including fake news; training sessions, games and exercises meant to develop critical thinking skills to develop critical thinking skills among the young participants; a street debate about fake news in Bacau; training sessions about online campaigns and how to fight hate speech online, including media literacy and how to develop social media content; working sessions to develop visual tools to fight fake news and cyberbullying online; an intercultural visit to Brasov and Bran (Dracula) Castle; sharing, reflection and evaluation sessions.

Before the mobility, the young people will document the causes and effects of cyberbullying and fake news online in their own country; they will prepare the intercultural evenings and some of the sessions that they will facilitate during the exchange.

After the mobility, they will organize different follow up and dissemination activities aiming to fight fake news and misinformation online.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

For your trip from Bucharest to Slanic Moldova, we will rend a bus to bring all participants from Bucharest/Otopeni Airport straight to the hotel in Slanic Moldova on 9th of September 2021 and then, from Slanic Moldova to Bucharest/Otopeni Airport on 21st of September 2021. The rented bus will leave on 9th of September 2021, first from Bucharest Gara de Nord (the main train station) and then from Otopeni Airport.

We will have volunteers waiting for you in 2 different meeting points, at both, Gara de Nord and Otopeni Airport. Most probably the rented bus will leave from Gara de Nord around 5 pm and then from Otopeni Airport around 5:30 pm, but we will decide together the departure hours taking into consideration the participants’ travel plan and when they will land in Bucharest.

If people are landing earlier (in the morning or about lunch time) they can visit Bucharest city. To arrive from Otopeni Airport to Gara de Nord (the main train station) people should take the bus no. 780. More details about the trip from the airport to the city you can ask at the airport information point. Also, at Gara de Nord (the main train station) there is a place where people can leave their luggage.

ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD

The accommodation is 100% covered by Erasmus+ Programme, between 9th of September 2021 (Check in after 14:00) and 21st of April 2019 (Check out before 12:00).

During the Youth exchange participants will be hosted at Pensiunea Poiana Verde from Slanic Moldova. The rooms will be shared between 2 or 3 people. Some of the rooms have 3 beds, others TWIN beds and a couch, others have a matrimonial/shared bed and a third bed, a matrimonial/shared bed and a couch or just a matrimonial/shared bed. If you want to share the room with someone in particular, please let us know in time.

There will be three meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and 2 coffee breaks per day. On the arrival day it is included just the dinner and on the departure day it is included both, breakfast and lunch. It is very important to tell us if you have any allergies or if is there something that you do not eat, if you are vegetarian or vegan, have a diet, etc. This is why it is important all participants to fill out carefully the application form and to not forget to send it to us before 1st of July 2021.

OTHER INFORMATION

We highly recommend you to have a medical travel insurance before coming for your staying in Romania. The medical help might be expensive here if you do not have a travel insurance.

Please bring comfortable warm clothes. The average temperatures are usually oscillating between 15 and 25 Celsius degrees during the day and 5 and 15 Celsius degrees during the night for the period when the project will be held. We will give you further information about the weather as the youth exchange gets closer.

Also, please bring your favorite music and anything else you consider necessary, including slippers, hairdryer etc. At the hotel, there is internet access and towels. We also recommend some of the participants to bring a laptop.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: To be able to cover the costs for the accommodation and food, participant needs to sign at the end of their mobility a participant statement and the participants’ list. A participant aborting his/her/their mobility (leaving earlier) means covering the accommodation and food by himself/herself for the days he misses, as there is signed an agreement with the hotel and there are involved some costs meaning that we still have to pay for the days remained from the project. Also, at the end of the mobility, each group leader must fill in the individual report, on Mobility tool website in maximum 30 days after the mobility ends, according to Erasmus+ rules.

DOCUMENTS FOR REIMBURSEMENT

For the reimbursement of the flight ticket:

The electronic ticket with the travel plan or the e-mail confirmation of your flight (the e-mail received
when the ticket was bought);
All boarding passes;
An invoice from the travel agency/website/airlines company from where the flight ticket was bought
The payment confirmation: If you paid through bank (credit card, bank transfer, online payment etc.)
you need a bank extract or a printed statement released by your bank showing the payment/transaction.

NOTE: Only the original travel documents are taken in consideration for the reimbursement. Please be sure that you have and bring all the requested documents with you in Romania during the activity, as without them we cannot make you the reimbursement.

NOTE: Aborting the mobility/leaving earlier means not receiving the return travel costs.

