"School is the place that, with a magic wand, changes people!"

"A person must have a foundation on which to build, and the foundation is laid in school", with these words the journalist of the Bulgarian National Radio Valery Lekov began his talk with the children of the “Otets Paisii” Secondary School in the village of Medkovets.

A youth exchange between the students of the "Otets Paisiy" Secondary School in the village of Medkovets and the Montana Youth Center took place on the International Youth Day

In a series of meetings and events from August 11 to 14, young people had the opportunity to talk about their activities and interests and find like-minded people for future joint projects.

Arete Youth Foundation "hunting" for talents in Medkovets

On May 30, young people from "Otets Paisiy" Secondary School in the village of Medkovets met with the foundation's team and learned more about its activities, types of discrimination and opportunities for summer camps and camps for girls.

GEAR (Gender Equality and Antidiscrimination for Roma) project kick-off meeting took place in Sofia

In the next 2 years, the partners from Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and Belgium will work with young people from the Roma community and their trainers in order to increase the competences in the field of gender equality.

Gender equality-oriented Web-Radio Handbook

As part of the GEAR project, the web radio Amoradio was developed and implemented by four teams in Italy, Bulgaria, Belgium, and Romania, consisting of Roma girls and boys.

Handbook for practitioners on gender equality

This guide is directed to all professionals, from educators to social workers, who work and interact daily with groups of youngsters.

Listen to the youth podcasts of the students of the Secondary School "Otets Paisiy" Medkovets only on Amoradio

Each of the episodes is related to equality between women and men as a main theme in the GEAR project – Gender Equality and Antidiscrimination for Roma.

Meeting - conversation with the writer Dobrina Simova at "Otets Paisiy" Secondary School, Medkovets village

On May 30, the author of a number of children's books presented some of her works to the students, and they participated in a dramatization of one of her stories.

Meeting discussion about men's and women's sports together with Prof. Tsviatko Tsvetkov from Vasil Levski National Sports Academy

On May 26, students from "Otets Paisiy" Secondary School, Medkovets village, had the opportunity to meet the teacher, who also graduated from their school, and to talk with him about the sports that excite them.

Reports library

GEAR project Reports library

Roma youth from 4 countries created amoRadio

The foundations of the first European youth online Roma radio were laid in Sibiu, Romania at an international meeting that took place from 8 to 11 April.

Students from the 7th and 8th grades of the "Otets Paisiy" Secondary School in the village of Medkovets took a "Step forward" in understanding discrimination and equality

On May 10, 18 students participated in role-playing games prepared by Nancy Borisova from the Center for Sustainable Communities Development.

The Actors of change who will make the first European youth Roma online radio are now clear

After a series of meetings in Medkovets and Montana, it became clear that nearly 20 children will be involved in the trainings on equality between women and men and on creating radio content and a multi-platform newsroom.

The first of a series of informal initiatives within the GEAR project was launched with a one-man show

Gender equality and antidiscrimination of Roma will be a topic on which we will work together with young people and educators from "Otets Paisiy" secondary school in the village of Medkovets in the next two years.

Toolkit for young agents of change against gender stereotypes

In a society characterized by strong gender discrimination, younger generations are questioning and challenging these long-standing contradictions. With unprecedented access to online platforms and social media, they are connecting with a rapidly changing world that confronts outdated conventions head-on.

We celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child in "Kosharnik" district, Montana city and "Otets Paisiy" secondary school, Medkovets village

Together with the young people, we watched the film produced by the project "Honour related abuses in a social and legal aspect" and organized debate teams FOR and AGAINST early marriages.

We celebrated the Roma holiday in the village of Medkovets and Kosharnik district, Montana

On Friday (April 7), the day before International Roma Day, students, teachers and parents from "Otets Paisii" Secondary School, Medkovets village, organized a concert in connection with the holiday. During it, they presented various skits, dances, games and quizzes.

We celebrated the World Book Day together with young people of Roma origin

They were particularly impressed by the guest author Dimitar Petrov, who presented his books -  games about Bulgarian rulers.

On April 24, nearly 100 children with an interest in reading and books gathered in the salon of Secondary School “Otets Paisii”. The young writer Dimitar Petrov - author of the books "Ivailo - the good king" and "Tervel - born to win" spoke with them.

We held a series of meetings-discussions in Montana region in connection with the International Day for the Protection of Children Victims of Aggression

The main speaker during the 3 meetings with students from Vocational High School for Light Industry, Montana, "Otets Paisiy" Secondary School, Medkovets village and a volunteer group from "Kosharnik" district, Montana, was Valya Gerasimova - secretary of Local Commission for Combating Human Trafficking, Montana.