“Student Voice Matters”: Amalipe Center gathered student ombudsmen from across the country in Sofia

On May 13, 2026, a National Meeting of Student Ombudsmen was held in Sofia – an event dedicated to student self-government, children’s rights and the active participation of young people in the school community. The forum brought together nearly 100 participants and guests from various schools in the country, as well as representatives of key national and international institutions and organizations. They were welcomed by H.E. Mr. Paul Lambert – Ambassador of Belgium to Bulgaria, Céline Branqui – Attaché for Institutional Cooperation at the Embassy of France, Laura Offen from the Embassy of Germany, Miguel Alonso – Deputy Head of the Embassy of Spain, Maria Zlatareva – Representative of UNICEF Bulgaria, Ms. Anna Janyszewska-Fronczek from the Embassy of Poland, Dr. Teodora Ivanova – Chairperson of the State Agency for Child Protection, as well as Dr. Eva Zhecheva – Director of the Directorate “Children’s Rights” at the Ombudsman Institution, and other representatives of institutions and organizations committed to the rights and participation of young people.

The moderator of the meeting was Asen Asenov – a student from PPMG “Nikola Obreshkov”, Kazanlak, who confidently and inspiredly led the event, which brought together young people from all over the country in one hall, proving that the student voice matters. Sixteen ombudsmen from different schools across the country shared their experiences – how they gained the trust of their classmates and were elected to this important position, how they protect the rights of students before teachers, the principal and other institutions, and many others.

After the official part, the participants made a symbolic start to the actual meeting by visualizing the network of student ombudsmen on a specially prepared map of Bulgaria. Each marked the locality they represented as student ombudsman and introduced themselves with a short message about their motivation and cause.

The discussion part of the forum focused on the role of student ombudsmen and the real opportunities for students to be an active party in the decision-making processes at school. The participants discussed how student ideas can be transformed into real changes, what difficulties young people encounter in communicating with institutions and how important the dialogue between students, teachers and school management is. Specific ideas were also shared about what students would like to see change in the school environment in the coming years. The official guests also actively participated in the conversations, asking and answering questions, contributing their professional experience, knowledge and perspectives throughout the event.

The emotional end of the meeting was the creation of the “Message Wall”, on which each student ombudsman left a short message as a symbol of the common cause for more active student participation and a better school environment.

At the end of the event, all participants received certificates, personally presented by Dr. Eva Zhecheva – Director of the “Children’s Rights” Directorate at the Institution of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria. She sent a personal message to each of the young ombudsmen and encouraged them to continue to be active defenders of student rights and drivers of positive change in their schools.

The meeting ended with one clear message – when young people are heard and supported, they can not only dream of change, but create it.”

A day later, the student ombudsmen visited European embassies and national institutions as part of the “Ambassador of Tolerance” initiative: see information HERE

Since 2023, the Amalipe Center has been encouraging schools across the country to introduce the position of “student ombudsman”, with representatives elected through student elections with the participation of all students in the respective school. After their election, the student ombudsmen represent the students before the school management, raise problems that young people face, and seek solutions for them. The “Student Ombudsman” initiative of the Amalipe Center is under the patronage of the National Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria – Ms. Velislava Delcheva, which emphasizes the importance of student rights and the role of young people as active participants in the school community.

The meeting was organized within the framework of the GLAS (Civic Leadership for Active Cooperation) project, implemented by the Together in Class Foundation, Amalipe Center, BCause Foundation, Sofia Platform Foundation and Voty.ch with the support of the Swiss-Bulgarian Development Program.