Can young people and children talk about serious and painful topics such as violence and differences? Can they teach adults how to better deal with conflicts between them? Who are different people and are they a threat?

On these and other questions, fifth, sixth and seventh grade students from three Sofia schools debated, created and told stories within the framework of the project “Stories about the Power of Difference”, implemented by the association “Reflective Learning Bulgaria” and financially supported by the “Europe 2022” program of Sofia Municipality.

On November 11, 2022. the final event of the project was held, at which students from the debate and storytelling clubs from 145 “Simeon Radev” Primary School, 31 “Ivan Vazov” Secondary School and 97 “Bratya Miladinovi” Secondary School (partners and participants in the project) presented the debates and stories they had prepared to a jury and an audience. In the large and welcoming hall of 145 Primary School “Simeon Radev”, students, parents, teachers and citizens gathered to experience together with the debaters how live debates happen. The participants in the project presented debates on the following topics:

145 Primary School “Simeon Radev”

“Verbal aggression causes more damage than physical aggression”

31 Secondary School “Ivan Vazov”

“Being different is an advantage”

97 Secondary School “Bratya Miladinovi”

“Better different than the same”.

The topics of the debates were suggested by the children themselves, and in their preparation they were supported by teachers and school psychologists. Each debate took place with great excitement on the part of the participants, most of whom were appearing on stage and in front of an audience for the first time. All teams received positive and encouraging comments from the jury, which consisted of Dr. Antoaneta Mateeva (NBU), Evgeniya Toneva (NBU) and Ioana Kirilova, a 10th grade student at 97 SU, a debater and an excellent student.

The first debate presented strong and very well-prepared arguments, with the students first introducing the understanding of what physical and verbal aggression is. And then they advocated for their theses, with one of the strongest arguments of the affirmative team being that it is very often difficult to share with someone when you are the subject of verbal aggression. Another argument was that the one who suffers verbal aggression must first understand and realize that he is a victim of violence and only then will he be able to seek the necessary help. The children from the denying team presented arguments related to the consequences of physical aggression, making a connection with the tragic events in Ukraine. The debate was attended by sixth-grade students from 145 Simeon Radev Primary School.

The second debate offered a non-standard format for conducting a classic debate, looking for arguments for and against in teams. The teams relied on arguments related to world history and civilization: “If we were all the same and strived to not differ from the masses, then minds like Galileo Galilei and Einstein would not have made their discoveries for the benefit of humanity.” According to them, those who are different are strong and they lead the rest. The arguments of the negative team were in the direction that you can be different in a good and a bad way, and when you are different in a way that harms others, then difference is not an advantage. The debate was attended by sixth-grade students from 31 Ivan Vazov Secondary School.

The third debate presented two teams that again worked on the topic of difference. The affirmative team built its arguments on the basis that being different does not mean being conflicted or making wrong decisions and opposing each other, but being able to express yourself, despite society’s expectations of fitting into certain norms. The negative team presented counterarguments with which it defended its thesis that rather unification and striving for unified values ​​and common rules help people live better together. Thus, the two teams, with their positions as revolutionaries and unifiers, involved the entire hall in searching for an answer to the question: Do differences create chaos, changing the world? Students from the sixth and seventh grades of 97 SU “Bratya Miladinovi” participated in the debate.

After the debates, Borislava Mancheva and Tsvetelina Anakieva from 97 SU presented stories (using the storytelling method) about domestic violence. They told stories that they had heard from their classmates or from adults, related to the positions of a victim, an abuser and witnesses of violence. From the stories we learned that young people have a connection to the topic of violence, they are affected by violence personally or through the stories of their friends. Borislava called on women and girls not to accept violence against them, because without women this world cannot develop. And Tsvetelina told stories about how behind the abuser lies a person experiencing pain and how there is a chance that domestic violence will not be passed down through generations.

The presentation of the clubs from the three schools showed that the debate method develops exceptional qualities and skills in young people, which they can apply in their relationships with each other and be tolerant of different points of view. Storytelling is a way for young people to reflect on various problems, as well as a way to raise their own questions on important topics.

Podcasts were conducted with students and teachers in the three schools as part of the project. They, as well as a film about the project, were created by students Yoana Pencheva (student of sociology at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”) and Nikolay Dimitrov (student of cinema at the New Bulgarian University). They are available here.

There is no better way to complete this project and this message than the words of a participant in the debate and storytelling club from 31 SUCHEM “Ivan Vazov”: “This club is the best thing that has ever happened to me and that I could have decided on myself”.