site.btaBTA's "Europe on Balkans" Conference Held in Sliven

Representatives of various sectors who have worked on projects related to the EU's Cohesion Policy participated in a joint conference at the National Press Club of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) in Sliven on Friday. The event was part of BTA's "Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills" project.

Sliven is an example of the constructive power of awareness, of knowledge about the achievements of others and about one's own achievements and development opportunities, said BTA Director General Kiril Valchev. "The concrete proof of this is that compared to 2023 and 2024, we see 50% more information specifically from Sliven Municipality on a variety of topics. My observation is that Sliven is in the top three municipalities that continuously inform the public on all kinds of issues through BTA on a daily basis," Valchev emphasized. He noted that that since 2016, the Sliven Municipality has been nominated three times for a Golden Key, which is a study on access to public information.

Sliven Mayor Stefan Radev said that Cohesion is at the core of the idea of ​​the European Union. "Without a targeted cohesion policy, we risk having highly polarized regions. We are currently in a very important time, when a major debate is taking place in Europe about the future of cohesion policy", Radev stressed. He noted that it is very important to hear the position of local authorities and that it must be adopted by national authorities as well. "We cannot sacrifice or compromise with cohesion policy, at the expense of other policies," Radev said.

Bulgarians must be confident that, in addition to contributing to the cultural diversity of the European Union, they have also contributed significantly to European security, being an external border, said Sliven Deputy Regional Governor Fatme Mustafova. She empahasized that the key word is sustainable, namely sustainable development in all aspects of citizens' lives. She pointed out that it is important that such forums as today's provide an opportunity for dialogue between different institutions. "This will certainly improve the process of shaping future policies of the European Union. We all know about the challenges that the European Union and Bulgaria face," Mustafova said.

The Sliven branch of the Varna Medical University has been training students in two sought-after programmes, Nursing and Midwifery, for 12 years, said Donka Sultanova, Deputy Director of the Sliven branch. She emphasized that the branch itself is a very useful project that was opened with the assistance of the Sliven Municipality. "We are currently training 166 students, 106 of whom are in the Nursing and the remaining 60 in the Midwifery programmes", Sultanova noted. She pointed out that 100% of the students now have a career in their field of study. "In all these years, only a few graduates have chosen to work abroad. All those who have graduated and are here [in Bulgaria] work in hospitals, schools, kindergartens and social institutions," she stressed.

According to the Cultural Heritage Act, the museum is a cultural and scientific institution, and the Sliven Regional History Museum has been paying extremely close attention to education in recent years, said Museum Director Dr. Nikolay Sirakov. He pointed out that in addition to a modern interactive base, renovated with European funds, the museum also has an educator working with children’s groups on various educational initiatives. The focus is primarily on the game form of working with children, so that they can more easily absorb theoretical knowledge of history, traditions, and culture, Sirakov emphasised, adding that they also organize lectures and activities in schools and kindergartens. He emphasised that the Sliven Regional History Museum is an annual host of an international student internship, in partnership with the New Bulgarian University. 

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.