ІІІ. SECTION ІІ “Problem situation in Vidin and Zajecar”

The city has a history of more than two millennia and rich cultural and historical heritage. It has many cultural sites: museums, churches, theatres, community centers, ensembles, etc. Vidin is located 240 km from Sofia, 14 km from Calafat, 94 km from Craiova, Romania and 60 km from Zajecar, Serbia.

Zajecar is located in the central part of Timok Region. The area of Zajecar Municipality is 1069 square kilometers. Zajecar is a geographic, administrative, economic, political and cultural center of the region and municipality and is located at the intersection of many highways. Main sites in the cultural life of Zajecar are: museums, historical sites, theaters, rich cultural activity.

The population of Vidin varies over the years depending on historical, economic and administrative conditions and changes.

In 1934 the population of Vidin Region was 18 740 inhabitants, and in 1865 it reached 63 023 inhabitants. The last census in 2011 showed that the population consists of 47 138 inhabitants.

The population of the city decreases, and so the percentage of young people decreases as well. The unemployment in the city is about 18%. The population of the region also decreases and therefore Vidin can not rely on mechanical growth of the population from neighboring towns and villages. Part of the population works abroad and the young people often are left without parents for shorter or longer periods of time.

The number of students decreases as well. In 2001 they were 10 799, and in а 2014 only – 6501. This means that the number of students from 1^st to 12^th grade each year is 550 – 600.

The population of Zajecar in the period 1948 – 1981 had significant growth and increased from 62 887 to 76 681 inhabitants. After 1981 the population decreased and in 2011 it was 59 461 people. The students from 1^st to 12^th grade in Zajecar are 6816 which means that there are 550 – 600 students each year. There are 35 sports organizations in Zajecar that are members of the Sports Association of Zajecar Municipality. They organize and finance the sports activity in the city.

There are 24 NGOs in Vidin that are active and manage to develop projects. There are 16 sports clubs. The sports calendars of Vidin and Zajecar include activities throughout the whole year that are mainly related to tournaments, school games, competitions and championships, sports and tourism events.

The cultural calendars of Vidin and Zajecar include events divided into three groups – cultural events with international participation, events of national significance and events of regional and local significance. All cultural institutes are engaged in these events. Some of the events take place during the school holidays.

The young people take part in projects with neighbor countries. A partnership network between the youths from Vidin and Zajecar is needed. At the same time the young people are not represented in the institutions and their voice could not be heard. Youths have ideas, but no one asks them and even notices them. The young people want to plant trees in the so called “dead zones” in Vidin. And still we have to look in the eyes and souls of the young people,

because they quickly become disappointed and discouraged. Then the result is that they look for other better places for realization and living.

The three round tables held in Zajecar with the institutions, principals and students show that most often youths are engaged in their leisure time with individual activities. Youths are passive. They state that for them it is a matter of personal motivation whether to participate or not in a certain activity. As the most successful proposal for rationalization of leisure the young people appreciate sports facilities and events. Cultural activities are not very interesting to the youths. There is no information about participation of youths in a number of events. School is the least attractive place for leisure time due to the lack of modern and interesting leisure forms. The municipal institutions believe that schools should be more actively involved in the organization of leisure time. At the same time the school representative assume only partial responsibility and state that the youths’ habits of spending their

leisure time are not developed only within the family. A good example is the work of the Sports Association that has achieved high results in its work with children and more than 50% of the students in the elementary schools are involved in the sports activity within the Student League. The general conclusion from the three round tables is that there are no constant and effective channels for communication between cultural institutions and students. It is all about good faith.
The opinion poll carried out in Vidin among 1000 9^th – 12^th grade students, which is 46% of all students at this age, shows interesting results. The analysis of the results shows that 81% of the youths have free time and only for 19% of them it is too little. Most often they spend their time with their friends. When they are at home, they are mainly on the PC or in front of the TV. And when they go out, they visit places of amusement. Family has more and more minor role. The family does not spend enough time together or when they are together, every member has their own activities. Very often the parents are aboard. This means that society has the obligation to take care of the leisure time and offer alternatives. The young people state that funding of leisure time could be provided both by the parents and the municipality, i.e. some of the leisure activities could be paid, and some free. Their wish is these forms of activities to be mainly in sport, tourism and arts.

The motivation for participation in extracurricular and out-of-school activities is skills development, interest and hobby. They prefer to play sport in their free time.

Youths take part in projects related to education and sport, but seldom travel to the neighbor cities in Serbia and Romania. The young people from these cities prefer to have joint activities in the fields of sport, education, tourism and arts. They do not know very well the European Union, national and local youth programmes concerning youth issues. They show considerable interest in the development of a Strategy for the leisure of the youths from Vidin (68.13 %).

