site.btaVice President Iotova Addresses Winners of Ambassador for a Day Initiative

 “Stand up for yourself and your opinions even in the face of criticism. Be confident in yourself and dream boldly - a person without dreams does not live, but only exists,” said Vice President Iliana Iotova, addressing on Thursday the winners of the Ambassador for a Day initiative of the British Embassy in Bulgaria, launched on the occasion of International Women's Day.

For the eighth consecutive year, the contest, which encourages young Bulgarian girls to express their views on a wide range of important issues for society, is held under the auspices of the Vice President. This year's edition was entered by 140 girls aged between 15 and 19 with essays on the topic "If you were an ambassador for a day, how would you promote equality between men and women in Bulgaria?". In eight years, nearly 70 girls have been declared winners of the initiative, which is now organised by British embassies around the world.

In their essays this year's winners Alexandra Shankova from the village of Dolni Tsibar, Andrea Peycheva from Tutrakan and Raya Nikolova from Sofia show that they know the topic of the struggle for equality between men and women. According to them, education is the basis for social change, as illiteracy is the most powerful weapon of the supporters of inequality. And all people, regardless of gender, race, religion, have equal rights and success belongs to all.

"One of the big goals that we achieve with Ambassador for a Day is to create networks between participants. They have the opportunity to get to know each other, to share, to be friends. By participating in the initiative, they become allies who support each other," said Iliana Iotova. She suggested expanding this network of girls by creating contacts between participants in Bulgaria and other countries around the world.

The three winners took part in the working routine of British Ambassador Nathaniel Copsey, met with representatives of various institutions and the civil sector, and met people who are well established in various professional fields. They were also given leadership training.