West Stara Planina Activities Educational Activities Teachers’ roundtable, Pirot, 2002 A roundtable of teachers was organised as part of the first 'Old Mountain – New Bridges' festival. This roundtable set the foundation for future educational activities. 30 teachers from the region took part and signed a declaration of cooperation through future joint activities. Follow-up has included the festivals, the logo competition, training on the Green Pack, and summer crafts camp. Constant information exchanges take place between the schools in Berkovitza and Zajecar, and Belogradchik, Zajecar, Dimitrovgrad and Knjazevac. Logo competition A logo competition was held to support the implementation of activities under the Teachers’ Declaration of November 2003. A drawing competition was announced in the eight project municipalities on the theme “Stara Planina – home for us and our neighbours.” The best 24 drawings from all municipalities were selected by the municipalities themselves and published on a poster. This poster was distributed in all municipalities for all people to be able to vote. More than 1,700 people from Bulgaria and Serbia voted for their favourite drawing, a truly large-scale involvement of the general public in project activities. The two drawings that gathered the most votes were selected: one from a Serbian from Pirot and one from a Bulgarian from Belogradchik. The two winners were awarded bicycles. Five designers’ decisions about the logo of WSP were gathered, and one was selected by the REC team. It will be promoted by the project, and in the future it may evolve as a label for WSP. Green Pack training, 2004 A demonstration of the interactive Green Pack education tool was made to Bulgarian and Serbian teachers present at the summer crafts camp in Chiprovtzi, July 2004. Green Packs were given to all eight schools present, to be used in their future activities. Five teachers from the WSP region in Bulgaria were included in a 5-day training on the use of the Green Pack, which was carried out by REC CO-Bulgaria with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Waters. The foundation was laid for initiating the use of Green Packs in the schools of WSP. 'The crafts of West Stara Planina' children’s summer camp - Chiprovtzi, 2004 A CD with a movie about the camp and the traditional crafts of the region is available upon request from the project team. The camp, which was co-organized by the Municipality of Chiprovtzi, brought together children from the eight project municipalities, who were selected through an application process that involved writing an essay and preparing some art work. The 7-day camp involved: Training in the natural coloring of wool and traditional carpet weaving, with trainers from Chiprovtzi and Pirot; Training in traditional pottery making and pottery painting, with craftsmen from Berkovitza; Training in authentic folklore singing and dancing, with trainers from Bulgaria and Serbia; A demonstration of the Green Pack to teachers from the 8 municipalities; and A concert and exhibition at the end to present what was learned and produced during the camp. The camp was very successful in promoting the traditional crafts of WSP to children, who got really involved and would like to continue crafts training. The camp also served as a demonstration model for a tourist product that could be developed: Training in traditional crafts. Ecotourism and agriculture activities After two year presence in West Stara Planina, in constant contact with the local municipalities and with a wealth of information gathered on the problems and resources, the REC sees its future involvement in assisting local efforts for the transboundary management of natural resources and their sustainable use. Within this framework, the project started assisting different initiatives in environmentally-friendly tourism and agriculture on both sides of the border. The Bulgarian side is leading in ecotourism activities and will share its experience with Serbia, and the Serbian side is leading in agricultural activities and will share its experience with Bulgaria. Second Summer Camp: “The crafts of West Stara Planina,” Pirot, July 2005 For the second year in a row, a summer camp was held dedicated to traditional crafts of West Stara Planina. Thirty children received lessons in carpet weaving, pottery, authentic folk dances and traditional milk processing. Tutors included recognised craftsmen of the region. In the evenings children worked on three art projects: a photo exhibition entitled “Pirot in the eyes of children,” the design of an Aquapark in Pirot, and the design of “the school of my dreams.” The children’s work was presented during a special concert. Additionally, as special guests of Pirot District Governor Vesna Mijalkovic, the youngsters answered media questions related to the event. The project team and local municipalities hope that in the future the camp will become an attractive tourism product that will help local craftsmen develop their work into financially sustainable businesses.

Introduction Activities: Studies Capacity Building People to People West Stara Planina Forum Education Ecotourism Agriculture LEAP Local Initiatives Programme Photo gallery   Other sites: Neretva Delta Skadar Lake