Another European Solidarity Corps project came to an end, as we waived goodbye to Kirill and Oksana. Within the past two years we hosted 5 volunteers from various countries: Selim from Turkey, and Francesco from Italy in 2020, and Kirill/Oksana from Russia, and Toby from the UK in 2021. As part of their activities, during the project our volunteers actively contributed to the promotion of physical activity and the organization of 6 emblematic „sport for all“ events in Bulgaria under our initiatives – No Elevators Day, European School Sport Day, MOVE Week, European Mile etc.
In 2021 and 2022 (annually on the last Wednesday of April), the traditional event No Elevators Day stimulated physical activity in business buildings, malls, apartment blocks and schools. By partnering with youth, private and public organizations and with a focus on promoting indoor movement, people were inspired to „choose the stairs over the elevator“ and discover the benefits of this daily activity. In addition to the flagship events in Plovdiv (in 2021 at the Alyosha monument and in 2022 at the Kamenitsa stairs), No Elevators Day was celebrated across the country, with people sharing their photos and stories related to using the stairs as much as possible -creative and creative ways. Our volunteers (Selim, Francesco, Oksana and Kirill) took an active part in preparation for the events and organisation.
MOVEWeek is a traditional event that is filled with a variety of physical activities such as outdoor fitness classes, yoga classes, dance workshops and more that are suitable for all groups of people. The events in Plovdiv in 2021 and 2022 were major for the country, led by BG Be Active in partnership with local sports clubs, dance organizations and athletes, coaches. In 2021 BG Be Active also partnered for the organisation of the European Mile, which was greatly supported by Selim and Francesco on site – helping the participants, promoting the event, and facilitating its organisation.
Another significant event for BG Be Active is the European School Sports Day. In both 2020 and 2021, the initiative reached an average of around 400 schools in the country to contribute 120 extra minutes of physical activity for children through active games, tournaments and workshops. Approximately 120,000 people (children, teachers and parents) took part in the events each year. The volunteers (Selim, Francesco, Toby, and Oksana) helped prepare materials for schools across the country, communicate the initiatives and conduct the events on the ground.
Our volunteers managed to motivate the local communities to find their moves, and we believe they got motivation to carry on to be ambassadors of sport for all movement after the project!
The Youth Spot Bulgaria is funded by the European Solidarity Corps programme of the European Union. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
