18/03/2024 “Youth and democracy' was the topic of a round table in the National Assembly

18/03/2024

"Youth and democracy" was the topic of a round table held in the National Assembly on 18 March 2024.

At the forum, participants in the simulation of a parliament under the "Academy for Youth Participation" project presented the results of their work. The event was attended by the Vice President of the National Assembly, Kristian Vigenin, the Chairman of the Committee on Direct Participation of Citizens and Interaction with Civil Society, Valentin Tonchev, the Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Water, Stanislav Anastasov, and Silvia Petrova, a state expert in the Youth Policies Directorate of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The round table was the final part of the "Youth National Assembly", which in the period 14-18 March allowed 50 young people from all over the country to hold their own plenary and committee meetings, prepare decisions and bills, as well as a declaration with their ideas and priorities.

At the round table, the first "Youth People's Assembly" presented a declaration it had adopted. The MPs answered young people's questions related to student self-government, policies for young people and work with institutions. Some of the proposals of young people are for greater involvement of institutions in youth participation in various civic activities related to changes in the education system, a law on the promotion of volunteering, policies for the creation of active youth organizations at the local level, etc.

Before the round table, the young people visited the historic building of Parliament and got acquainted with the history of Bulgarian parliamentarism, viewed the constitutions adopted over the years and learned more about the legislative process.

The "Academy for Youth Participation" is a project of the Youth Association for Peace and Development on the Balkans (YAPDB) and the National Youth Forum (NYF) . It attracts young people to initiatives related to the development of civil society and introduces them to democratic principles of governance.