site.btaMinister: 12,000-Plus School Students Use Geographic Information Systems in Class 

Over 1,200 teachers and 12,000 students use geographic information systems (GIS) in class, said Education Minister Galin Tsokov at the annual awards ceremony of Esri Bulgaria. The company provides free licenses to Bulgarian schools for its products and holds annually a national educational competition “Exploring the World with GIS”, which is under the auspices of the Education Ministry. 

"One of the main goals for change in education is the introduction of meaningful digital decisions in forming a new way of thinking. The education process should encourage exploring and knowing the world around us. Such initiative helps for the wider use of project-based and practice-oriented education,” said Minister Tsokov. 

The awards for special GIS achievements were presented in five categories: public administration, local self-government, private sector, security and international organization. The initiative is part of International GIS Day. 

The forum brought together leading international experts and over 700 representatives of more than 200 organizations from the public administration, local self-government, business, the academic community, the non-government sector. The event was organized by Esri Bulgaria in partnership with over 50 leading organizations.