University students and lecturers from the Management, Trade and Marketing Collage in Sofia supported the “SOS – Save the Education Now!” campaign

23/02/10

“SOS – Save the Education Now!” the youth campaign, which is held to support the reforms in education discussed the future reforms with university students from the Management, Trade and Marketing Collage in Sofia. The meeting took place on the 23rd of February and was attended by Monika Panayotova – Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly, Milena Damyanova – Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science, Joanna Dochevska – Regional Coordinator of MGERB – Sofia, Alexandar Kirilov – student in the collage and initiator of the meeting and university students and lecturers.

During the discussion the university students gave their proposals for changes in the education system, they gave priority to the optimization of the bachelor’s degree program to the length of three years, as well as a more practically orientated education. They proposed an increased practice for guest lecturers – experts, the stabilization of the career orientation in the secondary education, to take into consideration the search criteria of the business, as well as an improvement in the educational plans according to the qualification characteristic of the major.

As well as the idea of the campaign – that the young need to be in the center of the reform and that they need to be the ones who shall give the direction concerning the forging of the new Law for Higher Education, this discussion contributed to the collection of new and creative proposals for reforms in higher education.

The “SOS youths” collected the first opinions and proposals for a reform in education

22/02/10

The youth campaign “SOS – Save the Education Now!” continues. The first mobile tent was situated in front of the “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” National Library on the 22nd of February. During the whole afternoon the young people collected the opinions and proposals of the citizens regarding the upcoming reform in higher education. For this specific target there were computers situated in the tent, which were constantly showing the campaign clips and there was a video corner, in which every person who wanted to, could record their message in front of a camera with their massage to the Minister of Education, Youth and Science. On a special notebook, also specifically for this target, everyone who had ideas, proposals or criticism regarding the sphere of education could share them. In the end of the day there were three video messages recorded and over twenty people left their proposals in the notebook. After the end of the campaign everything collected by the mobile teams during the travel in the country will be handed personally to Mr. Ignatov – Minister of Education, Youth and Science. The idea of the young is to be precisely in the centre of the reform and to be the ones who shall set the direction of the new law regarding higher education.

The campaign started unofficially on the Internet space before one month and its target is a reform in higher education. A group on Facebook, a blog, video and audio clips, posters and brochures are some of the means that the young use to try to reach the public and especially to the university students. “We want to study in Bulgaria”, “We don’t want just diplomas, we want real knowledge” and “We don’t want corruption in education” are the main highlights of the campaign.

The mobile tent will be in Sofia for two more days, after which the teams will split up and go to the four corners of the country. They will be traveling to all of the university centers and regional cities in Bulgaria till the middle of March.     

The “SOS – Save the Education Now” campaign has started

21/02/10

University students and citizens will be giving suggestions for a reform in higher education. This is part of the campaign “SOS – Save the Education Now”, which partners are Darik Radio, Nova Television and the newspaper “Standart”. The campaign is held with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science.

One of the main reasons for the start of the campaign is the dissatisfaction of the young people in Bulgaria from the higher education. Some of the messages of the campaign are: “We want to study in Bulgaria”, “We don’t want corruption in education” and “We don’t want just diplomas, we want real knowledge”.

The “SOS – Save the Education Now” campaign will popularise and explain to university students and citizens the reform in higher education. This will happen through the traveling SOS tents. The main body of the campaign consists of thirty people who will divide into four mobile teams. They will be moving during the weekends and in each day they will be in four different regional cities and will be situated in central places in the cities their tents are located. There will be campaign materials, video clips will be rotated and the faces of the campaign will be personally explaining the reform in the higher education to everyone who is keen to learn more. Combined with this the tents will have a video corner, where everyone could tape their suggestion, opinion or message regarding higher education.

A group was opened on the social network “Facebook” titled “SOS – Save the Education Now” in the end of December. To this moment there are over 10 000 people who have joined.

