The second course of the Program for active civic participation and leadership took place between 14th and 17th of January in Sofia. The course focus was on the civic participation instruments. Guest lecturers were  Ms. Mariana Georgieva, educational expert, Ms. Iva Taralezhkova, Chair of the Civic Participation Forum, Dr. Atanas Slavov, lecturer in Constitutional Law at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski “, Dr. Emilia Zankina, lecturer of political science at the American University in Bulgaria, Ms. Slavea Hristova, executive director of the association “Balkan Assist”, Ms. Daniela Simeonova, Program Director of the BSoP, Ms. Emilia Lissitchkova, chair of the “Platform Agora” Association, Ms. Spaska Petrova from the “New road”,  Ms. Albena Komitova from the Centre for dispute resolution,  and Ms. Reneta Veneva, Chair of the National Alliance for volunteers.

The Program participants had lectures and case studies devoted to the participation of civil society organizations in the of national and local policies development, direct democracy forms, public councils at local and national level, the interaction between community and local government, volunteering, negotiation and stakeholder analysis.

Special guest-speaker during the training was Ms. Lilia Hristova, who is the ombudswoman of the Sofia Municipality.

During the second course of the Program for active civic participation and leadership there was a special training exercise on the stakeholder analyses. Then the participants had an individual homework assignment. They had to make stakeholder analysis on the community problems, posed on the community discussions.

The Program for active civic participation and leadership is part of the project “Life changing challanges”, implemented by the Association “Platform AGORA” and the Bulgarian School of Politics “Dimitry Panitza” and is financed by the NGO Programme under the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism.