On the evening of 30th June, 2011 EQ hosted a special event in the Ruse Regional History Museum with the kind support of Arena Media and Open Society Ruse.
The event was out of the ordinary in the sense that David was the only adult performer. The “three guitars” belonged to Roxana Borisova and David’s son Vihren, students at the city’s music school as well as Ani Gaydarova who studies music in a conservatory in Romania. The singing voice was David’s but while making the presentation, ‘See me, Hear me, Help me’ he was assisted by Maria Lazarova from the city’s school of European languages.
The event was an example of students working together with adults for a worthy cause. Jewelry and other items created at the social services complex were sold to raise funds to support our 2011 summer camp. Classical guitar music was interspersed among songs performed by David and linked to the subject of the presentation – rock musicians who had suffered disadvantage or deprival as children. This novel idea had been provided to David by students with whom he works in the context of the British Council’s international project – ‘Connecting Classrooms’. David’s recent election to the board of the National Children’s Network was largely based on his experience in educational development and, in particular, the promotion of youth activism and community engagement. David explained the practical difficulties involved in continuing the process of informal education ‘after the workshop has ended’ and defined the challenge he has been given to create a workable model for student activism that dovetails with school curricular and involves meaningful social engagement and youth volunteerism.
David is currently at the centre of a large group of teenagers dispersed across Bulgaria and he hopes to develop the basis for a genuine network that both acts as an ‘energy source’ supporting the activity at Ruse’s complex for social services and provokes its members to use their personal interests constructively for the benefit of themselves and others.