The young people think that sports and leisure facilities in the city, neighborhood and schools are insufficient and inaccessible for their leisure time. But even the existing facilities are not used actively as infrastructure – swimming pools, the Danube, ecopath, bikeway, sports equipment and cultural sites.

The young people insist that Municipal Youth Centre (77.02 %), Children Centre (78.08 %), new sports facilities (91.08 %) should be constructed.

The conclusions lead to the reflection of the social and economic situation in society on the development of youths and the way of using leisure time. The financial instability, low standard of living of many families, the influence of media and social environment and increasing deviations in society are determining factors and influence the leisure time structure.

The leisure time structure directly depends on the infrastructure and sports and leisure facilities. There are not enough alternatives. All these influence the socialization and self-confidence of youths. The young people have various interests, but have no opportunities for self-expression and development.

The opinion poll carried out in Zajecar among 1000 9^th – 12^th grade students shows that the young people are satisfied with the availability of free time. 44% of them think they spend their free time well and in a useful way, while for 22% the free time is useless and boring. For 59.03% of them there are no interesting activities and for 20% of the respondents their non-participation is related to the lack of funds. In this regard 70% of the respondents can not afford to spend more than EUR 30 monthly for expenses in their leisure time and in this group 17% of them use their leisure time for free activities. Only 8% of the respondents state that they can afford to spend more than EUR 50 monthly for their leisure needs. It is interesting that boys have more money than girls. The cultural sites are the most affordable (for 80% of the respondents), but they are least used. The school sports facilities are the least affordable (according to 50% of the respondents). Youths spend their leisure time most often in: listening to music – 88% of the respondents; social networks – 75%; internet – 70%; watching TV – 61%; playing computer games – 36%; sleeping and boredom – 51%. 40% of the respondents spend their free time with friends or in places of amusement every day.

Only 26% of the young people read books and newspapers every day, and for 13% writing, drawing and paying musical instrument is a daily practice. Youths are not sufficiently informed about spending the leisure time. In this respect, 11% of them are informed by means of ads and television, 60% by their mates, 39% by internet. The question here is how to inform the youths about the use of leisure time and who should be the leaders in the social networks for informing them. The poll shows that 58% of the young people do not participate in out-of-school activities that the school affords. They wish there were new forms such as theater, folklore, arts, modern sports, “Debate” club, educational workshops, literary clubs, etc. The respondents attend sports events – 54%, musical events – 56%, and few cultural events. Boys prefer sports events, while girls are more active in the cultural events. The sports facilities of Popova plaza – 40% and Kraljevica – 28% are most used. The school sports facilities are affordable for 25%. The reason for the lower affordability is that not all schools have fitness centers and that these are not rented to sports clubs. 46% of the youths are not interested in joining in the work of civil associations. One of the reasons is the lack of information.

STRENGTHS	WEAKNESSES
Favorable geographical location Existing facilities for sport, tourism, culture and history Danube River and New Europe Bridge for Vidin Tolerance among the population from neighbor countries and cities Corridor and transport possibilities Sports and tourism organization, NGOs Capacity for projects development Complete educational network from kindergartens to secondary schools and colleges Participation of the young people in extracurricular and out-of-school activities Youths have ideas and proposals Sports and cultural calendar Existence of organizations in Zajecar where youths can be involved in sports traditions	The population of Vidin and Zajecar decreases, of the region and youths as well High percentage of unemployment in Vidin and Zajecar Low income Insufficient funds for sports activities in Vidin – BGN 150 000 per year Old sports facilities in Vidin Not enough colleges and universities in Vidin Not enough funds are utilized under European and national programmes Institutions neglect young people Young people are not very active Young people have free time, but do not use it rationally Slight acquaintance with youth legislation Insufficient extracurricular and out-of-school activities Slight acquaintance with neighbor regions of Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria Not enough alternatives for leisure time There is no system for informing the young people about the possibilities of Vidin and Zajecar Youths do not believe that Vidin and Zajecar will develop and that they can contribute to their development. For them escape is solution and salvation.
OPPORTUNITIES	THREATS
Development of new infrastructure for sport and tourism in Vidin New integrated sports facilities and tourist routes, including between Vidin and Zajecar Making Vidin and Zajecar festival cities New activities in new modern areas for sport and leisure Projects and cooperation between the youths from Vidin and Zajecar Establishment of youth network New vision of Vidin and Zajecar through the prism of the youths	Demographic crisis with dangerous tendencies The economic crisis and poverty of society affect the motivation and poverty of youths Destroyed value system of society Lack of communication between institutions that work with youths Brain drain, especially among youths and well-educated and qualified people Inadequate and inappropriate use of social networks for information by youths Underdeveloped activities of youth organizations related to volunteering and NGO activities Lack of local sustainable model for funding youth activities due to low economic growth of Vidin and Zajecar municipalities Old equipment facilities in Vidin Increasing migration Unemployment among youths Bad transport infrastructure in the cities and between Vidin, Zajecar and the neighbor cities The lack of perspective stimulates negativity among youths

The financial state of Vidin and Zajecar, demographic collapse, level of unemployment, including among youths, insufficient facilities and alternatives for sport, leisure and tourism are serious problem. The incomplete educational structure in vertical plan and the migration processes are strong, unfavorable and risk factors.