HERE TO APPLY

If you have any questions feel free to contact

#SportDiplomacyAcademy module was held in Rijeka

Posted on July 18, 2021July 18, 2021 by BRAVO Coordinator

#SportDiplomacyAcademy module was held

In the period 10-16 of July 2021 in Rijeka, Croatia was held the third module under the Sport Diplomacy Academy project, which aims to bring together 80 sports administrators, coaches and volunteers from 4 countries.
The first encountering of the sport diplomats after COVID-19 pandemic was emotional and desired event that was able to gather more than 50 participants from the original project group that are passionate to continue their diplomacy journey and to learn more about the module topics of successful verbal and non-verbal communication, as well the one with public authorities, public speaking and campaign creation, marketing in sports and as well – aspects of sport diplomacy, related to the forthcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.
During the module, the sport experts has discussed as well the effect of COVID on sport sector, ways forward and possibilities of providing wider place of sport in the political agenda of the recovery world.

The third module of the Sport Diplomacy Academy has been focused on public presentation and the main messages that the expert speakers, joining the sport diplomats sent was:

“Do not limit your dreams in sport” – Zdravko Ivankovic, Head of Rijeka municipality department for sports and technical culture during the official opening of the Academy;
“Sustainability is the key in communication with public authorities” – Luka Dobrović, Secretary General, Rijeka sport association for persons with disabilities;
“Sport represents one of the foundations of our society, including wide societal effect and in this aspect – the powerful tool of sport diplomacy cannot be ignored as well. European Commission strongly supports the development of European sport sector, understanding the potential of sport in our communities” – Ognian Zlatev, Head of the European Commission Representation in Croatia
“Communication should be a win-win situation, adding value to all participants in this process” – Vitomir Maričić, High level athlete
“First impression is emotional, not rational. Dress, behave, and communicate in a way that reflects the audience.” – prof. dr. sc. Zlatan Car
“Spoken words have much more power than written speech. Good presentations might look informal, but they are mostly highly organized” – Zdravko Ivankovic, Head of the city administration department for sports
“Marketing is not only business function – it is a way of thinking, business philosophy, a part of everybodies business. It is creating valie for potential customers, satisfying the customer’s needs. Sport is not exemption in this process” – Sanda Čorak, President of Croatian judo federation
“Japan’s Ping-Pong diplomacy is one of the first platforms in the history of modern times, revealing the power of sport. When political power, when diplomatic power are limited, power of sport still can go further. Positive power of sport should be used in all its aspects.” – Prof. Dr. Zubaidullo Ubaidulloev, Sport Diplomacy researcher, Japan

During the module in Rijeka, participants had the opportunity to work in mixed groups and express their views on the different aspects of communication and as well – to organize a public campaign in Trsat Stairs, raising awareness of the power of sport in daily life through #StreetSportCare activity that involved the citizens in the city.

The Sport Diplomacy Academy project is a legacy of the first Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, which took place in the first half of 2018.
The project focus on cooperation with the Western Balkans as a logical continuation of all activities carried out under the #EU2018BG Priority: Perspective of the EU and the Western Balkans connectivity, citing the Sofia Declaration and the Sofia and EU Priority Agenda for the EU and the Western Balkans.

The European Union and the Western Balkans must continue to invest in efforts to strengthen cooperation and the exchange of good practices focused on democracy, security and fundamental human rights.

Project ensures the educational mobility of coaches and other staff of sport organisations (incl. volunteers) linked to professional and grassroots sport. The four mobility modules, which will be implemented in each partner country, will improve the skills and competencies of a total of 80 sports professionals, as well as their qualifications, through learning mobility. Learning mobility is planned as an investment in human capital and a contribution to the capacity building of various sport organisations with clear focus on building a network of well-trained sport diplomats.

After the implemented project mobilities, each of the partner countries will possess with at least 20 well trained “diplomats in sport suits” with great skills and knowledge in the field of sport diplomacy (policy dialogue and international relationship, campaign creation, successful communication (verbal & non-verbal), public speaking, media relationships, protocol and etiquette, EU foreign policy and values). The network that project will create (4 countries-20 people each) will focus on supporting and developing EU integration of the Western Balkans in the field of sport and will be quality provider of EU values in their local environment. For the delivery of the modules will be recruited the best EU experts in each field and non-formal educational methods are going to be used.

Project involves 4 partner countries – Bulgarian sports development association – academy coordinator and initiator, Rijeka sport association, Croatia, the Italian sport organization “L’ORMA” and BRAVO – Bosnian Youth and sport NGO). Partners have been working together for several years already, implementing different scale of projects and cooperating in different frameworks in the fields of sport, education and youth policy.

