Summer School “Young People and Environment–Water and Future” Co-Organised by CUC at Paisii Hilendarski University in Plovdiv

From 30 June to 4 July 2025, sociology students Klara Puček, Dora Reštogorac, Noa Šajatović, and Matea Štukar, along with Ante Glasnović, a student of history and sociology, and Karolina Kompes, a PhD student in History, participated in the Summer School “Young People and Environment–Water and Future” held at Paisii Hilendarski University in Plovdiv.
 

In addition to the University of Plovdiv, the summer school was co-organised by the Catholic University of Croatia, Université Lumière-Lyon 2 (France), and Democritus University (Greece). The co-organisation on behalf of the Department of Sociology at CUC was coordinated by Assoc. Prof. Miriam Mary Brgles, PhD, the department’s ECTS coordinator, who also delivered a lecture titled “Sharing Research Experience from a Sociological Study on the Narratives of Young People about Sustainable Lifestyles.”
 

As part of fieldwork, participants visited Diocletian’s Baths and other water-related heritage sites in Hisarya. In Hisarya, students engaged in research using observation and walking/go-along interviews with local residents, supplemented by lectures in history and archaeology. They also conducted ethnographic fieldwork along the Maritsa River in Plovdiv and presented both group and individual reports on their findings and possible sustainable solutions for the river’s future.

For the round table discussion, CUC students prepared a series of individual presentations on the history and protection of water resources in Croatia, with special focus on the work and projects of the Croatian Waters (Hrvatske vode) institution. PhD student Karolina Kompes presented on the role of Bishop J. J. Strossmayer in the adoption of Croatia’s first water law and his visionary contributions to water protection as a strategic national resource.

Students and faculty also wrote final reports, and on the last day of the programme, following a closing discussion, they were awarded certificates of participation. The summer school was organised as part of the EU-funded NextGenerationEU programme through Bulgaria’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, project no. BG-RRP-2.004-0001-C01.