The challenges in civic education and the use of digital technologies in the education process were the main topics discussed in the meeting of the HESED`s team with the teachers from the schools in the town of Samokov.

The teachers talked about the difficulties in motivating students to work on the topics related to democracy and democratic values, as well as the challenges that modern teachers facing in attracting the attention of young people and presenting them in an fascinating and suitable way the topics related to diversity promotion, discrimination, combating hate speech, disinformation and propaganda in the media.

HESED’s team presented the DigiPack and MOLA training programs created under ACTion project, the support materials to them, as well as the opportunities for utilization of the two training programs in the classroom, especially in mixed classes- where the pupils have different ethnical background. The F.I.R.E – From Idea to Reality and Implementation, which adapts the content of both training programs to a digital educational tool for self-training for improving knowledge and skills at any time in any place, provoked strong interest among the teachers. The teachers shared that the application is very valuable because it helps the important topics of civic education to be presented with means that are close to the worldview of the young people, providing an effective way to enter their world and connect with their way of thinking. The combination of modern technologies with classical teaching methods were pointed out as the future of civic education in school– as it saves teachers’ time for preparation, improves the quality of presentation of the curriculum and shortens the distance between teacher and his/her student.

The meeting in Samokov was the last of a long list of events, in which the Bulgarian project partners HESED and Open Space presented the project and its products to practitioners and youth workers across the country – Sofia, Shumen, Targovishte, Veliki Preslav and Petrich.