The rectors should not be involved in public procurements, because in this way the universities will be transformed into firm. This was said by Mr. Ignatov – Minister of Education, Youth and Science during the announcement of the “SOS – Save the Education Now” campaign. According to the minister after the new law for higher education is passed from a total of 51 universities in Bulgaria 10 will remain genuine.

MGERB was a host of a seminar of YEPP entitled “Young people in politics – National and European Dimension”

21/02/10

A seminar of YEPP (Youth of the European People’s Party) took hold in Sofia, Bulgaria in the “Radisson Blu Hotel” from the 18th of February to the 21st of February 2010. The seminar was hosted by MGERB with the kind cooperation of the “Konrad Adenauer Foundation”. The seminar was entitled “Young people in politics – National and European Dimension”. There were over 80 youths who participated – representatives of the youth organisations of the political party’s members of the European People’s Party.

During the first day of the seminar the participants were addressed by Monika Panayotova – Chairwoman of MGERB and Laurent Schouteten – President of YEPP. They were joined in the Council of Ministers building by Andreas von Below – Director of the Sofia office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Boyko Borissov – Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria. This was a start of a series of meetings with representatives of the executive and judicial government.

“If you are the representatives of the new generation of politicians in Europe, the future of the EPP is in safe hands. I rely on you for one stronger and united society”. This was the message that the prime minister sent in his greeting speech towards the representatives of the Youth Organisation of GERB (MGERB) and the Youth of the European People’s Party (YEPP). “The government needs to listen to the voice of the young more often, because their unencumbered social, political and economical engagement will contribute to the stability and security of the European Union”, highlighted the prime minister. During the meeting with the young people the prime minister highlighted     on the political will of the new government of Bulgaria, the anti-corruption measures, which the government undertakes and the firm control, which is applied in all public spheres, especially regarding the conditions of the European funds. He called Bulgaria “The A-student of the Balkans” for the comparative financial stability, which can be observed in our country, despite the presence of the Global Financial Crisis. For an example he gave the last rankings for Bulgaria, given by companies, such as “Standart & Poor” and “Moody’s”. Other topics he commented were connected with the synchronization of criminal law in the countries from the European Union, the counteraction to trans-border crime, the energy project “Nabucco”, the climate changes and the question about the delivery of the Russian gas for Bulgaria and Europe.

After the Council of Ministers the youths visited the National Assembly, were they were officially greeted by the Chairwoman of the National Assembly – Tsetska Tsacheva. When they finished observing the parliamentary control and were greeted in the plenary hall by the members of parliament, the European guests met with representatives of MGERB in parliament, from which they learned how it feels to be a young person in politics and is the voice of the young heard in the judicial government.

Later the program in the National Assembly continued with the panel “New aspects in center-right politics in Europe”, which was opened by Monika Panayotova, Laurent Schouteten and Andreas von Below, who expressed his support and pleasure from the work with MGERB. Tsetska Tsacheva – Chairwoman of the 41st National Assembly, the ministers Tsvetan Tsvetanov and Simeon Djankov and the MEP from GERB Mariya Nedelcheva took part in the panel. From them the young people learned, what is the role of the young people in the judicial government, what are the policies for safety and anti-corruption measures in the new countries members of the European Union. They also learned about the hardships in front of the young entrepreneurs during the global financial crisis and what is the role of the European and national governments after the Lisbon Treaty. Later they were joined by the Deputy Minister for Education, Youth and Science – Petya Evtimova, who opened the discussion about the perspectives and the challenges in youth policy. The ideas for the forming of a National Youth Council and the Strategy for Youth were discussed. The guests shared how this has been done in their countries and in this way experience and ideas were shared, which will help for the forming of the youth policy in the country. The last meeting for the day was in the Sofia Municipality. The meeting was hosted by the Mayer of Sofia – Yordanka Fandakova and the Chairwoman of the GERB group in Sofia’s Municipal Council – Malina Edreva.
The program for the day ended with a meeting of the board, which took place in the headquarters of GERB.
The second day of the seminar was dedicated to the political frame of YEPP and discussion on various questions, including renewable energy sources, clear financial future, illegal immigration in the Mediterranean countries and others. MGERB took an active part with the presentation of the newly developed resolution on young people in politics, which was passed with the full consent of everyone.
The day’s final came with the traditional Bulgarian dinner, which MGERB organised specially for its guests from Europe.

