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GAME IT Final Conference
November 4th was very special for the GAME IT team. On that day, in Dobrich we held Final Conference event for Bulgaria. 
We were so happy to see that more than 40 persons, mainly young people, are interested to participate in mobilities and in using the Outputs of our project.
We were also very impressed by the young people's curiosity and activity and the dedication of Bulgarian VET teachers. On our behalf, we undertake the task to cooperate and support them through the way of enhancing their skills and knowledge.
A focus-group workshop for studying stakeholders’ views and recommendations on the development of a regional brand for climate-smart agriculture in the Black Sea basin was held in Dobrich, Bulgaria under the AGREEN project
The focus-group discussion in Bulgaria was held on May 13, 2021 in Dobrich, Bulgaria, organized by the Association "Dobrudzha Agricultural and Business School“- the leading partner in the AGREEN project. This was the first public national event for the project and it was attended by 30 participants among which local farmers, entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector and their branch organizations; representatives of local public institutions, researchers, NGOs and other interested groups.
During the event, the developed by the researchers feasibility study of the state of art and potential of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) for Bulgaria was presented and discussed with the stakeholders. The report was aimed at emphasizing the potential problems that could occur if the restructuring and modernization of the agricultural sector goes in that direction and determine how, after all significant factors are considered, this development should be pursued. The country-specific conditions of the operation of sustainable agriculture in the Bulgaria, potential obstacles, competition and the funding needed to get the business up and running were also highlighted. The identified during the study climate-smart agricultural practices from the regions of North-East and South East of Bulgaria drew the participating in the workshop practitioners’ and general public’s attention on the potential of CSA from a business point of view.
Further the discussion focused on the presented blueprint for a regional brand and a branding strategy for agricultural products originating in the Black Sea Basin and produced in a climate-smart way. An international experts’ working group drafted the strategy aiming at providing marketing tools for the biological and organic agricultural producers and their associations so that they receive better recognition on the local, national and if possible - international markets. The suggested approaches for attracting consumers, the marketing tools and messages identified by the experts, as well as the visual and graphic presentation of the brand were discussed with the participants in the workshop. Interesting comments and recommendations were given by the attendees, and they these will be taken into account by the working group while fine-tuning the branding strategy.
Finally, the workshop was closed by a presentation of the AGREEN Community of Practice (COP) as a network of like-minded professionals with versatile profiles who work on the different aspects of sustainable agriculture. An invitation to join the Community was addressed to the participants for enlargement and enriching the network with additional expertize coming from the local practitioners, entrepreneurs, researchers, policy-makers, etc. The organizers are grateful to the participants for the active participation, the meaningful suggestions and recommendations and for the positive feedback.
More information about the project is available on the project website: https://agreen-project.eu/bg.
For further information, please contact the AGREEN project’s team at:
3 Bulgaria str., Dobrich, BULGARIA
Tel.: +359 58 655 626
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Facebook page:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Joint Operational Programme Black Sea Basin 2014-2020 Editor: Dobrudzha Agrarian and Business School Association Date of publishing: 14.05.2021 Joint Operational Programme Black Sea Basin 2014-2020 is co-financed by the European Union through the European Neighbourhood Instrument and by the participating countries: Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine. This publication was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Dobrudzha Agrarian and Business School Association and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. |
A regional brand and a branding strategy for agricultural products originating in the Black Sea Basin and produced in a climate-smart way are under development by the AGREEN experts
The meeting was held again online due to the impossibility of physically gathering due to the restrictions for travels across the partner countries. However, the expert group managed to lay down the foundations for the development of the first group of activities under the project. This first work package is entitled T1 “Cross-border networking for the development of a regional brand for climate-smart agricultural production in the Black Sea Region” and provides for expert analysis of the potential for uniform branding for organic/green agricultural products originating in the BSB region and identification of a stakeholder community of practice. The experts within the working group discussed the concept and research methodology for the conduction of a feasibility study of the state of art and potential of climate-smart agriculture in the BSB. A set of templates of documents such as questionnaires, feedback forms, interviews, etc. for conducting the primary research and gathering the needed information, as well as the channels for reaching the target groups, were discussed.
