REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EVRIKA FOUNDATION IN 2024

 

 

This report on the activities of the Evrika Foundation reflects what was achieved in 2024 and provides an overview of what has been done in implementing the goals and objectives of the organization and the implementation of its programs.

We tried to fulfil the ambitious program we set and to develop what we achieved in previous periods. The economical and effective use of funds and the good practices we have had over the years have made it possible to achieve the results set out in the annual program and budget of the foundation. We managed to preserve traditions and find new fields for performances. Time and accumulated experience have suggested to us the new directions in which we should seek changes and take steps to establish new contacts, partnerships, and join forces with other organizations in order to increase the capacity of the foundation and thereby maintain and, if possible, increase the results.

In preparing this report, we have adhered to the tradition of its structure and content, depending on the main goals and objectives set out in the statute and the specifics of the implementation of our programs in the form approved by the Foundation Council. In this report we have presented activities and projects, analyzed achievements and issues, efforting at making predictions and describing intentions for actions in the future periods. The facts and results pointed out demonstrate our strive to be objective in our assessments, to adhere to the established principles of transparency, openness, fair and equal conditions for competition and a general competitive approach. This line was also followed by the Executive Bureau, which implemented its own projects, as well as those of the organizations and young people we supported. We used the expertise of leading scientists and specialists, which let us successfully handle the assigned mandate and once again demonstrate teamwork unity and care for the finances entrusted to us. The experience, intelligence, and responsibility of our team’s members allowed us to handle the implementation of diverse activities and projects and to secure them financially, without having to engage in risky operations or spend our financial reserves. The program implementation report shows how successful we have been in ensuring sustainability in the development of the organization and what the public assessment of our achievements was.

 

1. On the implementation of the Foundation’s non-profit goals

 Knowledge, nowadays is at the heart of all significant achievements of humanity. Its importance will be expanding continuously in the future. The recognized need for knowledge as a first and mandatory step towards development is at the heart of the main goal, established before us at the very creation of our foundation. That applies to the greatest extent to children and young people, who have responsible functions in the development of society, in improving technologies that completely change the lives of humanity. Taking into account the new trends in the development and strictly adhering to the founding principles and documents of our organization, we consistently directed our efforts towards creating better conditions and supporting children and young people in their quest to master new knowledge and develop their creative abilities.

 

1. In order for the younger generation to acquire natural and scientific, technical and economic knowledge, skills and culture, supporting the training and qualification of young people with outstanding abilities in the field of natural sciences, technology and management.

The strategy for the development of society in the coming years continues to be related to lifelong learning, which begins with the first steps in mastering knowledge. High achievements in science and technology, to a large extent, are based on what was achieved in young age, when creative approach is based in mastering the foundation of scientific knowledge. This understanding is the basis of the functioning “Talents” program, which strives to discover talents, provide funds for their development, support and encourage young people with outstanding skills, and create a more favourable environment for the development of those talents.

