Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Summer Bulgarian language courses to support integration of Ukrainian children

Author:
Photo: "Open Doors" Situation Center

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.

Elena Volkova

"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.


English: Al. Markov

Photos and video: Situation Center "Open Doors", personal archive




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Students and scientists to take part in the Artificial Intelligence Olympiad in Bulgaria's Burgas

The first International Artificial Intelligence Olympiad will be held in Burgas from 9 to 15 August 2024 , BTA reports. Students, leaders and scientists will launch an AI Olympiad that will combine scientific and applied tasks.  The Olympiad is..

published on 8/9/24 5:10 AM

Children from Bulgarian communities abroad recreate their favourite places in Bulgaria through art

Nearly a thousand children from more than 20 countries have responded to the call of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad to tell in words, brush or song about their favourite place in Bulgaria - where they feel happiest. Recreating the beauty of..

published on 8/8/24 11:33 AM

Montana - the Bulgarian city that defies clichés

One of the regional cities in the Bulgarian Northwest is Montana. According to statistics, the region cannot boast of particularly high indicators in the areas of infrastructure, economy, education, social services. According to data from the past..

published on 8/7/24 5:17 PM