Communities in Bulgaria
Green seat - Ecocentrum, Praveshka Lukavitsa village
THIRD PRACTICE: EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND CULTURAL-HISTORICAL HERITAGE.
KIND OF PRACTICE: Applied development.
DOCUMENT AUTHOR: Environmental Association of Predbalkan, working team of the Association.
PLACE: Region of the Botevgrad Forebalkan.
CONTEXT, FIELD OF INTERVENTION:
Introduction of a cycle of ecotourism and cultural-historical heritage curricula at the Center for Vocational Education and at the Visitors Information Center of the Association.
PERIOD:
From 2007 to 2020
POPULATION, PARTICIPANTS:
It covers the population of 28 small and medium-sized settlements and focuses on sustainable and innovative activities in environmental management and the development of ecotourism livelihoods for large groups of indigenous peoples. It is targeted both to unqualified persons and to unemployed people who want to retrain.
COORDINATORS:
A team from the Association, together with representatives of local municipalities.
METHODOLOGY (HOW THE PRACTICE WORKS):
Visitor ecotourism information center of PRALBALKAN is established in 2003 with the purpose of informing guests of tourists and the local population about the tourist attractions and their economic use. A comprehensive survey of the ecological aspect of the natural environment's attributes, biodiversity and numerous cultural-historical monuments has been carried out, as well as the access to them. In 2009, a licensed Center for Vocational Training in Ecology, Ecotourism and Cynology was established and successfully operated.
PARTICIPATORY PROCESS:
The association strives to attract wide circles of the local community: among the representatives of the local authorities, among the different age groups of schoolchildren, the Clubs for the elderly and the disabled, the chitalishte and the museum workers, the owners of the guest houses and by local farmers.
TIME TO BE SUCCESFUL (HOW MANY TIME THE PRACTICE TAKE TO ACHIEVE THEIR OBJECTIVES):
The Association strives to achieve its objectives in the medium term with a trend of sustainable development and maintaining its main activity - methodological support of ecotourism economy in the region while preserving the environment environment and the restoration of the cultural and historical heritage.
VALIDITY (IF THE PARTICIPANTS THINK THAT THE PRACTICE RESOLVED THE PROBLEMATIC):
In the long run, the association strives for its long-term realization by attracting young and proactive people trained in the Vocational Training Center.
IMPACT:
The practice of the Association aims at influencing the activation of the population and the attraction of more and more proactive young people in the tourist promotion of the local nature and history and on their basis to develop the ecotourism livelihood of the population.
INNOVATION:
A multilateral curriculum has been developed to enhance ecotourism culture among the population and to prepare staff in the fields of ecology, ecotourism and cynology.
RESOURCES OR CONDITIONS NEEDED FOR THE PRACTICE:
The practice requires the development of a digital information system for the service of tourists and the local population, together with the local administrative institutions.
LIMITATIONS:
The limitations are in the comparatively small working team of the Association and in the insufficient working interaction with the municipalities.
LEARNED LESSONS: :
Various forms of training are applied in the practice of the Association: long-term and short-term courses on the professional training line carried out by the Center; seminars and information meetings with different age groups of the population from primary school students to retirees from the Clubs for Seniors and for People with Disabilities. Depending on the form of training, the following are issued: diplomas, certificates and certificates of the trainees.
SUSTAINABILITY:
Practice strives to maintain lasting sustainability in an unlimited future.
Repeatability: The practice seeks to develop an innovative methodology to be borrowed and replicated by other similar Bulgarian and foreign organizations and local communities.
REPLICABILITY:
CONCLUSION:
CONCLUSION: The practice shows the implementation of more than 15 group long-term programs and more than 20 information meetings and seminars of over 250 participants. More than 20 Testimonies, 35 Certificates and more than 60 certificates have been awarded to persons who have passed the relevant training. The practice is particularly successful, sustainable in terms of its ecology, contributes to the formation of a sense of ecological community among members and joint participation in an effectively functioning institution.
CONTACT (PRACTICES AUTHOR AND ORGANIZATION):
Prof. Dr. Andrei Mitsulov, Chairman of the Association,
Ecocenter, Praveshka Lakavitsa village, Pravets municipality, Bulgaria;
e-mail: predbalkan@abv.bg; 0359 885848181