The seminar passed with extraordinary interest shown by the participants. They shared their excitement from the good organisation and the honors shown towards them in the different government institutions. They were greatly impressed by the sincerity and the straightforwardness of the Bulgarian prime minister, as well as the warm welcome in the National Assembly. Everyone was positively surprised by the great number of young people in parliament. They stated that they will carry the good practices over to their countries. In an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, Laurent Schouteten – President of YEPP, shared that “The target of the visit was to familiarise ourselves in more detail with the Bulgarian institutions and the participation of young people in politics. In this case the Bulgarian youths can be an example for political behavior for the whole of Europe. Many young people are involved in politics in Bulgaria”.

After the successfully passed seminar of YEPP in Bulgaria, MGERB showed its capacity, team work and motivation to be a full-righted member of the Youth Organisation of the European People’s Party in the upcoming 2011.   

Monika Panayotova and Dobroslav Dimitrov met with the Bulgarian community in Dimitrovgrad

13/02/10

On the 12th of February 2010, Monika Panayotova and Dobroslav Dimitrov were guests to the 12th annual celebration honoring the creation of the “Tsaribrod” cultural information centre in Dimitrovgrad, Serbia. They were officially invited by Nebojsha Ivanov, one of the founding members of the civil society KIC “Tsaribrod”.

“When they invited me and told me, that there will be a full hall filled with over 400 people, I could not believe it. I am very excited today, because I always feel this way when I met with people who feel like true Bulgarians and have managed to hold on to their Bulgarian identity”, commented Dobroslav Dimitrov. According to him culture and education are the two main bridges, which are building the common European future of the two Balkan countries. Monika Panayotova also greeted the Bulgarian community in Dimitrovgrad, Serbia. She stated that despite the fact that she had to cross the border in order to reach Dimitrovgrad she feels, as if she is at home. This is due to the fact that the people have managed to hold on to their culture and saved their Bulgarian identity. “I greet the European perspective for Serbia, because the perspective creates possibilities for real traveling and communication without borders in the frame of Europe. The preservation of the Bulgarian and the Serbian identity in the context of Europe leads to the enrichment of Serbia”, was also stated by Monika Panayotova. She believes that taking care of the Bulgarian communities abroad is one important part of the policy of the new government. The first step was taken with the appointment of Mr. Bojidar Dimitrov.

Apart from congratulating them, the Bulgarian community in Dimitrovgrad, also congratulated the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and members from the cabinet of Bojidar Dimitrov – Minister without Portfolio, responsible for the Bulgarians abroad. The Folklore Ensemble Trakia also took part in the celebration. 

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11/02/10

Monika Panayotova met with citizens from Poduene, Sofia

11/02/10

Today, on Thursday, February the 11th ,Monika Panayotova – Chairwoman of MGERB and Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly met with citizens from Poduene. The meeting was part of the planned meetings in the 24th Majoritarian Election Region. The meeting was also a fulfilled promise given to the citizens – to work closely with them. Nickolay Stoynev – Municipal Councillor from GERB in Sofia’s Municipal Council and Eva Miteva – Mayor of Poduene also took part in the meeting.

The meeting was attended by more then forty people and every one hurried to ask their question. Monika Panayotova reminded that her main priorities during the election campaign were “Let’s prove that Bulgaria can work with and for the young” and “A real reform in education”. Both of the priorities were kept, an example for this can be given with the high amount of young people, which became members of parliament and the executive government, as well as the national campaign of MGERB, which will start shortly, titled “SOS – Save the Education Now”. Monika Panayotova told about her work in Parliament and in the commissions, she specifically talked about the forthcoming Law for Defence and the Armed Forces of Bulgaria and the Law for Radio and Television.

