Youth Vision on Cohesion Policy and Sustainable Tourism in the Romania-Bulgaria Cross-Border Region

Two cross-border universities, two regions, two events, a joint theme, a common consultation, one shared youth vision and over 130 participants! This is how the IVYs, hosted by the Managing Authority of Interreg Romania-Bulgaria, described their Citizen Engagement Activity event.

The IVY Reporters of the Interreg Romania-Bulgaria, Kyriakos Kourtidis and Sakina Belahcen organized a Citizens’ Engagement Activity (CEA) event in partnership with the Managing Authority of the Programme, taking place at two cross-border Universities, on 22nd of October 2024 at “Angel Kanchev” University of Ruse, in Bulgaria, and on 25th of October 2024, at Universitatea OVIDIUS din Constanta, in Romania. The events were attended, in total, by approximately 130 participants, including students, esteemed professors, and even colleagues from neighboring Interreg programmes.

Staying true to their IVY motto, “Youth for Territorial Cooperation”, they managed to connect the university students of two cross-border regions and their universities under the theme of “Youth Vision on Cohesion Policy and Sustainable Tourism in the Romania-Bulgaria Cross-Border Region.”

In this framework, students were introduced to the EU Cohesion Policy and its key Structural and Investment Funds. The event showcased how Cohesion Policy contributes to national and regional development by presenting concrete examples from the Romania-Bulgaria cross-border area.

Furthermore, the event introduced a number of interactive activities to collect youth perspectives on Cohesion Policy in the region. Among them, the Kahoot session—with an award for the winning team—was a big hit, helping students retain key information in a fun, and collaborative way. In this context, the poster-making activity proved to be a great success as well. Students were invited to reflect on how the EU could further promote growth and opportunities within their region by illustrating their thoughts creatively, whether through statements, drawings, or collage etc. As a result, the students took ownership of the EU Cohesion Policy and shared their views on how to improve it as active European citizens.

The highlight of the event was a photo contest, which showcased the unique natural and cultural heritage of the cross-border region. In total, talented young photographers submitted more than 30 pictures, which the Interreg Romania Bulgaria programme can use for future communication activities. The photo contest winners were awarded a stay on the opposite side of the border, fostering cross-border exchanges.

Most importantly, Sakina and Kyriakos provided the Interreg RO-BG programme with two very successful consultation sessions, by including in the event – in close cooperation with the Managing Authority – the public consultations for the future of Interreg programmes post 2027.

This event, led by young Europeans for young Europeans, was funded under the Interreg Volunteer Youth initiative that supports IVY’s in organizing local events, known as Citizens’ Engagement Activities (CEA), aiming to inform citizens about the achievements of European Regional Policy

Text and Photos: Kyriakos Kourtidis and Sakina Belahcen

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