When analysing what has been achieved during the year in the implementation of this program, we must emphasize that its main resource is directed at providing scholarships for the best Bulgarian school children and students, who have demonstrated excellence. Throughout the scholarship campaign, our efforts were focused on creating the most favourable conditions to attract the best and most prominent Bulgarian students to participate in the scholarship competitions. We put our efforts into organizing and providing the best information for the overall campaign, to that end we tried to attract a wide range of scientists and specialists that the foundation has been working with for many years in a row. Our joint work, which began five years ago on the initiative of Georgi Balanski – member of the Executive Bureau of the Foundation and Todor Stanchev – member of the specialized jury to determine the successful competitors for the scholarships – John Atanassov, Academician Nikola Obreshkov, Academician Blagovest Sendov and Academician Georgi Nadzhakov for the new special scholarship Academician Alexander Teodorov-Balan. As a result of the proper preparatory work on publicizing this special scholarship and securing many worthy contenders, as well as thanks to the very early explanatory work we started, we attracted additional interest from many citizens with an active position in society. The amount of this scholarship was 3,000 BGN, the same as the other eleven named scholarships. We could certainly claim that with the above endowment scholarship the foundation now has twelve named scholarships. The latest campaign to determine the winner of the named scholarship Academician Alexander Teodorov-Balan was distinguished by a record number of participants, with many high-quality projects, diverse activities and participation in events. We had the largest number of contenders from the Sofia University of St. Kliment Ohridski, the Medical University of Sofia, the University of National and World Economy (UNWE), Paisiy Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, the Vassil Levski National Military University, the Faculty of Artillery, Air Defence, Communication and Information Systems (FAADCIS) of the town of Shumen, the Georgi Benkovski Military University in the town of Dolna Mitropolia, the Medical University of Varna, the Technical University of Varna, the Angel Kanchev University of Ruse, the Thracian University of Stara Zagora, the Medical University of Plovdiv, the Burgas Free University, the University of Economics in the city of Varna, the Neofit Rilski South University of Blagoevgrad, the University of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy (CTMU) of Sofia, the Forestry University of Sofia and the University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy (UACG) of Sofia. For another year, we had no problem areas with few and low-quality contenders. We should especially note the strong competition among contenders for the named scholarship “Academician Metodi Popov”, the named scholarship Academician Evgeni Mateev”, the named scholarship Academician Nikola Obreshkov”, the named scholarship Academician Blagovest Sendov” and the named scholarship of “Academician Rostislav Kaishev”. It was pleasing to see the continued high level of applicants for the two engineering scholarships and the strong participation of students from the Vassil Levski National Military University, the Faculty of Artillery, Air Defense and CIS in the town of Shumen.            In 2024 again, the tradition of high school teams in mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology winning many medals and awards was maintained. Three silver and two bronze medals were won by Bulgarian students at the 65^th International Mathematics Olympiad in competition with 609 participants from 108 countries, which was held in the city of Bath. Eight awards – 2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze – were won by Bulgarian students at the 41^st Balkan Mathematics Olympiad, which was held in Varna. Along with the four honorary diplomas, at the unofficial team ranking this placed Bulgaria in the third place. 137 students from 22 countries participated in that competition. Six medals were won by Bulgarian mathematical talents under the age of 16 at the 28^th Youth Balkan Mathematics Olympiad, which was held in Antalya, Turkey. In the competition of participants from over 20 countries, they won 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze award. Three bronze medals were won by Bulgarian participants in the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), which was held in April in the city of Tskaltubo, Georgia. Representatives of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” won 4 gold and 4 silver medals at the International Student Mathematical Olympiad, which was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Bulgarian students won four silver medals at the 36^th International Olympiad of Informatics. That prestigious computer science competition in the world was held in Egypt, where all members of the Bulgarian team won awards in competition with over 350 participants from over 90 countries. The Bulgarian representatives won 4 medals from one of the most prestigious tournaments in Europe – the European Youth Olympiad in Informatics (EJOI). Our best informatics students under 15.5 years old won 1 silver and 3 bronze awards in the eighth edition of this competition, which was held in Moldova