site.btaKnowledge Is Most Important Thing EU Has Given Bulgaria, Says Director of Education Directorate at Sofia Municipality

The most important thing that the European Union has given Bulgaria is knowledge, Desislava Zhelyazkova, Director of the Education Directorate at Sofia Municipality, said during a local conference in the Maxim Hall in the BTA building in Sofia. The event was part of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project. 

"Knowledge of what is happening in other countries, the opportunity to make comparisons, the opportunity to determine the model we want to follow", she pointed out. "The knowledge that the EU has given us allows us to want more convincingly, to know that the things that are happening in Europe are not impossible. Thus, we have begun to perceive ourselves as a more fully-fledged member of the EU, because we want it to be like that here too and for this to happen more and more quickly," Zhelyazkova emphasized.

She pointed out that today, which, in addition to Europe Day, is an important day for many parents in Sofia Municipality, because the first ranking for admission to kindergartens and preparatory groups in schools was held. "This is one of the challenges we are fighting with European financial support, because we are striving to build more kindergartens," Zhelyazkova noted. She emphasized that the Sofia Municipality is making the most of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as well as all other types of funding.

"We are increasingly having to pay attention to quality and the new things that are coming in, such as AI, internships for students and university students," Zhelyazkova noted. She pointed out that she expects the Sofia Municipal Council to vote on a programme in which the aim is to actively involve students from pedagogical specialties in the work of kindergartens and schools, so that the work of teachers can be eased and students can begin to apply what they have learned in practice for a fee.

She stressed that parents are looking for all sorts of alternative activities during the summer vacations of their children, with private tutoring centres being crowded and grandparents and relatives being sought. "That is why we are trying to use the infrastructure that is available on the territory of the Sofia Municipality," Zhelyazkova said, specifying that it is about creating a kind of centre for children, pupils and students, with the participation of students from the National Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Arts and Music.

"We hope that open-air workshops, sports activities and schools, visits to museums and to the zoo will be organized. In this way, children will gain knowledge through play, through experience, through experiences, which also coincides with the new models and understandings of learning," she noted.

Zhelyazkova hopes that in the fall financial education will also be introduced, which will be focused on managing personal finances. She said that by the end of 2025, three new kindergartens will be opened in areas with severe shortages in Sofia. "Next year we will continue with the construction of infrastructure," Zhelyazkova pointed out.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.