Some of the other topics for which the gathered citizens showed interest concerned the role of the regional mayor and Sofia’s Municipal Council. Inefficient transportation, road problems, kindergartens, local taxes and the city’s cleanliness were some of the main topics discussed. 

The Chairwoman of MGERB went on a visitation to Skopje, at the invitation of VMRO -DPMNE

08/02/10

Monika Panayotova – Chairwoman of MGERB and Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly and Hristo Gadzhev – International Secretary of MGERB went on a visitation to Skopje, Macedonia. There they attended a regional meeting of right-wing political youth organisations from the 5th of February to the 7th of February. MGERB participated at the invitation of the Youth of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity.

During the frame of the panel regarding successful policies of the European Union countries Monika Panayotova held a presentation on the efficient role of MGERB in the successful realisation of different sector policies. One example of cooperation between MGERB and the government is the campaign, which will recently start SOS – Save the Education Now”.
 
One of the main highlights was the idea for the exchange of experience between the organisations on European and regional level. Following this direction all of the youth organisations, which were present at the forum, signed a declaration for the creation of a regional web for cooperation between the right-wing youth organisations in Southeastern Europe. The target of this web is to be open for all organisations from the region, which share common values and share thoughts in the same direction.

MGERB took part in a seminar on the topic of “Bulgarian youth policy in the context of the youth policy of the European Council and the European Union”

05/02/10

A seminar on the topic of “Bulgarian youth policy in the context of the youth policy of the European Council and the European Union” was held on the 5th of February 2010 in the “Alma Mater” hall of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. The seminar was attended by representatives of the youth organisations of the political parties of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, the Union of Democratic Forces, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the National Union Attack, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, the Simeon the Second National Movement, as well as experts from department for “Youth Policy” in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science and the National Centre for “European Youth Policies and Initiatives”.

During the seminar Mrs. Petya Evtimova – Deputy Minister for Education, Youth and Science, highlighted that youth policy can be effective and successful only when it is made with the approval and the participation of the youth.

Apart from the main priorities of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science in its policy for young people, the attention of the participants was also focused on the project for a National Youth Strategy. There was a discussion about the main perspectives and expectations of the youth political organisations regarding the upcoming Law for the Development of the Youth. The formation of a National Youth Council and the dialogue between the government institutions and the youth was discussed as well.

One of the other main topics focuses on the creation of a stable mechanism for investment in the youth, as a notable social capacity and the mobilization of the potential of the young people in the development of the country and European Union.

The seminar was attended by Monika Panayotova – Chairwoman of MGERB and Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly, Liubomir Drekov – Member of the National Executive Council of MGERB, Joanna Dochevska – Regional Coordinator of MGERB-Sofia, Kalin Kamenov – Regional Coordinator of MGERB-Blagoevgrad and Dean Nikolov – Member of MGERB-Sofia.

Young members of parliament and representatives of the executive government exchanged experience with Germany

29/01/10

From the 23rd to the 28th of January young members of parliament and representatives of the executive government exchanged experience with colleagues from Germany at the invitation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). The group consisted of members of parliament from the 41st National Assembly – Georgi Andonov, Dobroslav Dimitrov, Vladislav Dimitrov, Delyan Dobrev, Monika Panayotova, Lyubomila Stanislavova and Svetlen Tanchev. Together with them were Hristo Gadzhev – Parliament Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Kalin Zahariev - Expert to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Rozaliya Mitseva – Regional Coordinator of MGERB Plovdiv.

