Sofia Is One of Educational Centres of Europe, A City of Educated Young People, Says BTA Director General

Filip Pavlov, BTA correspondent Ivan Laskin

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev during a local conference as part of BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project in Sofia, May 9, 2025 (BTA Photo/Hristo Kasabov)

Sofia,

09.05.2025 19:47

(BTA)

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Sofia is one of the educational centres of Europe, a city of educated young people and people who are ready to work and improve themselves continuously, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev 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.

He pointed out that a large part of the country’s population lives here, adding that the name of the city is not a sculpture in the centre, but this is the city of God’s wisdom. Valchev also noted that if he had to write on a blank sheet of paper what Europe is, it is the Europeans, the people, not just a territory. "Because for millennia it was the people of Europe with the civilization they created that reached what we have today on the European continent," he stressed.

“We often hear how much money Bulgaria receives from the EU, but we must also recognize how much the EU benefits from Bulgaria and its people,” he emphasized, adding that BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project, supported by the European Commission, seeks to foster knowledge exchange between people in Bulgaria, the Balkans, and the rest of the EU. He noted that on the occasion of Europe Day, BTA organized a projection of 3D mapping on the facade of the news agency's building in Sofia.

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.

/MT/