and brought together 98 competitors from 26 countries. With three medals – one gold, two silver and one honorary diploma – our national team returned from the Informatics Olympiad for Girls in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, competing against 196 girls from 57 countries. In early August, our country hosted the first International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence. 40 teams from more than 30 countries competed in Burgas. Both Bulgarian teams won bronze medals in the scientific round. Our first team was awarded a gold prize in the practical round of the competition. The Bulgarian school children, excelling in informatics did great at the Balkan Olympiad in Informatics. The local high school students won 4 medals, 3 of which were gold and 1 silver. September 20 to 25 in Macedonia Bulgarian school children competed with school children from 13 countries. The Bulgarian school children, excelling in physics won 1 silver and 4 bronze medals at the 54^th International Physics Olympiad, which was held in the city of Isfahan, Iran. Bulgarian school children and scholarship holders of the foundation won 4 medals at the European Physics Olympiad, which was held in Georgia. In 2024, a record 54 countries participated in the competition. Five medals – two silver and three bronze – were won by the excelling Bulgarian school children at the 20^th International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics, which was held in Brazil. More than 260 high school children from 53 countries participated in it. Five medals – one gold, three silver and one bronze medals – were won by the excelling Bulgarian school children under 16 years of age in the debut participation of our team at the Youth International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics in Nepal. The Bulgarian team won four awards at the 6^th Balkan Physics Olympiad, held in Nikšić, Montenegro. Another strong performance was recorded by the Bulgarian school children, excelling in chemistry. They won 4 medals – one gold, two silver and one bronze – from the 56^th International Chemistry Olympiad, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Our previous scholarship holder Viktor Lilov was second in the world, winning his second gold medal after 2023. The gold award was his second 16 days after he got the gold at the International Biology Olympiad, where he was the only one from the European Union among the top 10 in the world. Bulgarian school children returned home with a full set of medals after a brilliant performance at the International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad in China. In competition with 151 participants from 26 countries, our contenders won one gold, one silver and one bronze medal, as well as an honorary diploma. Bulgarian high-school children won 33 medals at the prestigious Zhautikov Olympiad in Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Over 700 competitors from 16 countries took part in the competition. Representatives of several Bulgarian teams won 9 gold, 6 silver and 18 bronze medals. Three medals were won by excellent Bulgarian school children at the 35^th International Biology Olympiad, which was held in Kazakhstan. They tested their knowledge with 320 school children from 80 countries. Both Bulgarian teams won silver medals at the European Olympiad in Experimental Sciences (EOES 2024), which was held in Luxembourg.     To summarize, the Evrika Foundation had 44 scholarship students for the 2024/2025 academic year, where: 20 holders of named scholarships; 1 holder of the scholarship “Academician Alexander Teodorov-Balan” by targeted donation; 2 school children, gold medal winners from international high school Olympiads; 8 students and school children, silver medal winners from international high school Olympiads; 13 students and school children, bronze medal winners from international high school Olympiads. The distribution of scholarships by universities and schools is the following: 17 of them were representatives of the Sofia University of St. Kliment Ohridski; 4 were from the Medical University of Sofia; 2 from the Vassil Levski National Military University, the Faculty of Artillery, Air Defence, Communication and Information Systems (FAADCIS) of the town of Shumen, the Georgi Benkovski Military University in the town of Dolna Mitropolia, the Paisiy Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, the University of Economy in Varna, the Technical University in Varna, the University of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy (CTMU) of Sofia, the Angel Kanchev University of Ruse, the Medical University in Varna, the Thracian University of Stara Zagora, the University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy (UACG) of Sofia and the Forestry University of Sofia. Scholarship recipients of the foundation were also school children, laureates of international Olympiads, who study at the Sofia Paisiy Hilendarski High School of Mathematics, Dr. Petar Beron Secondary School of Mathematics in the city of Varna, and Profiled High School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics “Academician Nikola Obreshkov” in the city of Burgas, the First Private High School of Mathematics in Sofia, the Profiled High School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics “Nancho Popovich” in the town of Shumen and the High School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics “Vassil Drumev” in Veliko Tarnovo.

