Conference Information

Psychodrama conferences for children and young people already have a long tradition. It started in the German-speaking countries with conferences in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Since 2018, the conference has been held in English and has already taken place in Hungary and Croatia. According to the motto of the working function of the brain “neurons that fire together wire together”, the communities of psychodramatists working with children and youth became larger and larger. The fact that we want to explore the brain and the positive effects of play is due to many years of practical experience. The play is a state where adult humans would like to be and children should be. Human beings (Children) play when they feel relaxed and relax when they play and can develop and flourish in this state. In order to develop the brain arias responsible for higher-order cognitive functions, children need rich playful experience. Play helps the brain to wire from the lower brain structures (brain-stem, responsible for physiological reactions) to the limbic system (emotional center of the brain) and
to the cerebral cortex (involved in learning, monitoring, thinking, executive functions, etc.). Since the brain mechanisms responsible for guiding play are probably the one that benefits from the play, we would like to explore the connection between brain and play in the context of psychodrama with children and youth during our conference.
Please travel to Plovdiv and play, learn and relax with us to grow.

Letter of Invitation

Should one require, Interplay Institute and Cognitiva Center will send a personal letter of invitation for the conference. This is done in order to assist potential participants in acquiring travel funds or visas.

Climate

The weather for September in Plovdiv is warm, with maximum temperatures during the around 24°-29°C, and slightly cooler evenings around 20°C. We recommend checking the weather forecast prior to your travel and packing accordingly.

Transportation

We do not offer transport from Sofia to Plovdiv but we can share the following information which will guide you:

1. Sofia airport Terminal 2 – Central station Sofia

Sofia Airport Metro Station is in close proximity to the airport terminal building. To reach it, follow the blue line on the floor in the public area of Terminal 2. The journey time from Sofia Airport to the city centre is approximately 18 min. Changing trains from Line 1 to Line 2 at Serdika Metro Station, passengers can travel from the airport to Sofia Central Bus and Railway Stations.

2. Central Bus and Railway Station Sofia – Plovdiv

By bus: You can take a bus from Central Bus Station Sofia to Plovdiv (it takes approximately 2h and costs around 10 euro one way ticket. During daytime there are buses every hour from Sofia to Plovdiv). Please check the website of the Central Bus Station for more information: https://centralnaavtogara.bg/index.php#b
By train: You can also take a direct train from Sofia Central Station to Plovdiv (it takes approximately 3 hours and costs around 6 euro one way ticket. There are trains from Sofia to Plovdiv every 2 hours). Please check the website of Sofia Central Station for more information: https://bdz.bg/en

Transportation in Plovdiv

Taxi: Taxis in Plovdiv are yellow and they can be found in front of the big hotels, train stations and bus stations, as well as in key places in the city. We recommend you to use Eko taxi Plovdiv 6155 (https://ekotaxi.bg/en/home-2/) or Taxi 1(https://taxi1.bg/).
Public transport: you can also use buses in the city – tickets are sold in the buses. You can look into their schedule in Google maps.

Here is again the location of the venue of the conference: https://goo.gl/maps/bYjhZf98vg64ZaJu8

Important Dates and Information Regarding Payment

Bank Account:

KBC Bank Bulgaria
Bank Address: Sofia, 1618, 13 Alexander Pushkin Str.

BIC: RZBBBGSF

IBAN: BG12RZBB91551015405459

Beneficiary: Civil Partnership Brain and Play

Beneficiary Address: Sofia, 1618, 4 Professor Velizar Velkov Str.

For the Pre-Conference:

Early Bird Fees: Until the 30th of April, 2023
For Eastern European Participants: 75,-EUR

For Western European Participants: 100,-EUR

Late Bird Fees: After the 30th of April, 2023

For Eastern European Participants: 100,-EUR

For Western European Participants: 125,-EUR

For the Main Conference:

Early Bird Fees: Until the 30th of April, 2023
For Eastern European Participants: 150,-EUR

For Western European Participants: 200,-EUR

Late Bird Fees: After the 30th of April, 2023

For Eastern European Participants: 200,-EUR

For Western European Participants: 250,-EUR

If you choose to register for both, please transfer the collective sum of the fees.

Our Bank account is posted on the registration form.

NB!: Please note that you are responsible for paying any fees associated with carrying out the bank transfer!

Cancellation Policy:

In case you decide to cancel your registration:

Until the 1st of May, you will get 80% of the fee refunded.
Until the 15th of July, you will get 50% of the fee refunded.
After the 15th of July, you will get 0% of the fee refunded.