Project will include also the following concrete results:

80 “diplomats in sport suits” /20 per country/, focused on delivering EU integration in the countries of Western Balkan area through sport;

National, regional and local dissemination events (involving at least 400 people) – multiplying effect from the acquired skills and knowledge;

Platform for WB sport development – practical tool for resources and EU sport values with accent on Sport diplomacy and the good governance in sport.

Learning mobility will be planned as an investment in human capital and a contribution to the capacity building of various sport organizations with clear focus on building a network of well-trained sport diplomats.
• Module 1 (Bulgaria): Sport diplomacy, EU foreign policy, EU values, Policy dialogue and international relationships;

Module 2 (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Summary and feedback of Module 1, local practice reports, Good governance in sport;
Module 3 (Croatia): Summary and feedback of Module 2, local practice reports, Campaign creation, Successful communication (verbal & non-verbal), Public speaking, Protocol and etiquette;
Module 4 (Italy): Summary and feedback of Module 3, local practice reports, Working with media, Working with specific target groups, Sport diplomacy for development, How to put on practice the knowledge we got.

#SportDiplomacyAcademy project is co-funded by the European Union and will continue with online module devoted on working with media and sport for development, originally planned to be implemented in Milan, Italy.

If you have any questions feel free to contact

Socially Empowered and Transparent Youth Network (SETYN) Project in Ulcinj

Posted on July 17, 2021July 17, 2021 by BRAVO Coordinator

Socially Empowered and Transparent Youth Network Project in Ulcinj

Between June 28 and July 04, our three volunteers participated in the first part of the SETYN project which was held in Ulcinj, Montenegro. This project gathered 24 young representatives from the Western Balkan and the European Union to strengthen their NGO capacities.

The organizations involved in the execution of the project were:

BRAVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mladiinfo, Montenegro
Mladiiinfo, Slovakia
Mladiinfo, Poland
Balkan Youth Activism, Albania
KOM 018, Serbia
Poraka Nova, North Macedonia
OJQ ACCESS, Kosovo

The goals of this project were: to expand and deepen the cooperation & networking from Western Balkans and the European Union; strengthen the efficient management, internationalization, transparency and youth leadership in complex environments; to initiate the building of the socially empowered and transparent youth network and additionally to have better influence and accomplishment on local, regional, national and European level.

This project was based on the “work hard- play hard policy”. The participants did have a lot of work in front of them, but it was in all respects rewarding. The topics which were covered during this training were: strategy planning, communication strategies, SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, analysis of social media, Social Media Marketing, press release, production and presentation on social media, and other relevant topics which could help the NGO grow.

After each successful workday, the participants had time for networking, which they gladly spent on the beach, enjoying the amazing company and the summer breeze.

The organization prepared a surprise trip, and participants went on a boat trip around Ada Bojana. The sea was wild and free, and at some point, the participants had the feeling that they were floating above the water… After arriving at the safe shore, the journey proceeded to the Old Town of Ulcinj. They visited the old fortress and Museum of Ulcinj. Fun fact: Did you know that there is a legend that the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes was a prisoner here, during one of the sea battles?

The participants had an amazing time, filled with so much joy, happiness and memories, but also learned about so many useful topics which they can implement to their personal life and NGOs.

This chapter of the story ended, but the project still has one chapter missing. If you want to read about the final component, stay tuned and follow the final phase of the project in September.

Author: BRAVO Coordinator

Kick-off Meeting in Bulgaria, “MOVING”

Kick-off Meeting in Bulgaria,

If you have any questions feel free to contact

Second Transnational Meeting in Portugal, Lisbon “EU on the Move”

Second Transnational Meeting in Portugal, Lisbon

If you have any questions feel free to contact

Open Call for 4 Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina for Youth Exchange in Slanic Moldova, Romania

Open Call for 4 Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina for Youth Exchange in

SUMMARY

PROJECT’S MAIN OBJECTIVES

PROJECT’S MAIN ACTIVITIES

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD

OTHER INFORMATION

DOCUMENTS FOR REIMBURSEMENT

HERE TO APPLY

If you have any questions feel free to contact

#SportDiplomacyAcademy module was held in Rijeka

#SportDiplomacyAcademy module was held

Project will include also the following concrete results:

If you have any questions feel free to contact

Socially Empowered and Transparent Youth Network (SETYN) Project in Ulcinj

Socially Empowered and Transparent Youth Network Project in Ulcinj

If you have any questions feel free to contact

BRAVO BIH

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Kick-off Meeting in Bulgaria, “MOVING”

Second Transnational Meeting in Portugal, Lisbon “EU on the Move”

Open Call for 4 Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina for Youth Exchange in Slanic Moldova, Romania