Development education training event in Bulgaria

After a training event with the Global Initiative of Psychiatry (GIP) in November in Lithuania (see: http://trialog-information-service.blogspot.com/2008/11/training-in-lithuania-mental-health-and.html), the GIP Sofia branch invited TRIALOG for a second 2day training event on December 4-5, 2008, this time in Bulgaria and in cooperation with the Bulgarian Platform on International Development (BPID).

The training event provided an insight into the EU-strategy 2007 – 2010 of the Thematic Programme "Non-State Actors and Local Authorities", the Annual Action Plan 2008 and the expected (now open) Call for Proposal on Development Education and Awareness Raising in Europe.

After introductory sessions, 17 participants from Bulgarian and Georgian NGOs worked together to elaborate concrete projects with the aim to raise awareness in Bulgaria on development issues. Additionally to the result of having formulated aims and goals, indicators and assumptions for a few project proposals, the group had challenging discussions on global issues. Especially the question "how the broader public and decision makers could be convinced that worldwide poverty reduction is an important topic, although national poverty is still an issue in Bulgaria" has been discussed intensively.

For more information on the training event, please contact TRIALOG Capacity Building Officer Petra Kreinecker at p.kreinecker@trialog.or.at

Information provided by Petra Kreinecker, TRIALOG