The city of Sofia, Bulgaria, created a Municipal Education Fund to support micro-actions that contribute to the prevention of ELET. Within the context of Bulgaria as European Capital of Sport in 2018, the city has had a particular focus on co-financing extra-curricular activities of educational institutions and non-government organisations related to sport, physical activity and health.

Six pilot projects ran under the Stay Tuned programme, including the “Youth Referee Academy", "Youth Entrepreneurship" and "Leadership in Sport". The pilots helped maintain engagement among young people, build motivation and capitalised on students' interests to gain qualifications.

Other complementary projects included “Parents Association” - to create effective communication between parents, teachers and students -and the “Ready for School” programme, using fun activities to engage pre-schoolers from the Roma community.

Sofia's comprehensive programme of extra-curricular activities offers a route to continued education and training by responding to the interests and needs of students who are at risk of dropping out.

Contact

Irena Dimitrova (pist@sofia.bg)