1.3 National Youth Strategy
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Existence of a National Youth Strategy
According to the Youth Act (Закон за младежта), the national youth policy is carried out in line with a national youth strategy. The National Youth Strategy sets out the long-term national goals and priorities for youth in a time horizon of 10 years.
The National Youth Strategy 2021-2030 (Национална стратегия за младежта 2021-2030) was approved by the Council of Ministers on 22.07.2021 and was adopted by the National Assembly at the end of January 2023.
Scope and contents
The National Youth Strategy 2021-2030 was drafted after intensive consultations with young people. The new priorities raised by the young people, such as the establishment of youth work, protection of environment, culture and creativity, among others were taken into account and put on the youth policy agenda for the next ten years
Furthermore, before being approved by the Council of Ministers the draft National Youth Strategy 2021-2030 was accessible for public consultations on the Public Consultations Portal (Портал за обществени консултации).
The vision of the National Youth Strategy 2021-2030 is: “capable, engaged and empowered young people ready to develop their full potential and to contribute consciously to the development of the Republic of Bulgaria in the context of the European family and the global world.
The main strategic objectives are:
- Promotion of non-formal learning;
- Promotion of employment and support of NEETs;
- Promotion of engagement, participation and empowerment of young people;
- Development and establishment of youth work at national level;
- Connectivity, tolerance and European belonging;
- Promotion of healthy and environmental-friendly lifestyle;
- Promotion of culture and creativity among young people.
Responsible authority for the implementation of the Youth Strategy
The Ministry of Youth and Sports is responsible for the implementation, coordination and monitoring of the national youth strategy.
Since 2022, according to the Youth Act, the National Assembly adopts a youth report (доклад за младежта) every two years, instead of annually as before.
Due to the lack of permanent government and frequent elections during the recent years, the last youth report adopted by the National Assembly is for 2019. The last annual youth report for 2020 (prepared before the amendments to the Youth Act) and the first biannual youth report for 2021 – 2022 (prepared after the enforcement of the amendments to the Youth Act) are not yet adopted by the National Assembly. As at March 2025, these reports are pending the adoption by the Parliament, and the 2023-2024 youth report is in process of preparation.
In pursuance of the national youth strategy, the Council of Ministers annually adopts annual action plan for the implementation of the national youth strategy. Such annual action plan is prepared on the basis of summarized information about youth activities and initiatives submitted by the relevant ministries and administrative regions. The Ministry of Youth and Sports coordinates and manages the preparation and implementation of the annual plan. Then the responsible ministries and administrative regions submit information with the results from the implementation of the annual plan, which is summarized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in a report of the annual plan.
Revisions/updates
There are no recent revisions/ updates of the National Youth Strategy 2021-2030.