Objectives:
• To Build change agents' characteristics by exchanging in global level
• To create opportunities for lots of traineeships, internships in well-known companies
• To develop professional skills in different social fields
• To build the path for a better career with professional tracks
• To maintain active network of youth leaders
Characteristics:
1. To encourage youth leaders by organizing sessions on leadership and development
2. To teach the ways of getting financial assistance and grants from European Organizations
3. To develop leadership skills by making different sessions
4. To make several presentations, show videos on the possible ways to make changes
5. To make presentations of different youth NGOs around the world
The international seminar “International Youth Leadership Development Seminar” will be held from 12-15 th of April, 2007 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, a great and beautiful city, a truly sensational place with a stunning nightlife! Below you will find some important information on the programmatic and logistical sides of this seminar as well as on the preparation to this event.
International Youth Leadership Development Seminar is planning to gather around 80 students from all over Europe, bringing the leadership topic to their attention. The birth of the topic is highly related to the venue of the seminar, which is American University in Bulgaria (for more information please visit www.aubg.bg ), a liberal arts college, whose mission is to educate the future leaders of the region. Therefore, the seminar is designed to gather students from different European countries to share their ideas and approaches to the topic of leadership, its development through defined stages. The participants of the seminar will be able to attend to leadership workshops, where students will be divided in different teams and will be given several cases to work on, where they will be required to show certain leadership skills. Teamwork, effective communication, respect and tolerance towards diversity of ideas, well- planning, effective controlling and managing will be the basic topics that the students will work on. Through these leadership workshops and roundtable discussions, the participants will not only learn more about leadership, but at the same time, in the groups that they have been assigned, they will be required to show their leadership skills in applications. The inspirational lectures, from well-known and multi-national companies’ representatives will motivate the participants and give them an opportunity to approach the leadership issue from different aspects. KPMG, Coca- Cola, Delloit and Touche, Krafts Foods, Microsoft, Procter and Gamble, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Oracle and some other regional companies that are functioning in Bulgaria are among the list of invited lecturers. In order to be more specific on the topic of leadership, the lecturers from the new-found companies have been also invited, including the companies that have been founded by alumni of American University in Bulgaria. The uniqueness of this seminar, is not to gather lecturers from only business prospective, but at the same time, inviting lecturers from different fields, such as NGO sector. The United Nations Office in Bulgaria and NATO are also among the invited guests. The lecturers will approach to the leadership topic through their experience. They will describe what were the challenges in their workplace, and what kind of leadership skills they have used to overcome these challenges. The ex-prime minister of Bulgaria, and the US Ambassador to Bulgaria are also among the invited guests.
Besides giving the participants right tools to become future leaders in their own fields of studies in their own regions, the seminar is also aiming to create cultural atmosphere that tolerance and inter-cultural learning will be the main drivers. The participants will be able to come together, to create new contacts, to know their future colleagues and to start future projects together through these contacts. The Inter-Cultural Night, is planning to share the difference of every culture to other participants from other countries. The participants will be asked to present their countries through powerpoint presentations, and materials they have brought with themselves from their home countries. The cultural trip to Rila Monastery, one of the must-see places in Bulgaria will be visited and participants will be able to see the beauty of the South-West Bulgaria through Rila Mountains.
WHAT Do We Offer?
• Developing the leadership skills of the participants through an interactive way
• To teach and demonstrate the right tools for becoming a future leader
• The workshops that are aiming to create interactive working groups where the participants will be asked to work on leadership cases
• To develop the leadership skills of the participants, such as effective communication, teamwork, planning, controlling, and managing
• To discover the new approaches to leadership topic
• Learning how to work in an intercultural atmosphere
• Discussing the certain leadership skills through roundtable discussions
• Inspirational lectures by multi-national companies and their personal and professional experience in their workplaces related to decision making and leadership
• Managing multi-national companies and respect to diversity
• Learning Project Management
• Creating contacts for a strong network of leaders
• Developing the future leaders of the region, in their own fields
Aim of Event
to strengthen confidence and understanding of personal identity in all participants;
to explore the notion of leadership skills of the participants
to build an awareness and recognition of differences between cultures and identities, at local, national and international level, as well as to identify the existing common ground between the participants´ realities on these different levels;
to prepare the field for future collaborations including projects with a local impact, or within the frame of the Youth Programme;
to increase intra-generational dialogue and build bridges between seemingly contrasting cultural backgrounds;
Objectives
Provide the space for participants to explore and strengthen their confidence and understanding of personal identity as the basis for learning and interaction.
Build awareness and recognition of differences between cultures and identities, taking into consideration the dimensions of region, gender, race, social class, religion, and nation.
Discuss the leadership experience of certain people and create models
Identify the existing common ground between the participants´ realities on different levels.
Provide the opportunity to develop new skills and competencies, as well as reinforcing existing ones – especially those regarding personal communication, interaction, and intercultural comprehension.
Inspire fascination in and willingness to explore subject of citizenship and aspects of identity providing an experience of intercultural learning in order to build a stronger understanding of the European dimension.