Further, a series of local discussions of the findings will be organized in the partners’ countries to allow for practical implementation and innovative developments. Finally, based on the research and discussions, a common brand for climate-smart agricultural produce originating in the BSB for labelling and recognizing the sustainably-produced agricultural products and the respective branding strategy will be elaborated.
The kick-off partner meeting for the project "AGREEN" was held online
Today, 24th of June 2020, the start of the AGREEN project was officially launched by the kick-off meeting of the project consortium. It was very important to start as soon as possible and engage the project partners from 6 countries with the common goal so we decided that the meeting will be held online. All the organizations involved in the project were presenting and we at DABS are proud to be leading partner of these experienced consortium and to launch this initiative towards the improvement of the future of Black Sea Basin.
We started with presentation of the partners’ organizations sharing the background and experience and the key areas where each partner will be most beneficial. A project management unit was set representing the project Steering and Evaluation Committee that will ensure the sound management and implementation of the initiative. Further, communication and exchange channels and mechanisms were outline within the project consortium. Administrative and financial management, reporting and processing of the project documentation were also a subject of discussion during the meeting.
The current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world was also a topic that was discussed. The project partners will need to adapt the planned activities under the project in accordance with the current developments and restrictions related to the pandemic.
Our next task is to prepare and adopt a set of project documents and plans that will ensure the effectiveness and consistency of the project management throw-out the project implementation and dissemination.
The international consortium for the project "AGREEN" gathered for the 2nd partner meeting online
Our Second Project Meeting for the project “Cross Border Alliance for Climate-Smart and Green Agriculture in the Black Sea Basin” /AGREEN/, eMS code BSB-1135 was on 28th of July 2020.
Together with our partners from Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and Greece we had the opportunity to directly pose our questions related to the project administrative management to the JTS’s representative.
Some small adjustments of the work plan will be needed in order to integrate smoothly our planning. We focused on the activities and deliverables within the first project working package that outline the context and defines the scope and research approach. The experts’ team set out the frame and the technical requirements and internal deadlines.
Project AGREEN is based on the concept for climate-smart agriculture accepted by FAO in 2010. The latter refers to the sustainable increase of food security, resilience to climates changes and the reduction of greenhouse emissions. The Community-of-practice (COP) approach will be applied as it is essential for the implementation and provision of the sustainability of the project. AGREEN Community already involves the experts engaged in the implementation of the project on behalf of the partner organizations and will be further enriched by the joining of the other professionals, practitioners and academia representatives involved in the project.
The 3rd partners' meeting for the AGREEN project took place online
It is an amazing experience to find like-minded individuals who want to reverse the breaking point in nature caused by unsustainable attitudes in agricultural industries.
More information about the project AGREEN could be found here.
A new Erasmus+ project called GAME IT starts today
The Project “GAME IT: Gamified interactive training to prepare disadvantaged learners for international VET mobility in the tourism and hospitality sector” is an initiative in support of VET learners in the tourism and hospitality sector.
It is implemented by an international consortium of 6 organizations from Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Slovenia.
The project GAME IT is co-financed by ERASMUS+ program and proposes to introduce gamified elements into the mobility preparation training experience by developing innovative e-learning modules for VET trainees.
(Bulgaria), “European Center for Quality” Ltd. (Bulgaria), Directorate for Secondary Education, Chania (Greece), Technical University of Crete (EL), Muğla Provincial Directorate of National Education (Turkey) and Integra Institut (Slovenia) join forces to prepare disadvantaged participants for the opportunities provided by the /DABS/ (Bulgaria), “European Center for Quality” Ltd. (Bulgaria), Directorate of Secondary Education, Chania (Greece), Technical University of Crete (Greece), Muğla Provincial Directorate of National Education (Turkey) and INTEGRA INSTITUT (Slovenia) join forces to prepare disadvantaged participants for the opportunities provided by the Erasmus+ program, thus making learning mobilities more inclusive. The project proposes to introduce gamified elements into the mobility preparation training experience by developing innovative e-learning modules for VET trainees.
