TOGETHER IN PAST TOGETHER IN FUTURE

The project was implemented by the Association for Protection and Promotion of Mental Health in Children and Youth from Niš in partnership with the Free Youth Center from Vidin and Gymnasium "Svetozar Markovic" from Niš, in cooperation with the First Niš Gymnasium "Stevan Sremac", High School of Food and Chemistry from Niš and High School "Car Simeon Veliki" from Vidin.

Overall objectiveof the project “Together in past, together in future” is to strengthen previously operative cross-border contacts of two organizations and to create new cross border collaboration between education institution and NGOs from Vidin and Niš areas for the purpose of strengthening local capacities and networking on regional level.

Specific objectives of the project were to facilitate the cross-border cooperation of NGOs and high schools in the areas of intercultural education and cultural exchange by including schools in the mutual activities as well as to develop capacities of high schools and NGOs from Nis and Vidin in the field of interculturality and using EU funds by organizing training and mutual activities of the pupils and teachers of Niš and Vidin region. Also, the aim of the project was the promotion of interculturality and ethno heritage in the young from both regions, for the preservation of the traditional culture and better understanding the culture of the people in the neighbourhood, by means of web intercultural meetings, establishing ethno rooms and organization of ethno fairs. The project contributed to the connection of non-formal and formal educations for the purpose of the improvement of the schools’ educational and non-educational programs in this area, by organizing workshops and ethno rooms in schools and reinforcing the cooperation of the high schools and NGOs.

The project activities lasted 12 months, from October 2009 until October 2010.

The project included around 80 pupils from 4 high schools: 60 pupils from Niš and 20 pupils from Vidin; 36 teachers from high schools from Niš and Vidin, 44 ethno fair participants, 5 representatives of the domestic craftsmen industry and around 1500 indirect beneficiaries from schools and visitors of the fairs.

The project was financed by the Delegation of the European Union within the Neighbourhood Programme of Cross-Border Cooperation Bulgaria – Serbia, through the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia.

The main activities of the project were:

- Training on intercultural education and ethnology research for 16 teachers from high schools in Niš and Vidin
- Training on EU programmes for 20 teachers from 6 high schools in Niš
- Workshops in schools with the aim of organizing Ethno rooms in schools
- Web intercultural meetings of the youth from Niš and Vidin
- Organization of Ethno fairs in Niš and Vidin
- Final Conference for the purpose of networking the project participants