The first library with Bulgarian children's books will open in Vienna in the beginning of 2021. Thus, children living in Austria’s capital will be able to feel the magic of Bulgarian fairy tales and stories and enrich their knowledge in their mother tongue through Bulgarian literature.
In January next year, 250 book volumes donated by compatriots in Austria and Bulgaria will be available for children under 14 in the library. Before coming to pick up a book, young readers will be able to select it in a specially created online library. Elin Pelin, Ran Bosilek, Angel Karaliychev, Yordan Radichkov are just some of the authors who will reveal the richness and secrets of the Bulgarian language to the children.
"Many families living in Vienna would like their children to speak Bulgarian- Evdokia Tsvetichova who is one of the library's founders said for Radio Bulgaria. - It turns out that weekend schools in Vienna are not enough to meet the needs of language learners. That's why Petja Reiss and I decided to establish a library within the premises of her kindergarten. The parents welcomed our idea very warmly, took it to heart and started working with us.”
According to official data of Vienna Municipality, 20,700 Bulgarians live in Austria’s capital city. However, our compatriots assume that their number is much higher and there are nearly 4,000 children in Vienna. Most children attend weekend schools and speak their mother tongue, but there are also children who find it difficult to speak Bulgarian and cannot read in Bulgarian. That is why the founders of the libraryintend to establish a kindergarten, which will be visited once a week.
"We want to turn the library into an educational center in which children have access to Bulgarian culture, language and art mostly through games, - Evdokia Tsvetichova went on to say. - Currently, the Bulgarian children do not have their own center where they can meet and get acquainted with each other. However, there are organizations in Vienna that are actively engaged in culture and cinema and invite writers on a regular basis. We will contact them and work together. This initiative is not launched by one organization only, but is open to everyone.”
One of the forthcoming tasks of the library’sfounders is to establish contacts with Bulgarian publishing houses in order to enrich theirbook fund. In the long run, they are planning to cooperate with weekend schools, organize meetings with writers and literary premieres.
Due to the strict anti-epidemic measures adopted in Austria against the spread of the coronavirus infection, some of the ideas may have to wait. "This is a long-term initiative," Evdokia Tsvetichova said further. "Bulgarian culture and language must live everywhere- in Austria, America, Australia, etc."Evdokia added.
English version: Kostadin Atanasov
Photos: private library
The Clean Life Foundation is today launching a four-week therapy programme for children who have tried opiates, combining therapeutic sessions with recreational activities. The NGO is running an information campaign for parents whose teenagers aged..
The town of Tutrakan, located along the banks of the Danube River, gathers apricot producers from the region for the traditional festival "Tutrakan – the Apricot Capital". Connoisseurs of the delicious fruit meet on Sunday for the 20th..
Butterfly and wildlife enthusiasts gathered near the waterfall in the village of Polska Skakavitsa (Kyustendil region) for the Butterfly Festival to observe one of the most beautiful natural phenomena along the Struma River. The waterfall is about 50..
The village of Gomotartsi in the region of Vidin has a strange history. It was once located in another place, miles away from where it is now. After a..
Over the past two weeks, fires in Bulgaria have scorched tens of thousands of hectares of trees, damaged dozens of homes in the Strandzha region and..
Elena Ganeva-Robles has been living in London for more than 30 years . She was led there by the love of a Peruvian man she met at university in Bulgaria's..
+359 2 9336 661