Freeway - Mariya Ivanova

Mariya Ivanova

Hello!
Nice to meet you!
My name is Mariya Ivanova and I am a participant in the Freeway project for a second year!
I am eighteen years old and I live in a beautiful town in Bulgaria. I attend a foreign language school and I am going to apply to university this year. My dream is to become a leading journalist.
I enjoy doing various things in my spare time.
I practise yoga for 3 years now and I find it very helpful and interesting. Moreover, I enjoy being involved in social work. I am an active member of a few non-governmental youth organazations.
My interest for journalism is emormous. Since I was very little I have had occasions to be chosen to give account on the radio either about literary contests in which I have participated and have won, or about the understanding of a subject as a representatiive of my generation. My participation in the radio made me interested in journalism. For two years now I have been a journalist writing articles for the regional newspaper.

Socially engaged youngsters have the opportunity to express their views in a youth weekly addendum to this regional newspaper. With my active involvement in the issuing of the youth addendum, I was chosen to become its responsible editor. My work includes also co-ordinating the project through which we publish the addendum and informing the society about our work. This creates a virtuous circle that makes me happy with being a young journalist.

Not from long, I am responsible for the resources of Eurodesk in my town. Thus I have a free reach to information about NGOs and initiatives from Bulgaria and Europe .
Another kind of social work that I enjoy includes the NGO Children's Parliament, where I am an assistant co-ordinator. We work on various projects such as Euroatlantic Tuesdays connected with Bulgaria's EU accession, integration of people from different ethn icity and equality, peer-to-peer educations about the country's judicial system, HIV / AIDS, etc.
I enjoy helping people with my participation in NGOs. For already three years I have been a member of the youth Red Cross. I am a co-ordinator of the Public-Relations club in the regional Youth Red Cross. I have participated in various Red Cross projects. For most years I have worked on the theme about human tra f ficking - making peer-to-peer lectures in schools and orphanages, and as a part of Red Cross team to a leadership program. I have participated in a lot of charity campaigns such as taking duties in collecting money and children books for orphanages and children with mental disabilities and accumulating foodstuffs for old people. The project in help of the old people included also taking packets with products to their houses and sometimes staying some time with them chatting and s howing them that somebody thinks about them and there are not forgotten and sunk in oblivion. I also used to be a part of a youth emergency team and recently I have recommenced my involvement. I accept the humane cause of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement to help people.
I have also worked on a project with an ecological NGO, called the "Earth Forever" foundation. I tackled with the topic of everyone's right to have free access of clean water and hygiene. We discussed problems connected with the Danube and the countries through which it passes, as well as the Danube's importance for their population.I was also involved in a club for creating amateur short video films. However, the club ceased to exist. But I used to be very interested in film-reviewing and I still know about the world of cinema. So, I am open to discuss the subject with you, in case you are willing.
For this year's Freeway project, I intend to write an article about something connected with the extend to which our generation is interested in the things that are considered high-level in culture such as museums, foreign cultures and for example books and films which introduce the culture world-wide.
So I would appreciate it if you tell me something more about your situation - whether you live in big city or in a small village in the province, whether you have a free access to the new technologies such as having an interent connection in your own house, whether you and your fellows are interested in going to the cinema or to the opera or to concerts and whether you are free to do so.
I would also love to know what you have heard about Bulgaria - about our culture, language, attitude towards foreigners, economical and social life, standard of living, etc.
Mariya IVANOVA, Bulgaria