The project targets VET learners who face mild to moderate difficulties, belong to disadvantaged groups or come from rural areas. The challenge is to improve the organization of learning mobilities and widen access to mobilities in general. Through effective training - specifically designed for the hospitality & tourism sector - VET learners could enhance their cultural awareness, increase their motivation for personal development and develop more effective communication skills. In the long term, the approach can contribute to enhancing the employability of disadvantaged learners.
The main goal of the project is to develop gamifies e-learning modules that can prepare VET learners for learning mobilities. The rationale is to create more opportunities for learners from remote and rural areas and to strengthen the involvement of those who belong to socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, including minorities and migrants. Gamification utilizes additional technological and behavioral solutions when designing the e-learning process in view of improving the learning experience and maximizing the educational impact on disadvantaged groups. The approach can increase the engagement of learners, help them practice knowledge and skills in situations imitating real-life and thus improve the effectiveness of learning.
Three key intellectual outputs will be delivered by the GAME IT project, including: curricula for mobility preparation, e-learning resources and educators’ guidelines for facilitation of mobilities for disadvantaged learners. The gamified learning modules will contribute to the internationalization strategies of VET providers, assist educators and support learners.
The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme under the Action “Cooperation for Innovation and the exchange of good practices” - Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training.
The project is financed under the Erasmus + program, contract No. 2020-1-BG01-KA202-079103
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The support of the European Commission for the preparation of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content that reflects the views only of the authors and not the Commission may be held liable for any use that may be made of the information it contains get into it.
An international project aimed at developing training materials for acquiring basic skills needed in the workplace is coming to an end
On October 26 and 27, 2020 in the city of Dobrich were held two Multiplier events for dissemination of the results and presentation of the recourses developed in the frame of project “Workplace Basic Skills Training for Low-Skilled Migrants”
In total of 8 countries are partners in the project, with the leading organization being the “Innovation in Learning Institute” (ILI), Germany, and form Bulgaria the “International Management Institute” was involved as a partner.
The project is aimed at improving the basic skills for low-level educated adults, especially refugees and migrants in four working sectors: Construction, Care, Tourism and Cleaning by developing interactive learning materials for training literacy, numeracy and social skills – key factors for successful labour market integration.
Within the two events, the developed under the project resources were also presented, including Guidelines for trainers of low-skilled adults and migrants and Modules for e-learning in 4 different economic sectors (construction, social care and healthcare, tourism and the cleaning industry). The training modules are available in 10 languages, including Bulgarian, through project online platform and free mobile application.
CONTACTS:
International Management Institute
е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: https://mimbg.org/
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT:
https://www.facebook.com/WorkplaceBasicSkills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA6ooGUv00Q
The project is financed under the Erasmus + program, contract No. 2018-1-DE02- KA204-005032
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The support of the European Commission for the preparation of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content that reflects the views only of the authors and not the Commission may be held liable for any use that may be made of the information it contains get into it.
Climate change is turning the lives of farmers upside down
Unpredictable weather patterns, shorter growing seasons, droughts, extreme temperatures, and increased exposure to pests and crop diseases pose daunting problems to smallholder farmers around the world—especially in the Black Sea Basin, where people tend to be more reliant on natural resources. Climate-smart agriculture techniques can help farmers adapt to and prepare for impacts in order to preserve—and even improve—their livelihoods.
With a population expected to balloon to 9.8 billion by 2050, climate-smart agriculture is crucial to global food security, as well: Smallholder farmers currently provide more than 80 percent of the food consumed in large parts of the developing world.
Climate-smart agriculture isn’t distinct from sustainable agriculture; rather it’s a way of combining various sustainable methods to tackle the specific climate challenges of a specific farming community. The first step is to assess the particular climate risks, since a farm facing prolonged water shortages will need different strategies than one confronting frequent flooding, for example. We use a variety of tools to assess the climate risk and vulnerability of a landscape, taking the local ecosystems and the specific crop into account. Finding the right combination to manage a specific farm’s climate challenges — and to build resilience to future impacts — is what makes climate-smart agriculture “smart.”
That's why we at DABS initiated the AGREEN project. More information for the AGREEN project could be found here.
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