Engage 1000 Bulgarian students in public speaking

Dear BEST Angels, 

After the amazing Fall WEST tournament in November 2023, we organised 3 more regional tournaments and 1  International Tournament - Balkan Voices 2024 and the number of participants is increasing each year...

Fall East Tournament 2023

Just 2 weeks after our Fall West tournament, we had our Fall East tournaments for students from the Eastern region of Bulgaria. The tournament was held in Sliven, 25th and 26th November in “Zaharii Stoyanov” WLHS. 244 students participated and 62 volunteers acted as judges, including alumni and  Filbrighters - American English Teacher Assistants. The participants were from 20 schools which are in 13 cities in the Eastern part of Bulgaria. 

As a speaker we welcomed a representative of the US Embassy in Bulgaria,  who motivated the kids by telling them the importance of their efforts. We also had the Principal of the host school, Fulbright's ETA in the host school and the Regional Management of Education representative speaking at the Opening ceremony. 

Spring West Tournament 2024

The event was held in 51 st school “Elisaveta Bagryana” in Sofia on the 10th and 11th February. 285 students participated and 90 volunteers acted as judges, including alumni and Filbrighters - American English Teacher Assistants. The participants were from 19 schools which are in 12 cities in the Western part of Bulgaria. 

We had some amazing speakers that represented the US Embassy in Bulgaria, the Regional office of Education, The America for Bulgaria Foundation, Journalist from national television and the Principal of the host school. 

Spring East Tournament 2024

Just 2 weeks after the Spring West Tournament we organised the Spring East. It was in Burgas in the School of mathematics and natural sciences “Akademik Nikola Obreshkov”. 305 students participated and 75 volunteers acted as judges, including alumni and Filbrighters - American English Teacher Assistants The participants were from 23 schools which are in 15 cities in the Eastern part of Bulgaria. 

Our guest speakers were representatives of the local Municipality, Regional office of Education, the Principle of the school and the editor of the only magazine for the english expat community in Bulgaria - Vagabond.

Balkan Voices 2024 

From the 15th to the 17th of March 2023, the BEST Foundation in conjunction with American University in Blagoevgrad hosted its 6th International Tournament, Balkan Voices. This event is the biggest international oratory competition on the Balkan peninsula.

This year we implemented a new competing category - Extemporaneous speaking - an impromptu original speech with a 35 min. prep time. Overall  72 high school students from all over the Balkans attended it. Participants came from Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Romania.

The tournament was held in the campus of AUBG in Blagoevgrad and students managed to form bonds with their peers from neighbouring countries and foster important cross-cultural relationships. 37 volunteer judges evaluated students’ performance.

We had an amazing guest speaker and VIP judge Angela Rodel (Executive Director of Fulbright Comission in Bulgaria and winner of the International Booker Prize 2023). She also provided an amazing workshop "Lost and Found in Translation" during the event. 

We are sharing with you some positive feedback that we received from the participants: 

“The program was awesome, I loved getting to know others. It helped make everyone so comfortable.”

"It was very fun, challenging, and dynamic and I believe that it would be great for future competitors to take part in.”

All the events went well and smoothly and we believe that all the participants found new friends and inspiration to improve their public speaking skills and became more confident. 

BEST events are always supported by many volunteer judges and are run by Volunteer Management Team. More than 15 students per event help the Management Team with the Operations at the spot. We have more than 40 Chaperones who dedicate their time to join the students at our events. And last bul not least all our Coaches - Filbrighters - American English Teacher Assistants and Bulgarian english teachers work as volunteers through the whole year to prepare the students for our events and they also join us as Judges. 

All BEST tournaments improve critical and democratic thinking, increase self confidence and self expression and we are dedicated to every single event because it generates a massive positive impact on the young people in Bulgaria. 

Dear Friends, thank you all for your support! 

We would not be able to run the amazing tournaments without you! 

We would be very grateful if you could share our GlobalGiving link with your friends and continue your support with monthly donations! 

Your support leads to a significant change in the life of each and every student that participates in our tournaments and we are super grateful to have you as our angel!