During the first day of their visitation the Bulgarian delegation met with Dr. Uwe Lehmann–Brauns – Deputy Chairman of the Municipal Council of Berlin. The Bulgarian delegates were introduced in an informal discussion. The main topics of the discussion were about the structure of the Municipal Council of Berlin, the decision making process and the authority of the institution. After the discussion the participants were introduced to the work of the Municipal Council of Berlin. The second meeting that the participants had was held in the Upper Chamber of Parliament where the main topic of discussion was the structure, functions and the work in general of the institution in the frame of the federal structure of Germany. The Bulgarian delegation also met with the Youth Organisation of the CDU in the headquarters of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. They were welcomed personally by the Chairman of the Youth Organisation of the CDU. During the meeting the representatives of the juridical and executive government familiarised their colleagues with the work of the organisation during the parliament election campaign in 2009.
During the late afternoon the headquarters of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation was visited by the Bulgarian Prime Minister – Boyko Borissov. The meeting went forth with great interest from the auditory in the headquarters. During the public lection, which was part of the official visitation of the Prime Minister and the delegation from Bulgaria, the anti-crisis measures taken by the government were introduced, as well as the concrete actions in the fight against corruption and organised crime and the future plans of the cabinet. The Bulgarian foreign policy was also discussed.

The second day started off with a visit to the Landtag of the province of Brandenburg. The participants were greeted by Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka – Chairwoman of the Political Group of CDU in the Landtag. She introduced the participants to the work of the Landtag, as well as the decision making process, the complicated jurisdiction procedures, the relations between the parliaments on local and provincial level and the federal judicial government.
The Bulgarian delegation also met with colleagues from the local government and exchanged experience with how to keep in touch with the voting citizens. The day ended in the headquarters of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation where the Chairman position was officially handed over to Hans-Gert Pöttering (Former Chairman of the European Parliament).

The morning of the third day started off with a meeting with Norbert Beckman-Direcks – Coordinator of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for Southeastern Europe. During the meeting the main topic of the conversation was set on the role of the foundation on the development and the work of MGERB in Bulgaria. Monika Panayotova – Chairwoman of MGERB expressed her gratitude and together with her colleagues introduced the work of the organisation during 2009. From the other side Mr. Direcks assured that MGERB will be supported, because the Youth Organisation of GERB is showing great results during campaigns, as well as part of the judicial and executive government.
After the meeting the Bulgarian group visited the Bundestag. There they met Thomas Strobl – Member of Parliament from the CDU and Chairman of the Commission on Elections, Immunities and Work regulations. The discussion was joined by Dr. Norbert Pashman – Secretary of the Commission on Elections, Immunities and Work regulations. He introduced the work of the commission in details. The discussion also familiarised the participants with the parliament system in Germany and the rights and commitments of the members of parliament in the Bundestag.
The next meeting was held in the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus and the Bulgarian group met with Hans-Joachim Falansky – Foreign policy Councillor to the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag. The Bulgarian foreign policy was discussed, as well as the achievements in the first six months of the new government. The delegates spent the night with Ivo Petrov – Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria in Germany.

During the last day of the delegation’s visit the young representatives met with young members of parliament from the Bundestag with which they exchanged experience. They found a lot in common – their similar age, as well as the fact that they were members of parliament for the first time. It turned out that the German members of parliament experienced similar problems to those of the Bulgarian MEP’s. The last meeting of the delegation took hold in the headquarters of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The participants were greeted personally by Dr. Gerhard Vallers – Deputy Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. They didn’t forget to express their gratitude for the help and support of the organisation and expressed their hope that the good cooperation will continue in the future. Dr. Vallers expressed his support towards MGERB and the representatives in the judicial and executive government.
After the fourth day the cycle of meetings with representatives of the German government ended. The main target of the meetings was to exchange experience, as well as to become more familiar with the more complicated German legislation system and gaining approval from the MEP’s from Germany.
The meetings helped the Bulgarian delegation compare the legislation system in Germany and the legislation system in Bulgaria and to summarize solutions for improving the Bulgarian legislation system.

