“We who work for environmental protection know that we all breathe the same air, we all live on the same planet, and there are no limits for nature. In the same way, there must be no boundaries in a society,” said Deputy Prime Minister for Climate Policy and Minister of Environment and Water Borislav Sandov during the celebration of the Roma ethnocultural holiday “Vasilitsa” - the Roma New Year, at the Ministry of Education and Science. Minister Sandov congratulated all Roma on the arrival of the New Year and the Vasilitsa holiday.

The Minister of Education and Science, acad. Nikolay Denkov, stated that educational mediators are fighting for the future of the children of Bulgaria.

“Bulgaria is a bouquet of ethnicities and cultures, and one of the most colorful flowers in this bouquet are the Roma,” said Minister Sandov.

The Minister awarded special prizes for the establishment and development of the network of educational mediators. The awarded specialists are Stefan Stefanov, Irena Mihailova, Boycho Kochev, Aldin Stefanov, Larisa Antonova, Angel Angelov, and Zlatina Pamukova. Mediators work among the Roma community by helping to involve parents and children in the educational process. They contribute to more effective cooperation with pedagogical specialists in order to ensure a reduction in the share of early school droppers.

“They are among the heroes of our time because they manage to bring children back to school and lead the process of educational and ethnic integration. Thank you for playing this important role. You work tirelessly like bees. You communicate with parents, children, educational institutions. Your work often cannot be measured, because your efforts require time to achieve results. But we look at these processes responsibly, we see the benefits and we know that your work is of great importance to our society,” said Minister Sandov. He assured that as a representative of the government he deeply appreciates the work of educational mediators, because in their work they must also overcome the patriarchal-minded who discourage children from the educational process.

The event was organized by the Center for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities at the Ministry of Education and Science and the “Amalipe”Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance.