The first of two trainings for volunteer center coordinators was held in Vraca, Bulgaria

Timočki Youth Center, in cooperation with the Free Youth Center from Vidin, organized the first of two trainings intended for youth workers to coordinate volunteer centers for volunteering in emergency situations. This training was held from May 20 to 23, 2021 in Vreka, Bulgaria, and was intended for the coordinators of 10 volunteer centers from the border region, selected as part of the project Volunteers move borders, which was implemented in the period 2016-2018.

Given that these volunteer centers already attended training on volunteering methodology within the previous project in 2017 and mastered the topics of volunteer work, volunteer management and types of volunteer programs, they now had a kind of upgrading of knowledge and capacity building for coordinating volunteer centers in emergency situations. Through lectures and workshops, they covered the following parts of the methodology for volunteering in emergency situations – Volunteer management in emergency situations; Establishment of VC for volunteering in emergency situations; Elements of disaster risk reduction and emergency management systems; Types of disasters and their potential impacts (fires, floods); Search and rescue and what volunteers can do; First aid and what volunteers can do; Psychosocial support of volunteers; Community assessment and analysis of potential risks.

This training was attended by representatives of 5 volunteer centers from Serbia, namely from Knjaževac, Niš, Zaječar, Leskovac and Pirot, and 5 from Bulgaria, which were originally part of the project Volunteers move the borders 2016-2018. years. During the month of June, training will be held in Serbia for the coordinators of new volunteer centers from the border region, who were selected within the project Volunteers move borders in emergency situations, within which these activities are implemented.

The project “Moving Borders for Emergency Volunteering” (MBFEV) number CB007.2.22.065 was co-financed by European funds through the cross-border cooperation program Interreg-IPA CBC Bulgaria – Serbia CCI No 2014TC16I5CB007