50 youths graduated MGERB’s Third Political Academy

18/01/10

The last module of MGERB’s Third Political Academy took place in Pleven from the 15th to the 17th of January. The academy was organised with the kind support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The main topic of the last module was “Negotiations and rhetoric”. The participants were lectured by Dr. Godfried Lin who works in the headquarters of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Germany and Dim Dukov.

The academy was officially opened by Monika Panayotova – Chairwoman of MGERB and Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly and Dr. Andreas von Below – Director of the Sofia office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The module started off with an exercise organised by Dim Dukov, which had a team building target and melted the ice. After the successful end of the exercise Rozaliya Mitseva – Regional Coordinator of MGERB Plovdiv and Milen Nikolov – Regional Coordinator of MGERB Kustendil made a presentation on “Good Communication”. After the completion of the presentation the participants began to prepare for the upcoming public speech, which they will be holding. A speech based on an important topic for society, due for the next day.

The second day started with an interactive session organised by Dr. Lin. The participants had to make a short introduction in front of a camera. After all of the participants had completed their introductions they were analyzed in order to improve the overall performance of each individual. The rest of the day’s topics were focused on political rhetoric, speaking freely in public, as well as practical simulations in front of a camera. All of the exercises were analyzed by Dr. Lin and Dim Dukov and the participants improved their main shortcomings.

Parallel to the work of the participants in MGERB’s Third Political Academy, a special focus group worked on the realisation of MGERB’s future campaign “SOS – Save the Education Now!”

On the last day Dr. Lin and Dim Dukov held the last simulative game, which summarized everything that the participants had learned. After that the participants received their certificates personally, from Nickolay Mladenov – Minister of Defence and were congratulated by Tsetska Tsacheva – President of the 41st National Assembly. The participants were also congratulated by Ivelin Nikolov – Regional Coordinator of GERB for Pleven and Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly. The united message of the three guests was for positive thinking for a better future.

MGERB held a Winter University for the first time

21/12/09

MGERB continues the tradition to organise educational seminars for its members. The autumn modules of MGERB’s Third Political Academy were closely followed by MGERB’s Winter University. Before the end of the successful 2009, over 70 members of MGERB from all over Bulgaria gathered in Borovets from the 18th to the 19th of December and participated in MGERB’s First Winter University. The winter university was organised with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. This was a spectacular end of an incredibly active year for the Youth Organisation of GERB, which organised two Political Academies, a Summer University and a variety of training courses and seminars for its members. In this way they acquire ranging new skills, which can be helpful in their future professional development in the public sector, as well as the private.

The Winter University of MGERB was opened by Dr. Andreas von Below – Director of the Sofia office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Monika Panayotova – Chairwoman of MGERB and Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly. Dr. Andreas von Below, highlighted three main points in his opening speech – his impressions about Bulgaria since taking office and Bulgaria’s energy dependency from Russia, the elections for national government from the 5th of July, which allowed GERB to form a government dedicated to the European development of Bulgaria, which consists of young and active ministers and made a conclusion about all of the successful projects that the foundation has realised with MGERB, which have contributed to the fact that there are many young people in the executive and the legislative branch of government. He also expressed his support for the upcoming initiatives and seminars in 2010.

