Situation Center "Open Doors", which has been providing support to Ukrainians living in Bulgaria since the beginning of the war in 2022, continues to develop one of its main missions – providing Bulgarian language training for Ukrainian refugees.
"When the situation center started working, one of its first goals was to help the refugees start learning Bulgarian language. We told this to various media, including BNR. Many volunteers responded and came to our center,” the coordinator at the Ukrainian Education Center in Sofia, Elena Volkova, says. “These language courses continue to this day and thanks to these people, many of the children are now comfortable speaking Bulgarian. In addition to the volunteers, the children also study Bulgarian twice a week, together with teachers from Ukraine."
Currently the courses are held according to textbooks provided by the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.
The project called "Love Speaks Bulgarian" will allow 100 children from Ukraine to attend Bulgarian language lessons twice a week throughout the summer. The team of the "Open Doors" Situation Center hopes to collect 3,000 euros needed for this activity by May 15. The goal is to facilitate the removal of the language barrier for Ukrainian children, so they can communicate more easily with their peers in Bulgaria, as well as to fully integrate into Bulgarian society.
"Some of the parents have decided to enroll their children in Bulgarian schools during the next school year,” Elena Volkova says. "They are aware that unfortunately the war could continue for a long time and that they might have to stay in Bulgaria."
The Ukrainian educational center continues to work on another important task - its transformation into the first Bulgarian-Ukrainian secondary school. It has not yet been specified what methodology and textbooks will be used in it. Currently, the children have in-person classes in the building of the center, according to Ukrainian educational program in an online format.
Photos and video: Situation Center "Open Doors", personal archive
In the summer of 2014, photographer Philippe Bazin and philosopher Christiane Vollaire traveled around Bulgaria, investigating a series of self-immolations in the country that happened in 2013. They filmed over 30 locations, conducted..
On 27 October, the first meeting of Action CA-24150 “Values in Turbulent Times: Navigating Social Change and Challenges (VISTA)” took place in Brussels. The initiative is part of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) programme – one of..
The so-called Seal of Biliteracy was created in 2011 in the US state of California with the idea that in the conditions of a globalized economy and relationships, it is not possible for a person to develop their full potential by..
Fertility Europe , the pan-European organization that represents patient associations focused on infertility issues, has announced the start of the 9..
The so-called Seal of Biliteracy was created in 2011 in the US state of California with the idea that in the conditions of a globalized..
Today, in the Radio Bulgaria studio, we welcomed Helmut Matt – a writer, radio journalist and poet, who has maintained a special connection with Bulgaria..
Cloudy
Rain
Overcast, rain
Scattered showers