In 2021 the CCU launched a Cooperative Model Promotion Programme among Youth as a possibility to overcome the deficit of the lack of high school and higher cooperative education in Bulgaria and encouragement of youth to participate in cooperative forms of association. The initiatives are part of the pilot project based on which an overall innovative programme will be developed to provide young people with the competencies required for cooperative entrepreneurship through establishment of own cooperatives or employment in cooperatives which are part of the CCU. The second long-term goal is based on the implemented pilot projects proposals for regulatory changes to be made regarding the inclusion of the cooperatives topic in the secondary and higher education curricula in Bulgaria.

The project is aimed at a wide range of pupils and students who are potential cooperative members. It started as a pilot project in one higher and two secondary schools and encompasses three major target groups: • university graduates and master degree students in the field of trade, which is the core business activity of the cooperativeя within the CCU system; • Pupils in the high school grades (9-12 grade, 15-18 years of age); • Pupils in the secondary grades (5-8 grade, 11-14 years of ag

The Cooperative Model Promotion Programme among Youths includes a diverse set of initiatives, activities and indicators with an interim timeframe 2025 and long-term timeframe - 2030. The pilot project of the Programme has the following duration for the different target groups: • university graduates and master programme students in the field of trade – 2 years (2021-2022); • pupils in the junior high school and high school grades – 2 school years (2021/2022 and 2022/2023).

The activities aimed at promotion of the cooperative model among students are directly related to their education and professional realisation in the “Economics of Trade” line. To this end CCU financed the education of 15 youths from different regions in the country in the master’s degree programme “Retail Chain Management” and provided internship in cooperative shops to students graduating the “Economics of Trade” at the UNWE. The primary activities aimed at acquainting the pupils with the cooperatives are: • discussions, role playing, workshops, competitions, quizzes and other team lessons; • inclusion of the cooperative model in the freely eligible vocational training for pupils in the 10th and 11th grade; • provision of scholarships; • visits to cooperative organisations and organisation of internships, workshops, and team building events; • establishment of educational – training companies and teams to solve cooperative challenges; • special theme-based schools and camps in the cooperative hotels operating under the “COOP – Your Place for Holidays” brand; • visits to and special theme discussions held in the National Cooperative Museum; • establishment of student coop

The direct outcomes from the implementation of the project to date include: • In the framework of the project 412 students shall be directly involved, • the education of 15 youths in the master’s degree programme “Retail Chain Management” and the pre-graduation internship in cooperative shops of 6 students graduating at the University of National and World Economy have been completed; • The cooperative theme is included in the teaching programme for additional professional education with vocational training for 10th and 11th grade at the school in the town of Klisura and the students already study based on them.