This week's Educational Forum Outside the Form: Inside Out Through Art brought together representatives from schools, kindergartens and other educational institutions working with children and young people to explore together the mental health and healing power of art. How they intertwine, the effect of creativity on health, when we reach a state of "burnout" in our work and how to help each other were just some of the questions we discussed during the event.

In the period July'22 - January'23, a survey was conducted among young people in Plovdiv and the region. The need to talk more and conduct training on the topic of mental health stood out as the first and most necessary among young people. This was the reason why this year we dedicated our two forums - youth and educational - specifically to mental health. From our professional experience to date, we know that art in turn is a very powerful and therapeutic method of working.

Elena Stoycheva, Emotional Intelligence and Development of Social Skills trainer, introduced us to the challenges of working with children, what the appearance of so-called "difficult" behavior means and what the teacher's position should be in relation to such situations. Participants shared their experiences and understood how creativity can be used to overcome problems at work.

The afternoon session was devoted to the topic of professional burnout. Genika Baicheva, Creative methods and training techniques trainer at the center, presented the symptoms of professional burnout and with a series of art therapy techniques, everyone identified their individual stress levels and how to manage them.

Youth workers at the centre presented the topic of mental health and art through the lens of poetry. They ended the forum by immersing themselves in lyrics and fine art through a created art installation, gaining inspiration and self-discovery. And so, in rhyme and dream, we look forward to the next upcoming anniversary edition.

The educational forum is realized as part of the project "Youth Centre Plovdiv - a powerful factor for local development" under the program "Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Enhanced Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups, financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014-2021.