Twenty-five years ago, as part of the “Talents” program, we became the founders of the Student Institute of Mathematics and Informatics /StIMI/. It has been functioning quite successfully since then. We took the first steps and are still together with our traditional partners – the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the International Foundation “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” and the Union of Mathematicians in Bulgaria (UMB). This project has established itself as a fruitful form of work for Bulgarian scientists with children from the  secondary schools. Traditionally, each year at the Research Science Institute (RSI) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a student conference, an interview for the selection of participants, a summer research school, a student workshop and a seminar for teachers of mathematics, computer science, and information technology are held. Over the twenty-five years of its existence, several thousand school children and several hundred teachers of mathematics, computer science, and information technology have passed through its forms. Over 100 projects are developed annually by about 140 school children from more than 25 cities in the country. Among the leaders of the student projects, it is becoming more and more common to find alumni of this school participating in its life again. We will mention a few facts and figures that show the image of StIMI for the past year:

The twenty-fourth student conference (StCon’24) of StIMI was held from January 12 to 14, 2024 in Blagoevgrad, kindly hosted by the Secondary High School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics “Academician Sergey Koroljov”.     39 school children participated in it, presenting 31 original projects in the field of mathematics, computer science and information technology.

The Student Section /StSect’24/ of the StIMI was held from April 1 to 5, 2024 in Borovets as part of the 53^rd Spring Conference of the Union of Mathematicians in Bulgaria (UMB). The conference is an annual national forum that brings together teachers and experts in mathematics and informatics from the field of secondary education, university professors, researchers, business representatives, and publishers of educational and scientific literature. 54 school children from grades 8 to 12 participated in the StSect’24 with 44 projects in mathematics, computer science and information technology.

The Summer Research School of Mathematics and Informatics /SRSch’24/, which was held at the Creativity House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences near Varna, was attended by 44 school children with prominent interests in the field of mathematics, informatics and information technologies. The school has traditionally enjoyed international participation and the official language of the school is English. In 2024, six school children from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain and India participated.  A large number of participants in the research school over the years have already been laureates of some of the most prestigious European and world science fairs, such as the European Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS), the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, (Regeneron ISEF), Expo Sciences, etc. The cooperation of participants with their mentors often leads to scientific publications. In the last days of the school, the Bulgarian participants in the Research Science Institute (RSI) – Emiliana Dimitrova from the Sofia High school of Mathematics and Nikola Gyulev from the High school of Mathematics “Academician Kiril Popov” in the city of Plovdiv. This is an extremely prestigious six-week international summer school for school children, which takes place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, at which in 2024 participated more than 100 school children from all over the world. The StIMI carries out the selection for the Research Science Institute (RSI) based on the school children’ performance in the events of the student institute, following a special interview. Traditionally, Bulgarian participants in the RSI are guests in the summer school program to talk about the research problems they worked upon and about their experiences during the summer school overseas. For the first year, the Evrika Foundation also participated in the financial support of Bulgarian participation in the Research Science Institute program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (RSI’24). The Bulgarian participants were required to commit to further active participation in the StIMI activities, as well as the dissemination of the research approach at the highest levels.

In 2024, we have upgraded our previous joint work with the Student Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (StInst of BAS) at the Training Center of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, by starting the implementation of a new joint project to provide mentors/consultants for ten small learning and research communities at the Student Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Following the example of the StIMI, ten years ago, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences established a Student Institute to support children with interests in all areas of science and arts /StInst of BAS/. A central place in its activities is occupied by the holding of the annual Student Scientific Session, at which results from student research projects are presented, obtained independently or in co-authorship with other school children under the scientific guidance of a specialist in the relevant field and possibly with the assistance of one or more consultants. In the Student Session, held on November 23 and 24, 2024, 65 educational and research projects were presented by 93 school children from 28 schools in 16 cities of the country. By the implementation of this new project, the Evrika Foundation continues its work and interaction in this direction with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, because only an educated nation has a chance in the world of new challenges. The project plans to provide mentors/consultants for ten small learning and research communities (SLRCs) of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. A community leader and several school children will work together in them throughout the calendar year. This is a very convenient tool to identify and encourage school children who have demonstrated a tendency for research and project work. Particularly successful are those small learning and research communities (LRCs) that have an attached “academic mentor/consultant” providing methodological assistance, consultations, and liaison with an academic institution. The main goal is to raise the level of project work from a scientific point of view, as well as to more closely link the academic sphere with the specific work in school education. The longer-term goal is to attract young people to professional careers in the field of science.

For another year, we were one of the organizers of the eighth edition of the Youth Technical Creativity’2024 Competition-Exhibition (YTC’2024) in the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa in November. The project is aimed at overcoming the negative trend of youth outflow from studying the exact mathematical sciences and the vocational education adequate to the needs of the Bulgarian industry. 51 teams, comprising 205 school children presented themselves at this year’s exhibition. A retro exhibition was presented with the Bulgarian achievements in electronics and electrical engineering in the 1990s. In parallel, a national competition with robots made by school children up to grade 7 and a lecture was given by STEM Center Professor Shivarov.

