Situation Center "Open Doors", which has been providing support to Ukrainians living in Bulgaria since the beginning of the war in 2022, continues to develop one of its main missions – providing Bulgarian language training for Ukrainian refugees.
"When the situation center started working, one of its first goals was to help the refugees start learning Bulgarian language. We told this to various media, including BNR. Many volunteers responded and came to our center,” the coordinator at the Ukrainian Education Center in Sofia, Elena Volkova, says. “These language courses continue to this day and thanks to these people, many of the children are now comfortable speaking Bulgarian. In addition to the volunteers, the children also study Bulgarian twice a week, together with teachers from Ukraine."
Currently the courses are held according to textbooks provided by the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.
The project called "Love Speaks Bulgarian" will allow 100 children from Ukraine to attend Bulgarian language lessons twice a week throughout the summer. The team of the "Open Doors" Situation Center hopes to collect 3,000 euros needed for this activity by May 15. The goal is to facilitate the removal of the language barrier for Ukrainian children, so they can communicate more easily with their peers in Bulgaria, as well as to fully integrate into Bulgarian society.
"Some of the parents have decided to enroll their children in Bulgarian schools during the next school year,” Elena Volkova says. "They are aware that unfortunately the war could continue for a long time and that they might have to stay in Bulgaria."
The Ukrainian educational center continues to work on another important task - its transformation into the first Bulgarian-Ukrainian secondary school. It has not yet been specified what methodology and textbooks will be used in it. Currently, the children have in-person classes in the building of the center, according to Ukrainian educational program in an online format.
Photos and video: Situation Center "Open Doors", personal archive
The Little Miss and Mister Galaxy 2025 contest kicks off in Bansko, bringing together talented children from 4 to 17 years old. Contestants from countries including Bulgaria, Brazil, Macedonia and Georgia will showcase their skills in interviews,..
The international culinary competition "Cupid's Spoon" will be held in Bulgaria for the third consecutive year. The culinary contest has a mission- to show that people with disabilities can successfully cope with everyday activities when given..
The Climate, Atmosphere and Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (CAW RI-BAS) is organizing a conference and celebratory event dedicated to water – an invaluable natural resource, an irreplaceable component of all organisms..
Bulgaria, as distant as a mirage, has become a beloved land for a man who has never set foot in this country. For nearly 50 years, Mr Jayanta Chakrabarti..
Clear
Mostly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy