Youth from Four Countries United in Bulgaria to Explore Green Entrepreneurship
Varbovo, Bulgaria – April 5, 2025 – From March 27th to April 4th, 2025, the picturesque village of Varbovo in northwestern Bulgaria hosted the Erasmus+ youth exchange project titled “Green Entrepreneurs: Rural Youth in Action.” The initiative brought together young people from Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and Romania to explore sustainable entrepreneurship as a tool for rural development and environmental protection.
Organized by the Bulgarian Youth Forum (BYF) under Erasmus+ project №2024-1-BG01-KA151-YOU-000215309, in partnership with EUROSUD (Italy), Medunarodna udruga mladih EUTOPIA (Croatia), Colegiul de Servicii in Turism Napoca (Romania), the exchange aimed to foster active youth participation in the labour market through green practices and innovative thinking. Participants aged 16–30 engaged in dynamic workshops, role-playing games, field visits, and collaborative projects that encouraged eco-conscious business ideas and community-focused entrepreneurship.
The agenda included educational visits to local entrepreneurs and institutions such as the Chuprene Municipality and Europe Direct Vidin, where participants learned first-hand about sustainable business practices in rural regions. Interactive sessions tackled topics such as youth unemployment, the NEET phenomenon, and nature-inspired business innovation. Participants also developed their own eco-business plans and explored digital platforms for future youth cooperation.
The multicultural group embraced the local culture through intercultural evenings, historical visits in Belogradchik and Vidin, which marked the conclusion of a highly enriching week.
The project successfully empowered participants with new knowledge, practical skills, and a network of like-minded peers, all united by a shared vision of greener, more sustainable futures for rural youth across Europe.
For more information, please visit www.bulgarianyf.eu or contact the Bulgarian Youth Forum.
Goals for 2030 – Youth exchange in Lithuania
36 participants from Erasmus+ programme countries Italy Spain Greece Bulgaria Czech Republic Lithuania gathered for an incredible Youth exchange: GOALS for 2030: in Lithuania.
Are you familiar with Social Development Goals for 2030? Not yet? Continue to read to get to know more.
GOALS for 2030 is a learning experience to raise awareness about sustainability challenges, connect to nature, the people around us and our own inner motivation and support each other to take action for a better place.
United Nations (193 countries!) created and adopted 17 Social Development Goals for 2030. Did you know that it started in 1992 when UN developed first 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce extreme poverty by 2015. Since the programme proved to be valuable and impactful, it has been updated and extended.
We here also gathered to:
– dive into multiple aspects of sustainability, understanding from the roots;
– make projects more sustainable (including social, economic, environmental aspects) and support others to make changes in their lives;
– understand that sustainability challenges such as climate change are global, interdisciplinary and systemic and need collaboration worldwide to be tackled;
– create video tutorials about how to promote sustainable lifestyle to people and how to build mini initiatives about sustainability;
– create initiatives that will tackle sustainability issues of rubbish, air pollution, climate change, big or small;
– live in a simulative sustainable community;
– design activities in local communities.
On the last day of our project, we truly embodied this spirit of unity! 
We finished everything we started 
, making sure that every task, discussion, and effort was brought to a meaningful conclusion. As a final touch, we left sweet and thoughtful messages 
on each other’s backs—little notes of appreciation, encouragement, and gratitude that we could carry with us as reminders of the connections we had built.
One of the most exciting moments was revealing our “secret friends” 
—the people who had been silently supporting and looking out for us throughout the project. The room filled with laughter, surprise, and warm hugs 
as we discovered who had been our secret supporter all along!
To wrap up the day, we sat down for a calm yet deeply emotional reflection 
. We shared our experiences, thoughts, and feelings about the journey we had just completed. Some of us spoke about the friendships we had formed 
, while others reflected on the lessons we had learned 
and how much we had grown. It was a beautiful and heartfelt moment, filled with gratitude, nostalgia, and even a few happy tears 
.
As the project came to an end, we didn’t just walk away with knowledge and new skills 
—we left with stronger bonds, cherished memories, and a shared sense of purpose 
. Though the journey had ended, the impact of our time together would stay with us forever
