Jointly with the Ministry of Youth and Sport in Bulgaria and the Youth Sport Trust of the United Kingdom, we work on a three-year project Dreams and Teams for the development of leadership potential of young people and inclusion of young people with disabilities through sport.
The “Dreams and Teams” is a British Council project run in many countries since 2004. But in Bulgaria we have added something special. In addition to leadership training through sports, the Bulgarian participants have also been able to achieve inclusion of children with and without disabilities in the one and the same “team”, which in the end makes “the dream comes true” for all of them – not to distinguish between children on the basis of their physical or mental abilities. In addition, in all three groups engaged in the project (trainers, leaders and festival participants) people with and without disabilities, of different ages and social status alike, take part – from members of governmental and non-profit organisations, through young people from various secondary schools to the youngest participants. Only in this way can we ensure that the approach taken will be the same at all levels. The project’s been realised in the cities of Sofia and Varna.
Sports as spontaneous way of communication gives the young leaders opportunity to develop skills: to learn working in a team, to take and delegate responsibilities and to be confident in their communication with adults and people of their age. They get acquainted with the etiquette of communication with people with and without disabilities and with the correct way and terminology of addressing them. After the sports festival is over the young people can communicate easily with each other. They find new things about their own abilities and the abilities of their mates.
The overall project was captured in a film narrated through the eyes of four young people sharing their viewpoints on tolerance and social integration. They talk about the barriers between people with and without disabilities and how the projects changed their lives. You can see the movie here. http://www.mobg.org
The Youth “Dreams and Teams Bulgaria” NGO is organising on an International Sports Festival or children with and without disabilities with the participation of British students from the Palatine Community Sports College, the city of Blackpool, and Bulgarian students from various schools in Sofia. The festival is under the British Council project “Dreams and Teams” and is supported by Sofia Municipality, EcoBulpac, Coca-Cola Bulgaria, National Geographic-Kids Magazine, Sofiiska voda AD, Nestle Bulgaria and “Murphy's Missfits” Club.
This is the fifth in a row “Dreams and Teams” Festival in the framework of the “Young Leader” training organised by the “Dreams and Teams Bulgaria” NGO for development of leaders’ skills, ability to work in team and tolerance to the different. The NGO has prepared specially adapted games accessible to all participants. Together with well known games the young leaders will introduce some new exciting games.
The main goal of the children festival is to create space where children with and without disabilities enjoy themselves together and become friends. We believe that the shortest way to integrate children with disabilities is friendship and friendship is easily made in playing together.
A demonstrative leaders’ class is going to take place during the visits of the British students from the Palatine Community Sports College, the city of Blackpool in the framework of a project for school partnership. This class will demonstrate some techniques for planning, organising and leading sports activities of choice for the successful integration of children with and without disabilities and to enable everyone’s participation in the sports classes.
For more details contact Krassimira Tantcheva, “Dreams and Teams" Project Manager.
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