Days before the European Day of Solidarity between Generations – 29 April, Tulip Foundation in cooperation with the Informational Bureau of the European Parliament in Bulgaria organised public discussion on the theme “Solidarity between generations”. The discussion took place on 26 April 2012 in the Hall of the Representative office of the European commission and the European Parliament in Sofia.
People from various generations and fields of activities – young and older, pensioners, students, pupils, journalists, teachers, representatives of nongovernmental organisations, media and business gathered together.
The aim of the meeting was to provoke questions and recommendations for solidarity between generations in the daily life of the solidarity and abut the different ways and forms of solidarity in the different fields of public life.
The aims and the concept of European day and the EY2012 were presented in the first part of the discussion. Violeta Stanicic, head of the Office of the European Parliament and Zoya Krutilin from Charity association Donka Paprikova shared their points of view.. Evelina Milusheva from the Bulgarian Red Cross shared the practice to encourage solidarity inside the organisation and among the volunteers at different ages. Michail Stefanov from the National Network for Children, which represents some more than 100 organisations working with children and young people, spoke about the need of the whole society of integrity and solidarity because the future of the children depends on the pres3en of their parents and grandparents.
Ingrid Shikova, Ambassador of the EY2012 in Bulgaria, made a moving speech that solidarity starts at the family, but there is much more to be done at schools and in the civil sector and on a national level so that different generations understand each other better and we all live in a society of all ages.
The national campaign for 29 April organised by Tulip Foundation for a fourth successive year aims to encourage the creation and the development of various forms and practices which provoke and are based on solidarity between people. The idea is that each local community fids its own way to express solidarity= The good news is that in many places the Day of solidarity between generations has become a tradition in the annual calendar of municipalities, community clubs and NGOs.
The keynote speakers in the second part of the discussion presented their practices about promoting and provoking solidarity among people and underlined that communication, continuity and tolerance are in the base of the human’s solidarity.
Prof. Klimentina Ivanova from the Bulgarian Academy of Science and Boyko Stankushev, a well known journalist and a member of the Board of the Bulgarian National television delivered exiting speeches about continuity and succession among teachers and their students, about the development of the young to teachers for the next generation of young people.
Reneta Veneva from The National Alliance for voluntary Action spoke about one of the main forms of solidarity – volunteering and the connections between young and older volunteers.
At the end of discussion Nicolay Statev from Sopharma AD wished that all participants leave the discussion as Ambassadors of solidarity and each in their families and professional circles in his or her own way passes on the message that in building and encouraging solidarity between generations everyone has a role to play.
