“In politics if you are not convinced, there is no way to convince others. For me, politics is a calling,” said the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov at the opening of the second course of the National Program for Class of 2025. In front of the current trainees, the Minister recalled the time ten years ago, when he was part of the participants in the National Program “Governing Skills” of the School. “My training at BSoP showed that this was the right path. The people of our class still keep in touch with each other, and many of us still apply what we learned at the School today,” said Mr. Ivanov. He shared the priorities of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works with the trainees and answered all their questions. The second course of the National Program 2025 was held from May 25 to 28 in Borovets and was dedicated to regional development and local self-government.
The challenges and risks of the municipal mandate 2023-2027 were outlined by Yana Docheva, Head of the “Strategic Development of Municipalities” department at the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria. Four mayors of different municipalities were guest lecturers in the program. Nevhis Mustafa – mayor of Dulovo municipality, Pavel Gudzherov – mayor of Rakovski municipality and Dimitar Zdravkov – mayor of Sadovo municipality shared working opportunities for making local policies through the municipal budget. As a special guest, the mayor of Sofia Vasil Terziev held a one-hour discussion with the participants on topics related to the personality of the ruler and governance.
This year’s recipient of the “Golden Pen” for contribution to Bulgarian culture and art, Prof. Georgi Bardarov explained as a demographer why he is optimistic about the future of Bulgaria. He emphasized the demographic trends in the regions of the country and compared the demographic processes in our country and in Europe. The former rector of the New Bulgarian University, Prof. Lyudmil Georgiev, spoke about the different generations – Z and Y – and public administration. Representatives of civil society organizations also participated as lecturers in this course of the National Program. Dobromir Ivanov – Executive Director of the Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association (BESCO), shared his personal and organizational experience of citizen participation in the legislative process, and Iliyana Nikolova – Executive Director of the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation, spoke about philanthropy as a possible driver for change at the local level.
In the second course of the training, BSoP continued to develop the skills of its current trainees. With lectures, simulation and homework, they mastered and strengthened their skills in leading a debate and presenting.