Summary
During the implementation of project “Independence and tolerance in Europe” /InToEU/ we united citizens and volunteers from Haskovo, 178 citizens from 3 partner cities – Komotini (Greece), Viseu (Portugal) and Florence (Italy), as well as guests and friends from Germany, France, England, Romania, Austria, Slovenia and the Netherlands. In the organization and implementation of the activities took part a great number of volunteers, mostly young people, who had the opportunity to develop their view of live and get acquainted with the history and principles of the EU.The programme was developed and implemented in collaboration with the partner cities. It reached its objectives for consolidating and strengthening the connections between the citizens, stimulating the intercultural dialogue and cooperation. The project produced the opportunity for mutual understanding, sharing of opinions, values and experience and created perspectives for future partnerships in the fields of social activities, culture, sport, economy and tourism. A lot of young people took active part in the business and tourism forums, finding new tourist destinations and different cultures, getting acquainted with the European programmes and opportunities for funding and professional development and sharing ideas and experience with relevant experts. The project developed a sense of commitment to the European values and understanding of the responsibilities of every European citizen in contradiction to the growing Euroscepticism. Throughout the project the participants created sustainable relationships and laid the foundations for future partnerships in order to make Europe better place for living.The project managed to:•bring together a large number of European citizens in order to broaden their European horizons and meet with other languages and cultures;•challenge Euroscepticism and promote the values of the EU;•support the young people in their social and professional development as proud citizens of the EU;•promote the European tourist destinations;•promote the activities internationally.In order to fulfil the objectives we performed the following activities:1.Business forum InToEU, where the participants discussed issues concerning the economic development of the EU, advantages of the free market, the opportunities for cooperation between the partners and the measures for reducing the unemployment.2.Sports educational game “Puzzle Europe – Explore Europe” – addressed to the young people as a means for encouragement of the intercultural dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience through discussions about education, European projects for exchange, opportunities for training and work in other European countries.3.Parade of the national costume and a concert – Mutual understanding and knowledge of the specific characteristics of the folklore and traditions of the others.4.Tourism forum “Europe without borders” – discussion of good practices in the field of tourism and promotion of the European tourist destinations.5.Sightseeing tour of the sights in Haskovo Municipality was organized for all the European guests who had the opportunity to get acquainted with the history and culture of Haskovo.It's hard to be defined the exact number of the indirect participants in the project, since a lot of people took part in the different activities. Citizens and guests of Haskovo had the opportunity to admire the performances of our foreign partners and enrich their knowledge on the European tourist destinations and business advantages. Different business and cultural organizations helped us in our initiative to present Europe and expanded the scope of the project – All local folk dance ensembles, Regional information center – Haskovo, Enterprise Europe Network, Eures department of the Regional employment service, European informational center – Europe direct Haskovo, club “Kompass 1994” etc.
