The “Education in the 21st Century” Conference Brings Together Teachers, Students, Parents, Institutions and Businesses
For the first time, Kardzhali will host the “Education in the 21st Century” conference at the Business Incubator. The event will bring together not only school principals, teachers and students, but also parents, representatives of educational institutions and organisations, and local businesses. The main organisers are NEA GERMANIKA Language Centre, St. Kliment Ohridski Primary School, Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov Vocational High School of Tourism, and the Kardzhali Youth Information and Consultation Centre (MIKC). The Municipality of Kardzhali and the Kardzhali Regional Administration, together with the Teach for Bulgaria Foundation, are also partners and supporters of the educational forum. The three largest media outlets in Kardzhali — Eastern Rhodopes TV, Nov Zhivot newspaper and Bulgarian National Radio – Kardzhali — will cover the event at every stage: before, during and after the conference.
The educational forum will open at 10:00 a.m. This will be followed by a presentation of Moodle4kids by NEA GERMANIKA Language Centre. At 10:50 a.m., the Omega Association will speak on the topic of “Youth Empowerment”.
At 11:20 a.m., speaker Aleksandar Ivanov from SoftUni will present “Education and Business – The Missing Link”, followed at 11:40 a.m. by Georgi Zlatarov from Nimero, who will present “Envision: One Computer, Many Mice”.
At 12:40 p.m., speaker Antor Bachvarov will talk about “I Learn in the Classroom”, while students from St. Kliment Ohridski Primary School in Kardzhali will present “A Dream Come True” at 1:10 p.m. Aleksandar Ivanov will speak on “Educational Innovation in a World of Practitioners” at 1:30 p.m., and at 2:00 p.m. Yordanka Parvanova will present “Uchilista.bg”. At 2:50 p.m., the programme includes a presentation by Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov Vocational High School of Tourism in Kardzhali entitled “Tradition and Innovation”, followed by a presentation from the Career Guidance Centre in Kardzhali.
At 3:20 p.m., Hristo Botev Language High School in Kardzhali will introduce guests and parents to its project “My Second Family”. This will be followed at 3:40 p.m. by a presentation from Otets Paisiy Secondary School in Kardzhali entitled “Learning t@gether!”. At 4:20 p.m., Eng. Tatyana Ivanova from Captain Petko Voyvoda Vocational High School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics in Kardzhali will speak about “New Technologies for Teaching and Communication Using Google for Education Applications”. At 4:40 p.m., Sts. Cyril and Methodius Primary School in the village of Gluhar will present “Educational Innovations – Successful Teaching and Learning Methods Presented by School and Partner Teams”. The education exhibition will run from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The aim of the forum is to take the first step towards a completely new quality of dialogue between schools and their related structures; children and parents as the main users of educational services; the institutions responsible for education; and businesses as employers. The conference addresses the question of what quality education in the 21st century means and provides concrete examples of innovative practices from classrooms and school communities. In this way, the wider public will have the opportunity to learn directly about the best models of 21st-century education, both in Bulgaria and around the world.
