Поздрави от България! Or many greetings from Bulgaria!
Solving logical and arithmetic problems, memorizing vocabulary and talking about family: this is what the participants of the math and German courses at the training center in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, have been studying and honing over the past few months. But now, another school year is ending and everyone (or most of them) will be on a well-deserved summer vacation until October 2025. But what does this training center have to do with SBW Berlin?
The training center in Gabrovo
SBW Berlin supports both education and social engagement – and has been doing so in Bulgaria for some time now. SBW Bulgaria was founded in 2019. Since then, it has acted as SBW Berlin’s representative and point of contact there.
In the fall of 2023, the training center in the beautiful city of Gabrovo was added under the management of SBW Bulgaria. Here, pupils attending a school in Gabrovo or the surrounding area can receive tutoring in German (specifically for grades 8-12) and math (grades 4-7).*
German and math courses at the training center*
In the two rooms, which are modern and equipped with a computer, multimedia, printers and whiteboards, the participants in the German and math courses experience exciting but also challenging lessons. During the school year, they meet once a week for 90 minutes in the training center and learn German together or improve their math skills.
At the beginning – i.e. during the first school year 2023/24 – the courses at the training center were free of charge, currently participants in the group courses pay a one-off fee of approx. 76 euros (150 BGN) for the duration of the entire school year (as of school year 2024/25). If desired, individual lessons (250 BGN one-off fee) can also be offered.
The aim of the lessons is to improve German and math skills. In the 2024/25 school year, for example, six participants each attended a German course at level A2 or level B1 and five participants attended a math course. In the German courses, they learned to talk about themselves, their family and their profession and to write about personal experiences and adventures. In the math course, on the other hand, students had the opportunity to catch up on material they had missed during the school year. In addition, they were also able to expand and deepen their math skills.
Although this was not always easy, everyone nevertheless enjoyed learning and is particularly grateful for the tutoring in math. As the course also serves as preparation for the compulsory national external exams in grades 4 and 7. Anyone who would like to prepare further for this or cannot get enough of math problems can therefore still attend a math summer workshop starting July 23, 2025.
Interesting facts about the city of Gabrovo*
Gabrovo is located about 3 hours east of Bulgaria’s capital Sofia on the Yantra River in central Bulgaria and on the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains. Although the town probably originated from a settlement with a fortress in the 12th century, it was an important craft and trade center in the mid-19th century.
Current Developments
Mid July 2025, Gabrovo was awarded funding for the development of an Innovation Valley (source: Gabrovo News). Over EUR 8.6 million (approx. BGN 16.9 million) was approved for the “Gabrovo – Center for Innovation, Education and Entrepreneurship” project as part of Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI). The plans include the construction of a modern education center in the city as well as the construction of the “House of the Future” on the campus of the Gabrovo Technical University etc.
A love for humor
Since 2014, you can visit the Interactive Museum of Industry for various fascinating exhibitions on the city’s history or view and read works by over 150 humorists from around the world in the “Museum of Humor and Satire” which was established in the 1970ies. It is also called the Museum of Laughter, because Gabrovo is also known for its love of humor. This is also expressed in the annual Carnival of Humor and Satire.
National Museum of Education and the Technical University
But education is not neglected in Gabrovo either. Not only is there the National Museum of Education, which houses around 200,000 documents, photographs and materials on education in Bulgaria from the 10th century to the present day, but also the University of Technology Gabrovo. Of the approximately 5,400 students, 60 are international students who come to Bulgaria from countries such as Ukraine, Greece, North Macedonia, Turkey, Syria, Albania, Moldova and Bangladesh.
Education and SBW Bulgaria
Together with SBW Berlin, SBW Bulgaria supports educational projects and also awards scholarships to disadvantaged young people from socially marginalized backgrounds to give them a chance for a better future ( Source: Blog article “2019 – SBW Berlin is growing!”). While various measures for the joint school project in Trjavna, Bulgaria are already in full swing, SBW Bulgaria is pleased to announce that it is also currently supporting a student with a scholarship.
Ksenia K. (*2015) and her family were forced to flee Ukraine and since 2021 has lived in Bulgaria. Despite her experience as a refugee, she is a very good student and enjoys attending school. Thanks to the scholarship, Ksenia and her family (consisting of her mother and grandmother) can catch their breath and look to the future with a little more certainty. This is because they also receive free accommodation from SBW Bulgaria.
