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Bulgarian children from all over Europe compete in reading contest in their native language

Photo: 8th International Reading Contest in Bulgarian language

A total of 37 Bulgarian students from 15 Sunday schools abroad competed in the 8th International Bulgarian Language Reading Contest for first and second grade students abroad "Az Buki Vedi". 

The event took place on 8 June 2024 at the Kesselheim Sports Club in the German town of Koblenz, where the hosts from the Bukvar Bulgarian School welcomed guests and participants from Germany, England, Italy and France.

Traditionally, the competition was held in three rounds again this year. In Round I the children read a familiar text from the first or second grade reader, in Round II they tried their hand at an unfamiliar text - prose, and the best-performing participants were admitted to Round III, where they had to read additional texts in verse.


The children were very excited because each of them had been preparing for months for their participation in the competition, the organisers said, adding that all the children who performed in the competition received prizes, gifts and certificates for "Keeper of the Letters" "because they really are".

The statuette for the youngest contestant in the category of First Grade was awarded to Melissa Ivanova from the town of Kiev. The first prize went to Ines Flament from the Cyril and Methodius Sunday School in Paris.


As "Lord of the Letters" were titled Michaela Rakhneva - first grader at the Vasil Levski Bulgarian school in Leeds, England and Anna Dobreva, second grader from Knyaz Boris I Bulgarian Sunday School in Aachen (Germany).

The biggest prizes - King or Queen of Letters - are awarded to the winners of the contest. This year, there were two queens, as Gabriela Hinkova (1st grade) from the Az Buki Vedi Bulgarian Sunday School in Cologne, and Siyana Lomé (2nd grade) from the Cyril and Methodius school in Paris deserved the victory with their skills in reading Bulgarian.


Diana Popova, Consul General of Bulgaria in Frankfurt am Main, under whose patronage the Competition was held, awarded four more special awards for excellent performance - "Bukvoznaiko". The first-graders who deserved them are Kaloyan Ivanov from Saints Cyril and Methodius School in Regensburg, Straubing, and Amira Zeneldin from Jan Bibian Bulgarian School in Münster.

The title of "Bukvoznaiko" from the second grade went to Kalina Andonova from the Bulgarian school in Hamburg and Raya Rosen Kolev from the Jan Bibiyan School in Munster, Germany.

Rositsa Bayraktarsky and the founders of the competition from the Az Buki Vedi Bulgarian Sunday School in Cologne, awarded four more children with Az Buki Vedi medals. These are second graders Georgi Georgiev from Essen and Jolina Bozhinova from Rome, as well as first graders Daniel Petrov from Aachen and Irena Baicheva from Dortmund. Congratulations to all the children and their teachers!


It is now clear which schools will host the Bulgarian language reading competition in the next two years. The hosting statuette - "The Pen of Knowledge" - has gone to London and the school "Chuchuliga", which will host the competition in 2025.  The 2026 reading competition will be organised by the Cyril and Methodius school in Paris.
The reading competition "Az Buki Vedi" is a parent initiative, which was first launched and implemented in the school year 2010/2011 in the Az Buki Vedi Bulgarian Sunday School in Cologne. The first edition of the project was first launched in 2011 and is now available in Cologne.  Children of Bulgarian origin who attend official schools in the countries of Europe and who additionally attend classroom or individual instruction in their native (Bulgarian) language participate in the competition.



The 8th edition of the international Bulgarian reading competition was held with the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science in the Republic of Bulgaria and in partnership with the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad and the publishing house "Prosveta". Media partners are "I-Books" newspaper, the BTA, the BNR, Tatkovina Radio.


Photos: Facebook/International Reading Contest in Bulgarian language, Deyana Zheleva, Bukvar Bulgarian School, Koblenz


English publication by Rositsa Petkova

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