The ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund held a session to determine the financial support of projects under the title ‘“Sacred Language of My Forebears…”: Let Us Support Bulgarian Language Learning in Sunday Schools Abroad’. As a result, the Fund is supporting seven Sunday school projects of Bulgarian communities abroad.
An expert commission set up to review the projects was chaired by Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, Director of the State Cultural Institute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with members Koprinka Chervenkova, NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ board member; Silva Nalbantian-Hacherian, PhD, Director of the International Cooperation, European Programmes and Regional Activities Directorate at the Ministry of Culture; Raina Mandzhukova, Director of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad to the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Asen Petrov, State Expert at the Education of Bulgarians Abroad and School Network Directorate at the Ministry of Education and Science.
Sunday schools abroad are the basis of Bulgarian communities around the world, part of the Bulgarian education system, and a place where children learn their native language, culture, history, and traditions.
Questions concerning Bulgarian education abroad have been raised in various forums. Increasingly, universities are discussing these issues and launching initiatives where the experience and results of various practices in Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad are shared with students.
The Education of Bulgarians Abroad and School Network Directorate at the Ministry of Education and Science expressed its particular gratitude to the Executive Director of NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ for including an expert in the jury evaluating the projects submitted for the Fund’s session.
Vanya Balcheva, Director of the Education of Bulgarians Abroad and School Network Directorate, answered questions exclusively for Untold Stories.
What do you think about the session organised by NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’? Were there any good and worthwhile projects this year?
Submitted project proposals came from different countries and offered various approaches and activities to achieve a common goal: better learning of the Bulgarian language by the children of our compatriots abroad. The projects were not equivalent, but, among them, there was a sufficient number that deserved a high rating. It is particularly gratifying that those proposed by the jury for funding offered original ideas, as well as the active involvement of pupils in their implementation.
The Ministry of Education and Science promotes the preservation of the Bulgarian language and culture among the Bulgarian communities established permanently or short-term outside the borders of Bulgaria. According to the provision of Art. 297, para. 1 of the Preschool and School Education Act, funds shall be provided from the state budget to support education abroad in the subjects of Bulgarian language and literature, history and civilisations, geography and economics as they relate to the history and geography of Bulgaria.
What is the role nowadays of Sunday schools in Bulgarian communities abroad?
The opportunities provided by Decree No. 90 of 29.05.2018 of the Council of Ministers for Bulgarian Sunday Schools Abroad (DMC No. 90/2018) and the Native Language and Culture Abroad National Programme (NLCA NP) for opening Bulgarian Sunday schools (BSS) are aimed at preserving national self-awareness among the children of even small groups of our compatriots living isolated and far from the homeland.
Within the meaning of the two Acts, the education at the Bulgarian Sunday Schools abroad is organised by associations of Bulgarians living outside the Republic of Bulgaria registered according to the legislation of the respective state for conducting educational-cultural activity; at diplomatic representations abroad; and is not an autonomous legal person.
What is the attitude and assistance that the Ministry of Education and Science provides to Sunday schools abroad?
During the 2023/24 academic year, the Ministry of Education and Science has ensured support—organisational, methodical and financial—for 396 Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad, which offer training in 43 countries on 6 continents. There are 138 projects in the Native Language and Culture Abroad National Programme, and 258 Bulgarian Sunday schools are on the List of Decree No. 90/2018 of the Council of Ministers. The number of children and pupils is 37,980.
The total amount of funds allocated to support Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad for this school year is BGN 15,873,694, of which BGN 1,630,957 is under the Native Language and Culture Abroad National Programme, and BGN 14,242,737 under DMC No. 90/2018. The MES does not fully finance, but supports, the activities of schools. The organisations with which BSS conduct activities have the right to generate revenues from fees, donations, and other sources, as long as this is provided for in their registrations.
The funds are spent as a priority on the remuneration of teachers and instructors of additional school activities and courses for candidate students; the purchase of teaching aids; books; folk costumes and tools; rental of premises for training and interest-based activities; and various qualification courses for the teachers at the Bulgarian Sunday schools.
Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad apply curricula and teaching aids subject to approval by the Minister of Education and Science. They have the opportunity to organise additional school activities relating to the preservation of Bulgarian self-awareness, its way of life and culture, including a knowledge of Christianity and homeland studies, and the preparation of candidate students. Pupils receive certificates of training completed in Bulgarian language and literature, history and geography of Bulgaria, which exempt them from taking equivalent exams in these subjects when continuing their studies at school on the territory of Bulgaria. Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad are not designed to ensure the completion of a class and the acquisition of a degree of education.
What does the future hold for Sunday schools abroad?
In 2023, the Ministry of Education and Science launched two new national programmes aimed at Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad:
‘The Untold Stories of Bulgarians’ National Programme
This programme is implemented both on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and abroad. Participants include students and teachers from Bulgarian state schools abroad; Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad; and lecturers and students studying Bulgarian language, literature and culture in foreign universities.
The programme aims to conduct exploratory and research work abroad and to present information and evidence about:
- ancestral stories of significant events and individuals with a contribution to the foreign country;
- the contribution of worthy Bulgarians or facts and circumstances from the past relating to Bulgarian history abroad;
- the contribution of worthy Bulgarians of today, who are significant to the cultural or scientific development of foreign countries and the world.
The results are to be presented at forums, meetings with students from Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad, parents and the local community, in public lectures with representatives of the local scientific community, cultural figures and students in Bulgarian studies in foreign universities.
‘Bulgaria: Educational Routes’ National Programme
Under this programme, Bulgarian Sunday schools may apply to finance visits to Bulgaria, stating sites included in five thematic areas: History and Archaeology; Geography and Economics; Biology, Biodiversity and Ecology; Arts, Architecture and Literature; and Ethnography, Folklore and Crafts.
Due to the great interest shown by the Bulgarian Sunday Schools abroad, both programmes have been renewed in 2024.
The Ministry of Education and Science welcomes every initiative and support of the Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad and looks forward to its future cooperation with NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’.
Questions posed by Theodora Bankovska
23 July 2024
Translated by Nigrita Davies