“Every European city has its history. History, in many cases sealed in buildings.” So begins
the three-minute video of three students from Kazanlak, who are taking part in the Imagine
EU competition, encouraging young people from EU countries to submit their policy
proposals.

Toma, Boris and Kristian turn to the topic of buildings of historical significance. These are
valuable buildings that have preserved unique architectural styles, but also history. The
buildings that the boys show in their video are related to education before the liberation of
Bulgaria in 1878, charity and culture. It is important to note that they only serve as a symbol

in the video. If this project gets legal effect, it should cover all buildings in the European
Union.
“One of the problems these buildings face today is related to their ownership. The heirs are
not always able to keep the inherited real estate. That is exactly why we propose to draw up a
single European legislation that would allow the responsible institutions to intervene in these
cases when necessary. This includes funding, which, according to our information, is
currently insufficient to cover all the sites in need,” the boys share.

Such buildings can be found in every European city. They are often a object of vandalism.
“The problem we are mostly fighting against is the complete oblivion on the part of society
regarding buildings of cultural value. They are part of the urban environment and define the
appearance of the places in which we live. On the other hand, the care we take for them shows
our attitude to history,” the students add.
The boys’ proposal competes with 387 other ideas from all EU countries. You can vote for it
until January 28th here:

https://citizens-initiative-forum.europa.eu/video-competition/da-bde-ili-da-ne-bde-kultura_en

The goal is for the participants from Kazanlak to rank among the first
10 projects, which will then be evaluated by a jury. The awarded teams will visit Brussels,
where they will present their ideas live and learn about the functions of the European
institutions.
You can find the voting steps here.