In 2024, we began work on the fourth consecutive joint project with the Vale Computer School at the Zarya-1858 Community Center in the city of Haskovo, on the topic “In the World of Computers”. This is an innovative idea for the first steps in programming, creating 3D models, animations and digital drawings. The project funds are already being used for: updating the necessary hardware and software for conducting of training sessions with children and youth; conducting classes on creating 3D characters with the Blender software; conducting training sessions on creating programs with Phyton; working in groups with children and youth to train in model retouching, product retouching and digital painting with Photoshop.

Again with the Zarya-1858 Community Center and the Vale Computer School we held the Fifteenth International Competition for Computer Drawing and Collage “Creativity Without Borders”, Haskovo’2024. We have been committed to supporting this event for thirteen consecutive years, and in the last ten years we were part of the specialized jury for evaluating the projects. Over 1,500 creative works were submitted for participation in the fifteenth edition of the international competition in 2024. Participants aged 4 to 27 submitted 603 computer drawings, 708 collages and 221 works from 26 countries, which were evaluated and ranked by a specialized jury in eight age groups. regional and national awards. The wonderful works of the school’s children are the product of persistent creative searches for the realization of artistic ideas through new technologies.

In 2024, we completed the implementation of another joint project with the National Polytechnic Museum on the topic “RoBo – LeGoTech – the past and future in one”. It is a continuation of the successful joint activity for the benefit of children, building on the effectiveness of the already implemented programs – “LeGotech”, “From children’s building blocks to the professions of new technologies” and “Robotics Academy – Legotech”. The National Polytechnical Museum already has the necessary material base and the technical support, and with this project we have developed the capacity even further, using the power of modern technologies. The new equipment, and most importantly the purchased interactive multi-touch LED display, provided a dynamic and engaging platform for children to demonstrate their creations and visualize programming concepts. 95 children and school children, 6 to 13 years old participated in the project. At the beginning of 2025, we launched another joint project with the National Polytechnical Museum on the topic “RoBo – LegoTech – the next generation of inventors.” This project is directed at children from grades 1 to 4 and aims to introduce them to the world of robotics, engineering and programming through interactive and hands-on learning, using LEGO-Education sets. The training is suitable both for children without previous experience and for those with some knowledge in the field, as well as for those who have already completed the first levels of training.

In 2024, we started the implementation of another new project with the University for Children Foundation to organize and conduct the ScienceMeUp Remote Tournament. This is a new partnership for the foundation, born from the many common goals of the two organizations in supporting talented young Bulgarians. ScienceMeUp is a science and mathematics tournament that discovers and develops the talents of young scientists and researchers of junior high school age. Thanks to the experience of the University for Children and the professionalism of the lecturers in the natural sciences faculties of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, the tournament has become a major scientific event for school children with an interest in science in Bulgaria and abroad. A group of young Bulgarian specialists – engineers are project partners – they have completed their education abroad and have returned to Bulgaria to implement what they learned and the skills they acquired.

 

2. To stimulate youth scientific and technical research, invention and other innovative activities.

 One of the main goals set when creating the foundation was not only to discover, but also to find good incentives and apply them to promote the development of creative thinking and research searches for solutions in the fields of science, engineering and technology.

Space as a theme continues to be an attractive territory for many children and young people. This activity is one of the few, demonstrating growing interest, along with construction with new tools and building blocks. We have drawn this conclusion based on the competition we organized “Space – Present and Future of Humanity”. Last year was its XXVI edition. The competition was included in the National calendar plan for extracurricular activities of the Ministry of Education and Science. It benefits from the support of Bulgarian scientists working in the field of space exploration and utilization and is held under the patronage of the first Bulgarian cosmonaut, General Georgi Ivanov.

