About 70 children from 22 schools in UK, Germany, France, Spain and Slovakia will gather on June 21 in the Bulgarian Embassy in London to participate in the ninth edition of the International Bulgarian Reading Competition. The best among them will be crowned King and Queen of Letters. The event will be held under the auspices of Ambassador Tihomir Stoychev and with the assistance of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad and the Ministry of Education and Science. The host and main organizer is the Bulgarian School "Chuchuliga" in London and co-organizer is the Bulgarian School "Az Buki Vedi" in Cologne. Radio Bulgaria of BNR is a media partner of the event.

The competition originated in the school in Germany as parents’ initiative in the 2010/2011 school year with several goals – to build and motivate reading skills in children from the Bulgarian diaspora, to provide feedback between teachers and parents, and to present the students’ annual achievements.

"Two students from 1st and 2nd grade from each school participate," says Rositsa Bayraktarski, head of the school in Cologne and a teacher of Bulgarian language and literature. "In the first round, familiar texts from the first-graders' reading books are read. In the second, the participants read an unfamiliar text in prose, which is also not a big challenge for them. We strive to ensure that the selected excerpts do not contain unfamiliar words or archaisms.

Only the best ones pass to the third round, where they read poetry. Over the years, there have been voices calling for this round to be dropped, but we are maintaining it because we believe that we should not give up on poetry. Something we changed last year is that at the beginning we give the children a little time to prepare – to feel the rhythm before reading the poem in front of the jury. They should not feel overwhelmed and frustrated, but to feel victorious from the fact they can read."

Valentin Kozhuharov, administrator and Bulgarian language teacher at the school in London, says the competition is significant not only because the youngest students are showing reading skills in Bulgarian, but also because it will be easier for them in the next grades.

"At every competition, we observe how children want to achieve something they had not been able to achieve before,” he adds. “Some read slowly, others – more smoothly. There are even participants who put in feeling, emotion, as was the case with our student who impressed the jury at last year's competition in Northern Ireland. The children are different, but the important thing is that they try very hard. Of course, there are tears, there are smiles, as is the case at every competition, but in the end everyone, including the parents, realize that it is not so much the participation that is important, but spending this day together and making friends. In fact, the event becomes a celebration of Bulgarian letters and the competition in which everyone wants to be first remains in the background."

The teachers do not reveal the names of the authors whose texts the children will be challenged with but point out that they are mostly Bulgarian authors. A month after May 24, official guests from various Bulgarian institutions, representatives of publishing houses and parents will celebrate together with the children in London in this unique holiday of the Bulgarian alphabet and culture.

Author: Diana Tsankova

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: International Bulgarian Reading Competition "Az Buki Vedi", Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, chuchuliga.uk, Facebook/ Rositsa Bayraktarski