Youth Academy “Active and Informed: Leaders of the Digital Era” Brought Young People Together for Training in Leadership, Civic Engagement, and Critical Thinking

On October 15, 2026, starting at 2:30 PM, Asenovgrad Youth Center hosted the Youth Academy “Active and Informed: Leaders of the Digital Era.” The event featured three training modules, an interactive energizer, and a workshop, all focused on the skills young people need to be active, informed, and responsible members of their community.

Module 1: Leadership and Team Effectiveness

The first module laid the foundation for the day by asking: how is trust built, how is a team managed, and how does a leader turn ideas into action? The training focused on developing leadership skills, effective communication, teamwork, collaboration, and decision-making. The lecturers were Bozhidar Nosikov and Ralitsa Samarova.

Module 2: Civic Initiative and Volunteering

“From ‘Someone should do something’ to ‘What can I do?’” was the guiding idea of the second module. The training focused on active civic participation, generating ideas, and developing initiatives for positive change in the community. The lecturers were Radost Krasteva and Petar Krastev, active volunteers and representatives of local volunteer organizations, who also offered a practical perspective on how a volunteer initiative is started and sustained.

Module 3: “Fake News Hunters”

The final module was dedicated to digital literacy. In her presentation, Eli Shopova explained how to recognize disinformation, how to verify sources, and how to develop critical thinking when using digital content, which are essential skills in an environment where information comes from every direction.

Energizer and Workshop

The program also included the energizer “Fact, Fake, or Action” by the Asenovgrad Youth Center team, which introduced participants to the topics of critical thinking and the digital environment in an interactive and fun way. During the event, a workshop on leadership skills and teamwork was also held, in which participants applied what they had learned in practice.

Certificate Ceremony

The day ended with a ceremony presenting certificates to all participants in the training sessions. The certificates were presented by the Manager of Asenovgrad Youth Center, Yanaki Peychev.

Acknowledgments

Asenovgrad Youth Center extends its gratitude to the lecturers Bozhidar Nosikov, Ralitsa Samarova, Radost Krasteva, Petar Krastev, and Eli Shopova for sharing their knowledge and experience, as well as to all the young people who took part actively and with interest. The Academy showed that when young people have the right knowledge and support, they are ready to be leaders, active citizens, and informed consumers of digital content.

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