Sofia’s Academy for VISIONARIES 2022 ready to launch

The initiative aims at attracting the youth in making the city a better place

Tomorrow, local authorities in Sofia will open the application process for ‘Academy for VISIONARIES’ 2022. This is the initiative’s second edition, financed through the city’s Directorate of ‘Sports and Youth Activities’.

The Academy focuses on involving Sofia’s youth in creating and finalising projects to better the city. During its implementation, participants will commit to one of five topics and take part in sessions with mentors who help them flesh out their projects. Furthermore, the winning projects will be financed by the municipality to the tune of 2,500 euros.

The application process will be open from 1 February to 3 March. Everyone between the ages of 15 and 29 can take part in the sessions, as well as choose more than one topic for their project. However, before the final stages of development, they need to commit to a single project.

Caption: 'Academy for VISIONARIES' 2022, Source: City of Sofia

Bettering yourself and bettering the city

The five areas people can take part in include:

• Art and culture;
• Sports and a healthy lifestyle;
• Environment protection;
• Urban and health education and media literacy;
• Science and Innovation.

The itinerary for participants includes two modules. The first one is between April and May of 2022 when they will work in groups to create their projects. The second, between June and November 2022 is all about turning the winning projects into reality.

Last year’s winners

In 2021, there were five projects that won municipal funds in a range of different topics. VODORASLO 2 (Algae 2), for instance, developed an air purification system for indoor facilities, based on algae. Currently, there are 100 devices operating in school classrooms across the city.

‘Samo po poeziya’ (Only by Poetry), for instance, was an initiative centred around sparking more interest in Bulgarian literature, by making short films based on poetry pieces, as well as a podcast. ‘Stolichna H2O’ on the other hand, is a project aiming to reduce the use of plastic bottles in the city, by creating an interactive map, showing every public water fountain or restaurant, where citizens can refill their plastic bottles, free of charge.