Youth as the Solution to Xenophobia: IDEA in Sofia

Between 14th and 17th May, IFLRY hosted a seminar in Sofia supported by the Council of Europe's European Youth Foundation, D66 International, CIS Sweden and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. IDEA joined as a participant to contribute to the conversation and explore opportunities for future collaboration.

Getting started 
The first day was dedicated to arrivals, introductions, team building and setting the goals for the programme. In the evening, participants spent the informal part with the cultural exchange, where we shared our local food, drinks, traditions and small gifts from our home countries. Through this we'd already noticed how much we all have in common, despite coming from very different corners of Europe. It also helped to break the shyness and strengthen the connections for the following days.

Understanding the reality
On the second day we visited a refugee centre in Sofia, where we had the opportunity to see and hear directly about the challenges the facility and the refugees face. We also witnessed experience of a refugee passing through it. 
The afternoon focused on narratives, attitudes and experiences towards refugees in European countries. We also tried to answer the question “how these can be challenged?”. The day closed with an interactive exercise "Choose your route," in which we walked through all the difficult decisions and obstacles that refugees face along their way.

From theory to action
The third day started with sessions on the structural dynamics of xenophobia and history of Roma migration. In the afternoon we a visit from Marin Tihomirov, who is the first Roma politician elected in Bulgaria. He shared with us his personal story and honest thoughts about the barriers Roma communities are facing, together with his personal perspective on how to address them. His central message was clear: it all starts with education. As an educational nongovernmental organisation, we believe that this is an area where IDEA can contribute. 
After that we continued with brainstorming sessions where we began developing our own initiatives, which could be implemented at local, national or regional level.

Presenting solutions, conclusions and looking ahead
On the final day each team finalised and presented their plans to the rest of participants. The seminar closed with a certificate ceremony, during which we had the opportunity to briefly present IDEA, its mission, the role of debate education in society and how it contributes to building critical thinking and inclusion. 
With this, we look forward (and hope) to potential future cooperation with IFLRY and all the participants we met in Sofia.

Also, the work does not stop here. Even though the expression of racism is still an ongoing problem, which has to be fought in the future, we still believe that debate and critical thinking is one of the strongest approaches to tackling it! 
We hope that at a future IFLRY event, we will have the opportunity to share how our work has contributed to addressing these issues, since we met in Sofia. 

The seminar was organised by IFLRY with the support of the Council of Europe's European Youth Foundation, D66 International, CIS Sweden and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.