The end of WWII, in 1945, was ground zero for Europe and the world. The West began to rebuild their homes, institutions, and re-commit to democratic norms. But the East set on a 45-year long path in which communism extended its tentacles into every aspect of the societies. In a way, the fall of the […]
Through the lens of Transition
Series of online talks Through the lens of Transition – How the corona pandemic brings back images of the time of transition In this series of talks, organized in the context of the Transition Dialogue project,we are going to gather impressions from different countries on issues that bring back images of the transition period. The […]
Online training: Hosting a good online meeting
Given the current situation, the need for online meeting formats grew exponentially and is now more important than ever. With this comes the inevitability to start training ourselves in both adapting to the current situation and future use of these platforms. For this we need to understand the full picture of opportunities available in the […]
Louisa Slavkova took part in The Teaching of History Workshop
Sofia Platform’s Executive director, Louisa Slavkova, took part in The Teaching of History Workshop on February 21-23 2020. The workshop was organized by the The Ratiu Forum, a collaboration between LSE IDEAS and the Ratiu Democracy Centre. Among other panellists on the workshop were Prof. Christopher Coker (UK), Prof. Slobodan Markovich (Serbia), Wojciech Przybylski (Poland), […]
Transition Dialogue 2019 – 2021. Sofia meeting.
Apart from the numerous events Sofia Platform has organized locally around the 10th November to raise awareness on celebrating 30 years since the beginning of transition from communism, we gathered our partners from Croatia, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine for the second meeting in the context of the project Transition Dialogue (TD) here in […]
We are remembering November 10’th with series of events
We are celebrating the 30’th anniversary of the beginning of democratic transition with series of events. 90’s stand-up – 10.11.2019, 20.30, Книгата (The Book) This year we will be celebrating the 10’Th of November in a different, more interesting way. The first event that we dedicate to the anniversary of 1989, will put the transition […]
New paper: ‘The generation of transition in Eastern Europe – a closer look’
Our team is happy to present our new paper – ‘The generation of transition in Eastern Europe – a closer look’. The paper was first presented on the international conference on the topic held in Sofia last year. Is there a generation of transition in Eastern Europe and if so, what are its values and attitudes […]
NECE Conference on Civic Education in Glasgow – Call for projects
Confronting Inequalities! The Role of Citizenship Education NECE Conference 2019, 24 – 27 October, Glasgow Technology Innovation Center (TIC), Strathclyde University Registration is open now! Please register here. Read more: http://www.bpb.de/veranstaltungen/netzwerke/nece/ NECE 2019 is proposing to discuss how the many forms of inequality – class, income, gender, race, ethnic origin, talent and geography – are affecting the rights […]
An Incredible Year Came To An End
Dear friends and colleagues, Smaller organizations often struggle to tell their story. There is always something more important to do, like actually engaging with the people we work with. And they have been many in what was quite an intense year. Here is a short story of our encounters in 2018 and of some of […]
“The Generation of Transition in Eastern Europe: A Generation of Uncertainty – a Generation of Distrust?” – Preparatory Workshop, Berlin 24 September 2018
After a few months of desk research and more than 49 semi-structured interviews with representatives of the Generation of Transition from Russia to Poland, we are happy to announce that we are a step closer to publishing a report on values, attitudes and patterns of engagement of young adults in Eastern Europe. It is meant […]
A Summer School Transforms Attitudes about Bulgaria’s Socialist Past
Martin, Bilyana, and Adelina were among 24 high school and college students from all over the country who spent a week in late June in the town of Belene, on the banks of the Danube, to learn more about the history of Bulgaria between 1944 and 1989. The past “came alive” for them when they […]
“Why Should We Remember” – Sofia Platform’s Summer School
During our summer school on the topic of democracy and memory in the city of Belene at the end of June of this year, 24 young participants, through discussions, field work on the territory of the former concentration camp, and work with archives, had the chance to speak with lecturers and researchers from the nongovernmental […]
How did a communist-era labour camp look?
NOVA TV reports on Sofia Platform’s summer school on remembrance of communism near the former concentration camp at Belene.
Second module of the project “Civic Education in Action” on the topic “Constructive Communication and Interaction” in Sofia
Our team, together with historian Svetlana Mihaylova, visited Knyaginya Maria Louisa Professional High School and history teacher Ms. Yana Todorova to complete the module on the topic “Constructive Communication and Interaction” with her eleventh grade class. Through the “World café” method, we were able to understand and explain, through discussion and informal conversation, a large […]
Second module of the project “Civic Education in Action” on the topic “Civil Society and Civic Participation & Me and My Civic Position” in Varna
We returned to the Acad. Metodiy Popov Natural Sciences and Mathematics High School, where we met with philosophy teacher Mrs. Diana Markova’s class, along with our expert historian Momchil Metodiev, to complete the module on civic education on the topic “Civil Society and Civic Participation & Me and My Civic Position” by viewing and analyzing […]
Apply for our summer school on memory in June
If you are between 18 and 24 years old with an interest in the topics of memory and democracy, apply for our summer school on Persin island and in Belene, happening from the 25th till the 29th of June. You could fill the application form and find more information here. Disclaimer: The call […]
Sofia Platform’s participation in the National Education Project
Between 18 and 20 May, Sofia Platform participated in the Jean Monnet Project “Decisions and Dilemmas 3: making learning about the EU motivating and meaningful” in Vidin, which was organised by the Bulgarian History Teachers’ Association.
Second module of the project “Civil Education in Action” on the topic “Freedom, Citizens and Power” in the town of Bansko
In the final part of the six-hour module on civic education for the eleventh grade on “Freedom, Citizens and Power” at PGEE Bansko, together with expert Ralitsa Kirilova an history teacher and representative of the local municipal authority Mr. Yousuf Salih, we managed to explain key concepts set out in preliminary curriculum of the Ministry […]
Concluding lesson in Sofia from our project “Role of civil society – the fate of the Bulgarian Jews during the Holocaust“
On May 15, with the support of the Jewish Organization of the Bulgaria, Shalom, we conducted the last lesson from our project “75 years from the saving of the Bulgarian Jews” with a survivor’s account of events. Hennie Lorer told his family’s story to students in 127th School in Sofia.
Second module of the project “Citizenship Education in Action” on the topic “Student and School in Democratic Citizenship” in Vidin
On May 8th with our expert Mariana Asenova, a journalist, we went back to Yordan Radichkov Secondary School to introduce to the school management the results of our joint work with Mrs. Valea Alexandrova, historian, and XI class on the topic “The Role of Students and Schools in Democratic Citizenship”.