booklet SDG# 4 Bulgaria

Educationalrem odelingforthefuture SDG #4 01Feb-15M arch Sofia,BulgariaW heearree Bulgaria is located in South- eastEurope,in the northeast partoftheBalkan Peninsula. ItisaEuropean,Balkan,Black Seaand Danubecountry.This geographic location places it on the crossroad between Europe,AsiaandAfrica. Havingbeenin uencedbyGreek,Slavic,OttomanandPersianculturehasled torichheritageoftraditionaldances,music,costumes,andcrafts. S ofia Sofia isthe capitaland largestcityofBul- garia.Thecityislocated atthefootofVito- sha M ountain in the western partofthe country.Itwasfoundonthesiteofaform er NeolithicvillageinVIIIBC.Itsnam ecom es from the Greek word“Sofia”which m eans wisdom .Them ottoofthecityis„grows,but doesnotage“.You can see m any old buildings,old streets,m onasteriesandartifactsthatarepreservedtotellthestoryofthecity.ButSofiaisnotallaboutancientand m edievalm onum ents.There arem any new attractions - m odern buildings,parks,m alls,m useum s,galleries,universities,etc.Therearesom anyattractionsonawalkingdistanceinSofiathatyouwillbeam azedbytheshortdistancesbetweenthem .Astherearehun-dredsofattractionsthereissom ething forev-eryone.A littlebitaboutourtraditionsWehavea sm allpieceofadorn- Nestinarstvo is a firem ent called Martenitsa. It is ritual. It involves am adeofwhiteand red yarn and barefoot dance onusuallyin theform oftwodolls– sm ouldering em bersam ale(calledPijo)andafem ale perform ed by nesti-(called Penda). Martenitsi are nari.Itis usually per-worn from Baba Marta‘s Day form ed on the square(March 1;in English –Grandm a of the village on theMarch)untilthe wearer sees a dayofSts.Constantinestork,swallow ,abuddingtree,or andHelen.untillateM arch. Kukeriareelaboratelycostum ed Bulgarianm enwhoperform traditionalritualsthrough villagesintendedtoscareaway evilspiritsaroundNew Year.The costum escoverm ostofthebody andincludedecoratedwooden m asksofanim alsandlargebells attachedtothebelt.Theyare alsobelievedtoprovideagood harvest,health,andhappinessto thevillageduringtheyear. Relevanceoftheproject45% Bulgarian studentsare illiterate afterhigh school Recentsurveyssaythatinthepasttwoyears13800 stu-dentsstoppedgoingtoschool,outofwhich42.7% because offam ilyissues,39.6% becauseofim m igratingfrom thecountry,10.1% becauseofunwillingnesstostudyand7.6% otherreasons. Projectm ission Wearestrivingtom akeapossitiveim pactonBulgarian studentsandm otivatethem byshowingtheim portanceof thequalifiededucation Weaim tobuildanew generation which:~ cares aboutworld issues and has aclearopiniononworldm atters.~ is m otivated to gain new knowledgeandknowshow touseit.~ knowsaboutotherwaysofeducationotherthanform alones.~ knowsaboutitsstrenghtsand weak-nessesand how tousethem . JobdescriptionoftheprojectTheinternswillteachinhighschoolsfrom 8thto11thgradeabouttopicssuchas: ~self-developm ent ~self-awareness ~leadershipskills ~non-form aleducationWeprovide: Accom m odation Training Pickup-dropoff Culturalevents Comeand...Theinternswill:~developleadershipskills Exploreatleast3citiesin Makeachangein60~beabletom akepresentationsin Bulgaria childrenfrontofm anypeople~workinateam inam ulticultural Meet100newenvironm ent people~receiveaCertificatefrom AIESECSofiaUNW EandUN Wearewaitingyou!