Meeting of educational mediators – strengthening their role in supporting every child

A National Meeting of Educational Mediators, organized by the Center Amalipe, was held in the city of Veliko Tarnovo from October 24 to 26, 2025. The event brought together dozens of mediators and representatives of institutions from different regions of the country, who exchanged experiences, upgraded their skills and discussed current challenges related to full coverage, attracting every child and overcoming all forms of violence against children from vulnerable communities.

The training was opened by Deyan Kolev, Chairman of the Amalipe Center, who outlined the main challenges facing school education policies, the current changes and to what extent they would achieve the expected goal and create the best supportive environment for each child with the form in which they are set. The fight against early marriages and early pregnancies is one of the targeted areas in which the SACP and the MLSP have mobilized their resources in recent months. However, all efforts will have partial success if this process does not also encompass the institutions themselves, which need to change their attitudes and overcome the stereotypes with which they approach the Roma community and early marriages. Therefore, he welcomes the participation in the meeting of teachers, principals, representatives of the Center for Early Childhood Education and Training, the ICRC, the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo, the Children’s Pedagogical Room, the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, etc.

Lalo Kamenov, Director of the Center for Educational Mediation and Mediation, presented the opportunities for improving the qualifications of educational mediators that the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Program provides. Valeri Angelov from the Amalipe Center also actively participated in the discussion, sharing results and good practices from the activities of mediators during the past school year.

Special attention in the training was paid to the work of mediators for the prevention of early marriages and dealing with the problem of aggression and violence in school. Teodora Krumova

presented the results of the study that the Amalipe Center conducted within the framework of the project “Marriage can wait, education cannot”, which presents the real picture of the problem of early marriages, as well as measures that can be taken to prevent them. In an interactive way, she presented to the mediators how they themselves can organize follow-up discussions with parents and students for the prevention of early marriages. The session was also attended by Hristina Stancheva from the Local Commission for Combating Anti-Social Manifestations and Gergana Marinova from the Children’s Pedagogical Room. The participants took on roles, went through case studies and discussed real cases, successful approaches and ways for effective partnership between the family, school and institutions, with the aim of preventing and supporting children at risk.

The evening part of the program ended with the presentation of the novel “The House with the White Roof” by Atanas Atanasov – Vakifliata and Sabina Mateva – an inspiring example of preserving the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Roma community, and the funds raised, thanks to Atanas Atanasov, were donated in support of the “I Want to Learn” Fund.

On the second day of the meeting, the participants continued with a practical session on how to work to reduce aggression in schools, bullying and violence against and between children. Practical fieldwork sessions were held, including exercises, simulations and preparation of campaigns to reach vulnerable communities. The sessions were led by the Amalipe Center team and Angel Angelov, who gave a lecture on the topic “Human Rights and Their Application in the Work of Educational Mediators”. The evening continued with an inspiring meeting with the successful Roma Ivelin Ivanov, whose personal story motivated the participants and showed the power of education as a path to success.

The third day was dedicated to important and topical topics – hate speech, discrimination and digital ethics. Participants received specific guidelines and tools for responding to cases of discrimination both in school and online environments.

The final session, titled “Parents as Allies,” looked at effective ways to engage parents and build sustainable parent clubs to support school communities. At the end of the training, all participants received certificates of successful participation, and the event concluded with a summary of the results achieved and a discussion of future joint initiatives.

The National Training in Veliko Tarnovo once again highlighted the significant role of educational mediators as a bridge between family, school and institutions, especially on important topics such as the prevention of early marriage, the reduction of aggression, bullying and violence in schools. Their daily work continues to be key to ensuring a more accessible, inclusive and equitable education for all children, regardless of their ethnic background or social status.

The training of educational mediators is implemented with the support of the project “Marriage can wait, education – can’t”, which is implemented within the framework of the INSPIRE initiative: Improving national support for prevention, intervention, and response to violence against children, and empowering victims” and is co-financed by the European Union and the “Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation”.