site.btaBulgarian Educators in Bulgarian Schools Abroad Discuss Teaching Methods during Forum

Vice President Iliana Iotova addressed a forum in Lisbon on Thursday entitled "Innovative Methods and Materials for Teaching Bulgarian History and Geography in Bulgarian Schools Abroad", said the press secretariat of the Presidency. The event was attended by teachers working in Bulgarian schools across 15 foreign countries.

Iotova said: "Your mission is tremendous - not just to teach the Bulgarian language to Bulgarian children born abroad but also to explain to them what a homeland is, to teach them to think in Bulgarian, to know the great Bulgarian writers, Bulgarian literature and Bulgarian history."

The forum under the auspices of the Vice President, is organized by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Portuguese-Bulgarian Association Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii and the Bulgarian Sunday school of the same name in Lisbon, in partnership with the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad and the Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv.

In her speech, Iotova stressed that Sunday schools are the biggest success in the policy with Bulgarians abroad. "They are becoming spiritual centres of sorts. Our compatriots there feel like a community. The Bulgarian identity is preserved there," the Vice President said.

She called for the establishment of a Bulgarian national cultural institute abroad, which would support the activities of Sunday schools. "This idea finds support in various circles both in Bulgaria and among our compatriots abroad. Unfortunately, the necessary political will is still lacking in Bulgaria," Iotova said.

Iotova also highlighted the study of Bulgarian language and culture as a motivation for young Bulgarians to return to Bulgaria. "We cannot bring everyone back, but we can entice them to study in Bulgarian universities and, why not, to stay in Bulgaria," she said.

Earlier Thursday, Iotova and the rector of the University of Lisbon, Luis Manuel dos Anjos Ferreira, discussed deepening educational cooperation between the two countries.