blog Archives - Zarika Association

Testimonial: Co-Flow Training Course

By Nikol Parvanova My name is Nikol, I am a senior in university and had never gone on an Erasmus+ program before. This article is not only my way to disseminate the practices and takeaways from the first one I went on, but also a raw self-reflection of how the experience changed my perspective on sooo many levels. (Also my first time writing such an article.) There are two types of people when it comes to what their email inbox looks like: one keeps it clean and tidy, with all the important emails read and replied to, while the second has subscribed to a dozen newsletters that they never open. Well, if you are reading this, you have probably gathered which type of person I am. So,…

Open Call for ESC Volunteering: Find YOUR Place, Connect, and Contribute with PIRINvolve in Bansko, Bulgaria!

Are you ready to turn your ideas into action, build real-life skills, and make a meaningful difference? Zarika Association is thrilled to announce the open call for PIRINvolve, a 5-month European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteering project. We are looking for four passionate young people to join our team in the beautiful mountain town of Bansko, Bulgaria, from November 3rd, 2026, to April 2nd, 2027 (151 days of project activity + 2 travel days). Before reading further, you can check out the Full PIRINvolve Infopack for a complete overview of the project, accommodation, and activities! About the PIRINvolve Project At Zarika, we believe in a world with less apathy and more empathy. Our mission is to create spaces where young people discover their potential, connect with inspiring peers,…

“Just Be Yourself”…But Which Self?

Oscar Wilde once famously said, “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” Then, Ralph Waldo Emerson added, “Be yourself, even when your voice shakes, even when your truth feels inconvenient, because a life built on pretending will always feel like a house you can’t fully rest in.” And then, apparently, “be yourself” even became a verb (Or so does the Shift Your Perspective pin claim on Pinterest) meaning, “Just be who you want to be, not what others want to see.” I remember being in middle school and discovering these boards on Pinterest for the first time… Saving and reposting them to seem “cool” and “different” from the rest of the teenagers… But what I didn’t realize at the time was that firstly, thousands of others were doing…

Connect and Flow: Exploring Connection Through Acro Yoga and Theater Improvisation

In June 2026, youth workers, educators, and facilitators from different countries came together in Croatia for the Erasmus+ training course "Connect and Flow" or Co-Flow, an experiential learning journey exploring how movement, creativity, trust, and collaboration can strengthen personal development and youth work practice. The training course combined two powerful methodologies: Acro Yoga and Theater Improvisation. While Acro Yoga invited participants to build trust, communication, and body awareness through partner-based movement, Theater Improvisation offered tools for spontaneity, creativity, active listening, adaptability, and co-creation. Together, these approaches created a unique learning environment where participants could step outside their comfort zones, embrace uncertainty, and discover new ways of connecting with themselves and others. Zarika Association was proud to be a partner organization and send four amazing participants to this…

How To Care Without Being Consumed

A 2300-year-old philosophy for the age of doomscrolling How is it that you can feel everything and nothing at the same time? The alarm goes off – the first of many that you had set up not to be late for work. You open your eyes and hit snooze for the first couple, then the sensitive period of “almost-running-late” arrives, and you finally decide to wake up. You don’t get up though, not right away, at least. You feel paralyzed. You went to bed last night scrolling through videos of all sorts of suffering, and yet, before you even step foot on the ground, you open your favorite social media app again and continue. Two minutes turn to five, five to ten, and ten to thirty. Without…

The Project is Over: A Practical Guide on How to Beat the Post-Erasmus+ Blues

You come back home after an Erasmus+ mobility and everything feels slightly strange. A week ago, you were surrounded by people from different countries, sharing meals, ideas, inside jokes, emotional reflections, late-night conversations, energizers, workshops, cultural evenings and plans to change the world. Now you are back in your usual routine, your suitcase is half-unpacked, your group chat is still active but less chaotic, and somehow ordinary life feels a little too quiet. This feeling is real. Many participants experience what we can call the “post-Erasmus+ blues”: the emotional drop after an intense international experience. It can feel like sadness, nostalgia, lack of motivation, disconnection, or even confusion about what to do next. The good news? This feeling does not mean the project is over. In many…

Collective Leadership Retreat in Bansko: From Individuals to a Living System

On March 21st, Bansko became the setting for something more than a workshop. It became a space where a small group of young social entrepreneurs came together to explore what it truly means to lead together. The Collective Leadership Retreat, organized by Zarika, brought together seven participants—some of them among the winners from the latest edition of Innovation Station, alongside members of the Better Community Club. What they shared was not just ambition, but curiosity: how do we move from individual leadership to collective intelligence? Starting with the Place: Bansko as a Teacher The day began not in a room, but outside—where leadership feels more natural. We walked through the Old Town of Bansko, immersing ourselves in its history, architecture, and atmosphere. The cobblestone streets, traditional houses,…

Lost in Translation: Why Your Love Might Not Be Felt

“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much so as to be understood” – George Orwell, 1984 We may have defined love and its significance last month, but does that guarantee us success in expressing it towards others? In 1992, a marriage counselor and Baptist minister, Gary Chapman, introduced a theory that would become one of the most commonly discussed ideas in modern relationship psychology. In his book, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate, Chapman proposed that people have preferred ways of expressing and interpreting love. He had arrived at this theory through years of counseling work with couples, who felt unloved because they failed to recognize each other’s efforts as genuine affection. Because when love stops feeling like…

Innovation Station vol.6: The Prophecy of Grain and Gold

A celebration of youth-driven innovation, collaboration, and social impact For the sixth consecutive year, the Better Community Club at the American University in Bulgaria brought together purpose-driven young people for one of the most inspiring social entrepreneurship events in the country: Innovation Station vol.6: The Prophecy of Grain and Gold. This annual ideathon has become more than just a competition. It is a living ecosystem of collaboration where 12 teams of young innovators work intensively to address 12 real-life challenges provided by NGOs, guided by mentors from civil society and the business sector. Over the course of the event, ideas evolve into actionable solutions—rooted in empathy, creativity, and a strong sense of social responsibility. Where ideas meet real-world impact At its core, Innovation Station is about bridging…

From Stage to Real Change: How Legislative Theater Opens Space for Dialogue and Solves Social Problems

By Stefan Tashev In the period between February 6 and 15, 2026. Zarika Association took part in a training course dedicated to the "Legislative Theater" method. The training took place in a wooded area in the Carpathians near the town of Busceni, Romania, an area that is well known to have a high population of brown bears that have become accustomed (or not so much) to human presence. This added an additional, albeit informal, element of adventure to the learning process. The course was organized by A.R.T. Fusion with facilitators Monica Tudorache and Antonia Pîslariu, and brought together over 25 participants from across Europe and neighboring continents with different professional and civic backgrounds, united by an interest in social change, activism and advocacy. From the very beginning,…