NEWS

A book for inclusion through sport was published in Italy with active Bulgarian participation

10.06.2018

A final event for the SpeeCh project - A Sports Mental Community, which aims to support the processes of inclusion and integration of people with mental illnesses, took place in the period 08 - 10 June 2018 in Carsoli, Italy. During the event, a press conference was held at the Carsoli City Hall and the product of the project was presented, which is a vast practical edition in 200 pages on "Methodologies and Techniques for Managing Sport Activities Related to Social Inclusion in the Local Communities of People with Mental Illness", one third of the publication was prepared by a Bulgarian team of experts composed of: Joanna Dochevska and Ivailo Zdravkov (Bulgarian sports development association), Stefka Djobova, and Ivaylo Lazarov, (National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski"). Bulgarian sports development association received a thank-you plaque from the Municipality of Carsoli for the expert partnership and the dedication during the project activities

During the project Bulgarian sports development association, which coordinated the activities, actively involved five girls from the home for adults with mental illnesses in the town of Banya, near Karlovo, as well as sports specialists. Activities included participation in an international tournament on integrated football in Berlin in April 2018, during which the native contestants had the opportunity to meet with Kubrat Pulev at the Olympic Park in Berlin. BSDA has been working with the mentioned institution for second year, with sports activities being carried out in 2017 and a promotional video clip "In sport we are all equal!", Which carries the message that:
Sport has the power to improve social inclusion.
He does not discriminate against any sign. No one is different!
In sport we are all equal!
The video campaign aims to portray the power of sport as an integration tool, as well as the opportunities for equal inclusion of all social groups. You can watch it and share it with the following link, and we will be happy to be supported by as many people as possible to show the strength of the sport:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsT0_Yk5snc
The SpeeCh project started on January 1, 2017 and has engaged in diverse activities in the last two years.

Creation of 3 integrated sports associations in Italy, Germany and Bulgaria. Members of the associations: patients with psychiatric disorders and young people. Goal of Associations: to promote the social inclusion of patients with psychiatric illnesses in society through sporting activities;

Publication of a manual "Methodologies and techniques for managing sports activities related to the social inclusion in the local communities of people with psychiatric illnesses".

The partner organizations are part of the European Integrated Soccer Network, which was created under a previous project funded by the Erasmus + program. Identifying and linking policy-makers in this field, sharing good national practices on methodologies and techniques for managing sports activities to support the social integration of patients with psychiatric illnesses are part of the project's results. Several international meetings were held to prepare a public campaign for the active inclusion of the target group in social life.
The project is co-funded by the European Commission's Erasmus + Program - Small Joint Partnerships and was implemented within 24 months. Partners: Italy, Bulgaria and Germany. The Bulgarian partner is Bulgarian sports development association.