On the Day of the People’s Awakeners at the National Children’s Palace in Sofia, the Evrika Foundation presented the awards to the laureates of the XXVI National Competition “Space – Present and Future of Humanity” at an official ceremony. The competition enjoys the support of Bulgarian scientists working in the field of space exploration and exploitation. In 2024, it was attended by 2,368 school children, 8 to 19 years old with 2,349 projects in five thematic areas. The first Bulgarian cosmonaut, General Georgi Ivanov welcomed the participants to the celebration and presented the awards to the laureates and their scientific supervisors. The participants in the celebration were welcomed by Krassimir Stoyanov, the substitute /understudy/ for the second Bulgarian astronaut and by Academician Kiril Boyanov – Chairman of the Board of the Evrika Foundation. The winners in the category ‘Ideas for scientific and technical experiments’ were Elia Yordanova and Atanas Gonevski from the Vocational High School of Ecology and Biotechnology “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov” of the city of Sofia with scientific supervisor Vyara Yordanova made a presentation and presented their development on the topic “Lunar Colony”. The chairperson of the specialized jury, Associate Professor Tanya Ivanova spoke on the topic “45 years since the flight of the first Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov”. Raya Yanakieva from the Vocational High School of Economics “Dr. Ivan Bogorov” of the city of Varna presented his drawing to General Georgi Ivanov.

In the category “Ideas for scientific and technical experiments” in 2024, participated 16 school children from the cities of Stara Zagora, Sofia, Sliven and Varna.  The winners were a team comprised of: Elia Yordanova and Atanas Gonevski from the Vocational High School of Ecology and Biotechnology “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov” in the city of Sofia with scientific supervisor Vyara Yordanova. The projects of other school children from the same high school were also highly appreciated, as well as projects of school children from the “Elissaveta Vazova” Professional High School of Design of Sofia, Foreign Language High School “Romain Rolland”, city of Stara Zagora and “Dobri Chintulov” Secondary School, city of Varna.

In the category of Models and layouts of space objects, were presented 84 models and layouts by 104 school children, a record-breaking in all editions of this contest so far.

In the category of graphic works created with the help of a computer, 282 participants in the national competition presented their developments and works. Particularly active and attractive were the projects of the school children from: Otec Paisiy Secondary School, town of Samokov with scientific supervisor Alexandrina Ganjulova; National Aprilovska High School, town of Gabrovo with scientific supervisor Krassinela Georgieva; the Vale Computer School at the Zarya-1858 People’s Community Center of the city of Haskovo with scientific supervisor Lyudmila Staykova; Vasil Levski Secondary School, town of Sevlievo with scientific supervisor Iva Peikova; Otec Paisiy Secondary School, Medkovets village with scientific supervisor Diana Popova; Vocational High School of Economics G. S. Rakovski, town of Yambol with scientific supervisor Ginka Mutafova; Vassil Levski Secondary School, town of Krumovgrad with scientific supervisor Leila Ahmed; Pencho Slaveykov Secondary School, town of Dimitrovgrad with scientific supervisor Katya Gocheva; Vocational High School of Economics “John Atanassov”, town of Targovishte with scientific supervisor Milena Ivanova.

In the Literary Works category, participated 143 young authors with 152 works. Very active, inventive and creative were the school children from: Vocational High School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering “Academician Angel Balevski”, town of Troyan with Scientific supervisor Teodora Dudeva; Vocational High School of Civil Engineering “Penyo Penev”, town of Silistra with scientific supervisors Kremena Petkova and Konstantin Dyankov; Ivan Vazov Secondary School, village of Goljamo Vranovo with scientific supervisor Feriha Yusmyanova; Vasil Levski Primary School, town of Pleven with scientific supervisor Bogomila Milcheva; Secondary School “Ep. Konstantin Preslavski”, city of Burgas with scientific supervisor Daniela Kostadinova; Secondary High School “Dimitar Matevski”, city of Plovdiv; Primary School “Dr. Petar Beron”, town of Pleven with Scientific supervisor Anelia Atanassova; Specialized High School of Roman Languages “Georgi Rakovski”, city of Burgas with Scientific supervisor Kamelia Slaveykova; Secondary School “Vassil Levski”, town of Krumovgrad with scientific supervisor Leila Ahmed; Primary School “St. St. Cyril and Methodius, city of Gabrovo with scientific supervisors Penka Yoteva and Nikolay Hristov.