To support the fact that one of GERB’s main priorities is to invest in the young many young members of parliament, parliament secretaries and representatives of the executive government from GERB took part in the Winter University. One of the main priorities of the university concerned the development of youth policies in Bulgaria, where Mrs. Svetlana Lomeva – Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Science regarding youth policies, discussed the topic with the participants. After the second day the participants handed their suggestions for the development of the youth sector and were informed about the completed work in the sphere in the first 100 days of the new government for the European development of Bulgaria. The European aspect of the seminar was given by the MEP’s from GERB – Illiana Ivanova and Vladimir Urutchev who represented the work done by MEP’s. They also familiarised the participants about the hardships of the Lisbon Treaty, the development of the European energy policy and the Bulgarian energy projects, as well as the results from the summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. There was special interest in the upcoming opportunity in which representatives of MGERB can work for the European Institutions from 2010. The Balkan aspect of the seminar was presented by Radoslav Tochev – Councillor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria regarding foreign policy. The national aspect of the seminar, regarding reforms was presented by Vladislav Goranov – Deputy Minister of Finance.
Another important aspect of the seminar was dedicated to team work and leadership, where Mrs. Iren Sokolova – Member of Parliament in the 41st National Assembly and expert in social psychology, lead the discussions. During an interactive session the participants had to form a National Youth Council of Bulgaria. They were divided into groups and had the opportunity to decide how to achieve this and later write down, how they formed their groups, what role did they play in their group and their impressions, weather they managed to fulfill their ideas and the overall performance of the group as a whole.

As a final the administrative secretary of the party Mr. Cvetomir Paunov presented to the participants the priorities and the hardships of the future development of the project GERB.

The alumni of MGERB’s Winter University strengthened the link between lecturers and organisers and participants by giving excellent remarks about the organisation, the excellent efficiency and the successful combination of lecturers and training modules. They expressed strong hope to participate in MGERB’s upcoming training seminars in 2010!

MGERB was part of the regional program of the Bulgarian School of Politics in Skopje

14/12/09

The first module of the regional program of the Bulgarian School of Politics for 2009/2010 started on the 9th of December and ended on the 13th of December 2009. The module was located in Skopje, Macedonia. The first module went under the title “Leadership in Action, the young leaders who form the image of the Balkans”. There were 32 participants from all over the Balkans – Bulgaria, Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro. The participants consisted of representatives of the youth organisations of the major political parties of the participating countries, as well as representatives of the media and non government organisations. MGERB was represented by Dean Nikolov – member of MGERB, Sofia.

The course included five panels – “Leadership of the 21st century”, “Social and political leaders”, “Leadership and European integration:”, “Leadership and minorities”, “Political correctness and the media in the Balkans” and “Young people and their opportunities for leadership in the political and government institutions”. The lecturers were Ognyan Minchev – Director of the Institute for Regional and International Studies, Assya Kavrakova and Marin Lessenski – Open Society Institute – Sofia, Lubov Mincheva – Associated professor of political science to the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Antony Georgiev – Publisher of the “Vagabond” magazine, Sasho Ordanoski – Director of the Alsat-M, Republic Macedonia television, and Ivon Velickovski – Vice President of the Liberal party of Macedonian.
During the second day of the program the participants had a specially organised meeting with the president of the Republic of Macedonia – Gjorgje Ivanov.

At the end of the seminar the participants gave ideas for initiatives, which can be conducted for the day of the Balkans, which will come during the last module in Sofia during May - 2010.

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16/12/09

“Plan your future flexibly” – A national initiative of MGERB to support the changes in university education

15/12/09

MGERB started a national initiative, which goes under the title of “The University Idea Today – Plan your future flexibly”. The target of the initiative is to support the reforms in university education and the changes to the Law of University Education in particular. The initiative took hold during the week of the University Student’s Day – the 8th of December in all regions of Bulgaria with universities - Sofia, Plovdiv, Blagoevgrad, Veliko Turnovo, Varna and Burgas, as well as the big resorts Bansko, Borovets, Pamporovo and Arbanassi. Those were a small part of the places where the young people popularised the ideas of the government of GERB for reforms in education. 

The target of MGERB was to show their fellow youth that the reforms which began in university education are targeted towards them. That those reforms have the target to improve their status as university students, to make the educational system more precise, to improve the way that exams are held and the scoring process in particular, as well as guarantee better cooperation between business and the academic circles.

“Be innovative” and “Invest in yourself” are only some of the messages that the young deliver to their fellow university students on the day of their holiday.

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05/12/09

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