Propose an innovative approach to experiential learning, based on the perception of the different levels in each owns personal identity.
Establish strong partnerships between participants for future co-operation
Working Methods
Non formal education techniques will be utilized throughout the seminar to ensure that everyone is engaged, interested, have fun and learns as much as possible.
Successful participants are expected to:
Have some basic knowledge and/or experience of leadership
Have an interest and willingness to develop future projects
be able to attend the full duration of the seminar
Have a good command of English
Practical and financial conditions of participation
Venue:
The hotel that participants will be hosted, is situated 5-minute walk from the main Street of Blagoevgrad. The city is located among mountains. It is a small student city, hosting two universities. The city is very beautiful and is famous for entertainment places, such as clubs, bars and entertainment centers.
Blagoevgrad
AUBG’s main campus is located in Blagoevgrad, a vibrant regional economic and cultural center in the picturesque Southwestern part of Bulgaria. Blagoevgrad is situated at the foot of the Rila and Pirin Mountains, just 100 kms south of the capital Sofia. The region abounds in natural beauty and tourist attractions such as the Rila Monastery, the ski resort Bansko, the spa town of Sandanski, and the Seven Lakes in the Rila Mountain. The town is famous for its 19th c. architecture and welcoming atmosphere.
A University Town
Visitors to Blagoevgrad often call it a student-friendly city. With its clean quiet surroundings, walking plaza, shops, and restaurants, it is small enough for students to find anything they need within a few minutes. At the same time, the dynamic environment of outdoor cafes, movie theaters, and recreational facilities makes it possible for students to have a balanced life with both hard work and fun.
Working language:
English
Board and lodging:
There is a participation fee of 60 euros. This fee covers the following costs:
– The accommodation throughout the whole seminar, including the nigh of arrival
– The lunch, and dinner throughout the whole seminar
– The cultural trip to Rila Monastery
– Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony- Receptions
– Coffee Breaks, and free entrance to the Club
– Folders, and Materials that will be distributed to the participants of the seminar
Travel expenses:
Participants will be required to cover their travel expenses by themselves.
Program:
– Workshops
– Cultural Visit to surrounding cites
– Team Building activities
– Workshop on Communication Skills
– Different approaches to leadership skills
– Real- life leadership cases and particiapnt involvement
– Project management through interactive workshops
– Role Play Game on Intercultural Learning
– Excursion visit of local cultural monuments
– Workshop on Prejudices and Stereotypes
– Cultural Trip to Rila Monastery
– Free time ( each day )
– Intercultural Night
– Special night ( farewell party)
Preparation of Participants (related to Seminar’s Theme) :
• In order to have good preparation for all participants, we should be aware that we need each national group to prepare these following actions ( before they arrived to the Seminar )
– Presentation of National Food or Sweets of each Country and Clothes.
– Cultural Music, folklore, songs, instruments music play, Games.
– National Cultural Presentation for Each National Group, within this presentation should explained privatization in their country
– Presentation of Each organization Partner country.
– Photo & Arts about each Country ( photo Cards & Posters)
* Notes:
• Please, note that related to the Guide, which we would like to publish it at the end of our Seminar project, we would like to have most of these information as (Photo, cards, Reports … any other things) composed within Floppy Disk or CD-room.
• These CD-room or Disks, which include this information, will make our work easy to publish it as soon as possible during the Seminar.
Information on Organizers:
Brief Description of People to People International
People to People International (PTPI), with World Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, was established by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 11, 1956 to advance international understanding and friendship, tolerance and world peace between people of all nations through direct people–to–people contacts. PTPI has a presence in 125 countries with more than 80,000 families and individuals actively participating in People to People International programs. The organization has its European Office in Berlin, Germany and its Asian Office in Tokyo, Japan.
People to People International is very active in humanitarian activities, organizing peace camps, offering several programs that increase the awareness about peace issues and promote tolerance and diversity among different nations.
For more information, please visit www.ptpi.org or www.ptpe.org
American University in Bulgaria
AUBG is a private American-style liberal arts university located in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. The University has assumed a unique and critical educational role in the dynamic region of Southeastern Europe through its emphasis on preparing students for leadership, community involvement, careers, and advanced study. The liberal arts education encourages students to develop critical thinking and creative problem solving. AUBG is accredited both in the US and in Bulgaria, and academic credits are fully transferable in Europe and in the United States. AUBG students are energetic, enthusiastic, and highly intelligent.
The multicultural student body includes 30 nationalities. Diversity is honored, tolerance is demanded, and academic excellence is always the intellectual goal. Courses are taught by a high-quality, international faculty experienced in teaching in a multicultural, learner-centered environment. The interactive teaching found at AUBG fosters the development of intellectual reflection, effective communication, personal initiative, individual self-expression, and civic responsibility. Many AUBG graduates continue their education at prestigious universities in the United States and Europe. Others have already made an important mark in the private and public sectors in the region. Educated in the spirit of the liberal arts tradition, AUBG graduates become competent professionals with a broad and integrated vision of contemporary society that enhances their capacity as citizens and future leaders of the region.
For more information on American University in Bulgaria, please visit, www.aubg.bg
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