A new vision of Vidin and Zajecar, new attitude to the young people is needed. A new and effective model of the leisure time is needed, as well as a long-term Strategy until 2020 for the leisure of youths. This Strategy will be part of the future of Vidin and Zajecar.
ІV. SECTION ІІІ: “Strategic priorities for implementing the Strategy for the leisure of youths”
In order to implement the ideas, objectives, goals and principles of the Strategy is necessary some priorities to be outlined related to the attitude of institutions, the youths’ motivations, the participation in activities in the fields of sport, tourism, ecology, leisure and history by using the staff, facilities and partnership between the youths from Vidin and Zajecar.

1. First priority: “The young people – main value of Vidin and Zajecar society and of institutions for rationalization of the leisure of youths through change of the motivation and their attitude”
Our goal is to guarantee the rights and protection of the young people. Generating motivation in youths for civil participation and civil activity in the life of Vidin and Zajecar. Improving the legal framework for youths on local level in the different institutions.

It is about two challenges – change in the attitude of institutions to the youths and that of the youths to their problems and to the institutions. Organization of youths in a youth network where they could share and discuss their problems and desires, requirements and possibilities for their solutions by the respective institutions. This we define as “Positive democratic youth pressure”. Expressing opinion and insisting on solving youths’ problems will be a special type of “youth barometer”. All that would develop in the young people public attitude and a possibility for participation in the civil society.

ACTIVITIES	INSTITUTIONS	TERM
1. Engaging the youths in the initiatives of Vidin and Zajecar, as well as informing them	Municipality, schools, NGOs	Permanently
2. Introducing the young people to their rights and the possibilities stated in the legal framework in the field of youth activities (European, national, regional and municipal legislation)	Schools from Vidin and Zajecar	Once a year
3. Delegating rights to the young people in the schools and in both cities for participation in important public events	Schools and municipalities from Vidin and Zajecar	204-2020
4. Development of youth Facebook page within the so called “youth network” for exchange of ideas and raising the youths’ problems	NGOs, teams	2014-2020
5. Development of local Strategies, programmes, plans and activities related to youths and leisure time	Municipalities, schools, NGOs	2014-2020
6. Engaging the youths in development and implementation of projects in the schools and the municipality for increasing their activity and motivation	Municipalities and schools	2014-2020
7. Forming “active citizenship” fund to the City Councils for promoting small youth local projects	City Councils	2014-2020
8. Forming “student activity” fund in the schools for small local classrooms and school projects	Schools	2014-2020
9. Allowing youths to participate and express opinion in meetings of the City Councils committees	City Councils	Permanently
10. Determining “Youths’ Day” in which free access to be ensured to sports facilities, historical and cultural sites	Municipalities	Once a year
11. Constant dialogue with the young people on municipal and school level and organization of youth discussions	Municipalities and schools	Permanently
12. Establishing award of the City Councils, of the Mayors for talented youths who participated and ranked high at national and international competitions and contests, for young inventors, and for youths who contributed to the promotion of Vidin and Zajecar in the country and abroad	Municipalities	2014-2020
13. Engaging youths during holidays as assistants to guides, coaches, lifeguards and in the tourist information offices	Tourism offices, sports clubs, NGOs	Permanently
14. Forming volunteer teams and groups of youths for helping the disadvantaged, cleaning parks and areas, planting and grassing, painting playgrounds, etc.	Youth networks, NGOs, municipalities, schools	Permanently
15. Introducing the young people to the sports and cultural calendar for the year	Schools	Every year
16. Organizing discussion with youths on the problems of Vidin and Zajecar in a special TV show	Media	1-2 a year
17. Making short reporting in TV or newspapers on youth events held	Media	Permanently
18. “Youth control” on the decisions of public institutions	Youth network	Permanently
19. Before weekends and holidays media should advertise through videos and other materials upcoming events for youths	Media and NGOs	Permanently
20. Encouraging important youth causes	Youth network, NGO, schools	Permanently
21. The opinion of youths from Vidin and Zajecar on the cities development should be studied once a year through “youth referendum”	NGOs, municipalities	Once a year
22. Expanding the Small Grants Programme “Iskorak” in Zajecar	NGO “Zajecar Initiative”	2015-2020
23. Promotion of volunteering activities and volunteer campaigns among youths and involving their parents in these activities	Cultural institutions	2016-2017