News

At a ceremony on April 22, the day of international celebrations of Earth Day, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) commemorated the donation of more than 500 newly planted trees and improved infrastructure in the South Park of Sofia. Ambassador Beyrle, Sofia Mayor Boiko Borissov, USAID Mission Director Michael Fritz, and Ginka Kapitanova, Executive Director of the Foundation for Local Government Reform, spoke at the event and unveiled a stone marking the donation.

USAID’s green initiatives continued in the Rhodope Mountains near the town of Chepelare last week with a record of 200 new pine trees were planted.

On Tuesday April 22 at 10am, USAID will officially commemorate the donation of more than 600 trees planted in Sofia’s South Park with a ceremony behind the City Center Sofia shopping center.

A total of 50,000 new trees will be planted near Stara Zagora. USAID has been a key partner in this initiative as part of a series of green events highlighting the close out of USAID assistance to Bulgaria.

The young participants in the NGO program “Open Your Eyes: You Can Get Help!” participated in a lesson about the dangers of trafficking in persons in front of the several hundred gathered guests during the closing event of the USAID/International Organization for Migration anti-trafficking program.

The English teacher training supported by USAID and the Democracy Commission of the U.S. Embassy helped Roma and non-Roma participants from Sofia and other locations in Bulgaria acquire new skills and forge lasting friendships.

Airport visitors can now learn about U.S. development assistance in Bulgaria while they wait to catch or meet flights.

Eleven participants from across the country, including 6 Roma and 5 other Bulgarians, have passed the midpoint of a one-month English teacher training course in Sofia.

Ambassador Beyrle presented the Roma Entrepreneur 2007 Awards at a ceremony organized under the USAID Roma Micro-lending Global Development Alliance (GDA) project. The ceremony recognized the winners in a nationwide competition among Roma micro-credit clients.

USAID is partnering with the local community foundations in Stara Zagora and Chepelare to assist the forest recovery. This joint initiative, launched in late 2007, will replant a 2,471-acre of forest devastated by last summer’s wild fires, while at the same time commemorating USAID’s graduation.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and USAID organized training in combating trafficking in human beings for social workers from the region of Northern Bulgaria. The municipality of Veliko Turnovo supported the initiative and proudly presented its crisis center for children who have been victims of trafficking in the village of Balvan.

USAID Bulgaria posters will be placed at a number of spots to create a visual reminder of the achievements and legacies of U.S. development assistance.

A national promotional campaign for Informoney, an SME financial clearing house that launched in October, kicked off in mid-February. Informoney Information Days targeted SMEs throughout the country, primarily from agriculture, tourism, and industry.

The results of the first national research on the professional orientation and motivation of Bulgarian students were presented at a press conference at Sofia University.

More than 150 government officials and business representatives discussed the role of Bulgarian municipalities in promoting local economic development at the second annual conference of the Foundation for Local Government Reform “Municipalities and Business: Partners for Economic Development."

USAID Bulgaria has launched the second phase of its final public awareness campaign with a more focused approach aimed at youth and business audiences.

Junior Achievement Bulgaria (JAB) announces the Seventh National Manager for a Day Initiative to be held on March 18. Registration deadline is February 29.

USAID Bulgaria congratulates its partners who successfully competed for grants under the EU operational program "Administrative Capacity."

The book describes the small hotels and family-run bed and breakfast inns around Bulgaria that have earned the Authentic Bulgaria Quality Mark.