On February 6, 2026, we continued presenting the activities and work related to the upcoming fifth edition of the Eco Academy in the village of Srednogorovo. It is scheduled to take place between April 6th and 10th this year. Through our volunteers from Bulgaria, Ayşe from YDCMA, and Marwan from United Avangard Artist from Turkey and Egypt, who are here under the European Solidarity Corps program and are part of the Eco Academy team, held at the base of the “Green Europe” Eco Center in Srednogorovo village. After three weeks of preparation, we presented to the curious little ones preparing for school, under the expert care of Mrs. Ani Kolarova and Mrs. Iveta Chavdarova. This way, we introduced them to the world’s largest global program for sustainable schools! There were coloring activities, cutting out animals, placing them in their designated habitats, and many other interesting presentations. And most importantly, one could hear languages other than Bulgarian…

Last year, YDCMA joined the “green circle” of the Eco-Schools Program by participating in a training seminar on the presentation of the Eco-Schools Program, organized by the Bulgarian “Blue Flag” Movement and Devin AG. This was followed by the establishment of an eco committee. The program starts in the classroom and expands into the community, engaging the next generation in action-based learning. The greatest achievement of the program is that it produces generation after generation of sustainably and environmentally conscious individuals. These people will carry the behavioral patterns they adopt under the auspices of Eco-Schools throughout their lives and, in turn, teach the next generation the habits needed to make a difference. This is the implementation of the policy for Education for Sustainable Development of UNEP and UNESCO, defined at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. The program involves 59,000 schools from 68 countries worldwide, including over 80 schools and kindergartens in Bulgaria, 900 teachers, and 32,000 students across 17 Bulgarian municipalities.

With the inclusion of the Eco Academy in the green circle of the Eco-Schools Program, we also become part of UNESCO’s green network. Currently, the organization is working on the project “Eco Academy 2025–2026” under the Erasmus+ program, funded in Bulgaria by the Human Resource Development Centre.