What is YMC(H)A?

YMC(H)A project brings together partners from Greece and Bulgaria with a belief that better quality of life can be achieved by the protection and promotion of cultural heritage and engaging directly with citizens. Sports activities and sports history are part of intangible heritage and a symbol of the cultural diversity of both societies and mainstreaming sports in all policies, such as youth, education, health, is of great importance for the EU. The overall objective of YMC(H)A project is to provide partners and others engaged in policy making on the promotion of sports as part of he cultural heritage with infrastructure, data and guidance on how to sustainably promote sports.The University of Rilski in Blagoevgrad and YMCA-Thessaloniki consisting the partnership, together with associated partners such as the Bulgarian Basket Association and many more, active in the field, the two major sports institutions with extensive experience on sports educational programmes, sports activities and sports promotional activities. YMC(H)A main activities are the renovation works of sports infrastructure owned by the University of Rilski and the construction works of a Sports Museum in Thessaloniki, providing to the potential users of every age, athletes or not, the facilities and challenges of ICTs developed within the project. Moreover, dissemination activities such as the sports festival, the seminar on museology, basketball tournament, conference "Basket Nowadays" and the openings in Thessaloniki and in Blagoevgrad, form an essential part of the project for its impression to the wider public. YMC(H)A project has the ambition to establish a network of sports centers, open to sports associations and organizations, to young people, to disadvantaged groups and to all citizens, offering a range of activities, educational and informative, with the use of ICTs, for the preservation and promotion of sports as part of the cultural heritage. Although part of the infrastructure exists, the need for modernization, including multimedia, and for valorization and digitalization of documentation and other interesting material, related to the past, present and future of sports, give to the YMC(H)A project an added value.

MANAGEMENT

With its rich history of a 35-year experience South-West University, the growth of the university and its recognition as the largest educational, scientific and cultural institution in Southwestern Bulgaria is resolutely due to the opportunities it provides to the young Bulgarians for a career development that leads to improvement of their lives and the lives of their families and makes them competitive on the labour market. Of particular importance is the fact that the University managed to gain position among the five most influential universities in Bulgaria with ambition and strong will to struggle to find an appropriate place within the European educational system.The University’s body comprises 8 faculties and one college. About 1000 lecturers are employed of whom more than 400 have academic ranks of professors and associate professors. South-West University’s Bachinovo Centre has long been an attractive place for the organization of various national and international scientific forums. Staff, guests and students have an access to a big conference hall with 150 seats and 8 fully equipped halls for conferences, seminars, symposiums and discussions which can seat over 270 participants. During this ten-year period research teams of the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" have won over 76 projects totaling over 10 000 000, 00 BGN in the following research areasThe Faculty of Public Health and Sports, as a member of the South-West University, is founded in 2009. It integrates the activities and long-lasting experience of various departments.It currently offers education programmes in health and social-related subjects; and sports programmes and facilities for the students and for the staff of all faculties of the University, a wide choice of main sport disciplines; the adaptive sport activity for students with chronically somatic diseases and disabilities as appropriate exercise for life-enhancing recreation; and sport performance excellence training for the university student teams. YMCA-Thessaloniki is one of the most important center of sports activities and promotion of sports heritage in the whole Greece, with great experience in the organization of international, European and national sports activities, and the education of sports to the whole range of ages, sexes etc. Its programming and development office, together with a team of more than 40 professionals form its core human resources. In terms of previous experience on eu funded project, it has implemented, inter alia, the Renovation of the "Avlaia" theater under the Operational Programme "Culture".

INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY

WP 2 of YMC(H)A project on Information and Publicity, focuses entirely on information, awareness raising and dissemination activities throughout the project. Both partners have overall responsibility and they take responsibility for their local/regional/national promotion material with translation where appropriate. Initially communications activities will focus on project newsletters, and a calendar of relevant events to which both partners will contribute. A sports festival in BG, and a educative seminar and an opening ceremony of the Sports Museum, involving, inter alia, externals will present to the wider public sports facilities and the Sports Museum. Development, progress and results of each partner’s testing will be promoted regionally and on the partners' website.The basketball tournament and the international conference for athletes "Basket in Nowadays", will be addressed to officials, networks and organizations, including NGOs active in sports and national and EU policy makers, and it will report on YMC(H)A results, launching the final report in both languages.In overall all the information and publicity actions in the framework of the proposed project, is the wider possible, accurate and timely information of the final and potential beneficiaries concerning the Project’s actions. To that purpose it’s proposed a wide information/dissemination plan including the organization of information awareness raising conferences, and the publication and distribution of information material about the initiatives assumed within the framework of the Project.

SUSTAINABILITY OF RESULTS

YMC(H) A tangible achievements will all contribute to its durability. They will inform future interventions at local, regional, national and European levels to promote sports as part of the cultural heritage by raising awareness of good practice and successful, tested multimedia applications. People across Europe and the whole world will have the chance to visit the Sports Museum and benefit from the sports facilities. YMC(H)A's final conference will present results to a transnational audience of policymakers, athletes experts and practitioners. Outputs will be owned by project partners, but will be open to the public and disseminated widely across Europe. Indeed throughout the operation, results and updates will be made available to a wider network of interested actors. The impact of YMC(H)A will be sustained across the EU. Partners and others will be better prepared to promote sports history and heritage in connection to better quality of life, beyond the life of the project