“Our aim is to make important arguments to education policy makers, academics and non-governmental organizations so that we can achieve sustainable change and get the social-emotional skills of our young people into the classroom.” This was said by Dimitar Tsotsorkov – founder and member of the Management Board of the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation at the opening of the prestigious forum “Empowering the New Generation” on April 26 in Sofia. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) global report “Social and Emotional Skills for a Better Life” was presented there. The survey was conducted among 15-year-old students in 2023, covering 20 countries on 4 continents. The Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation ensures Bulgaria’s participation in it, and the project’s partner is the Ministry of Education and Science.
The forum was opened by the vice-president Iliana Yotova, who pointed out that the hosting of our country is a sign of at least three things – the well-deserved trust in the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, the authority of the Bulgarian education system and the evaluation that Bulgaria has received on the way to its full membership in the OECD, which we expect by the end of 2025. The Vice-President called for us to build a flexible education system that takes into account the real needs of students, and the Minister of Education and Science Prof. Galin Tsokov emphasized how important in this process are investments in the development of the teachers.
Dimitar Tsotsorkov shared that Prof. Lachezar Tsotsorkov, whose name is the family foundation, was able to inspire people and believed that a healthy value system is the basis for the well-being of an individual, for the success of business and for building a better world . The discussion on the importance of social-emotional skills was also attended by Robert Doble from the philanthropic network “Porticus”, the executive director of BESCO – Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association Dobromir Ivanov and Darina Georgieva, executive director of the Bulgarian Network of the UN Global Compact.
Helsinki Deputy Mayor Johanna Laisaari, Prof. Raquel Teixeira from Brazil, Dr. Stephanie Jones from Harvard University and Mila Ivanova from the “Together in an Hour” Foundation spoke about the path of the findings of the study to the classrooms. Krasimir Valchev, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science, took part in the topic of education policies, and the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, made a video address.
“Social-emotional skills are key to academic success and the life well-being of young people,” emphasized Prof. Andreas Schleicher – Director of the Education Department of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, who presented the global study. The data specifically for Bulgaria were announced to the media by Ioana Marinova, executive director of the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation. She emphasized that youth with developed social-emotional skills achieve better academic results, build better relationships and achieve a higher level of well-being.
What the results show for Bulgaria:
https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/lik/660916-balgarskite-15-godishni-uchenitsi-sa-s-po-niski-ochakvaniya-za-zavarshvane-na-vi
Tags: Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation secured participation Bulgaria in ..