Last year again, the largest number of participants were from the ranks of young artists. 1823 young representatives from 128 schools and other extracurricular units took part in that event. Most active were the school children from: The Professional High School of Economics “Dr. Ivan Bogorov”, city of Varna with scientific supervisor Ivelina Encheva; II Secondary School “Prof. Nikola Marinov”, town of Targovishte; “Lyuben Karavelov” Secondary High School, city of Varna; National High School of Fine Arts “St. Luke”, city of Sofia with scientific supervisor Tatyana Grigorova; Support Centre for Personal Development – Center for Work with Children of the town of Pleven with scientific supervisor Vyara Savova; Innovative Primary School “St. St. Cyril and Methodius, city of Yambol with scientific supervisor Lena Ivanova; High School of Textile and Fashion Design of the city of Varna with scientific supervisor Russalena Nikolova; Primary School “P.R. Slaveykov”, city of Varna with scientific supervisor Mariyana Daskalova; Vasil Levski Secondary High School, town of Sevlievo; Primary School “St. Paisiy Hilendarski”, village of Ezerche, district of Razgrad with scientific supervisor Emilia Ivanova; Secondary School “Aleko Konstantinov”, town of Lukovit with scientific supervisor Vesselka Stoynova; Secondary High School “Emiliyan Stanev”, city of Veliko Tarnovo; 22 Secondary Language School “G.S.Rakovski”, city of Sofia; Secondary School “Otec Paisiy”, village of Medkovets; Primary School “Naiden Gerov”, village of Gavrailovo; Primary School “Vasil Drumev”, town of Pazardzhik; Language High School ‘Academician Lyudmil Stoyanov’, city of Blagoevgrad; Primary School “Elin Pelin”, city of Burgas.

One of our best long-standing and most successful partners is the National Children’s Palace – the largest and most unique institution in Bulgaria for additional education and upbringing, which offers year-round activities that develop personality, skills and talents, which is emblematic of its supportive educational environment and wonderful highly qualified teachers. The National Children’s Palace not only provides conditions for multiple performances by children, but also does something much more important – it ensures the social adaptation and active inclusion of children of different ages and schools in a common creative project, developing both their potential and their ability to work in a team. The Evrika Foundation strives and is generally recognized as a major partner of the National Children’s Palace in organizing and conducting many events with children and school children.

In the National Student Competition “Nature – Our Home” in 2024, 68 school children from grades 1 to 12 from the National Children’s Palace, the Support Centre for Personal Development and different schools in the country from the following areas participated: Sofia city; Sofia region; Kyustendil; Pazardzhik; Vratsa; Varna; Kardzhali; Stara Zagora; Lovech; Shumen; Silistra; Pernik. A collective award for active participation was awarded to the 6^th Secondary School “Otec Paisiy” in the town of Montana with Scientific supervisor Rumyana Kostova.

The National Competition for Student Projects in Ecology and Environmental Protection was held from May 31 to June 2, 2024 within the framework of the International Ecology Forum “Srebarna”. 31 teams from 24 districts in the country and 3 from Calarasi and Constanta, Romania, participated in it.

The national scientific and technical performances with students from grades 5 to 7 were held from June 20 to 25, 2024 in the village of Kranevo. In the competitions in natural sciences, ecology and technology (modules: natural sciences, building blocks constructions, alternative energy sources – solar energy) 85 school children participated.

In the National Scientific and Technical Events for school children from 8^th to 12^th grade, following preliminary selection, 82 participants from Sevlievo, Sliven, Plovdiv, Sofia, Krumovgrad, Varna, Ruse, Pernik, Vratsa and Pleven were admitted to public hearing of their works. They competed in the national competitions in the following thematic areas: electrical appliances; devices and communication tools; software products; business projects; chemistry; biology; ecology; physics and astronomy; farming; energy efficiency. In parallel with the scientific and technical competitions, an exhibition with demonstrations of student creativity took place.

The Evrika Foundation is a long-standing partner of the Ministry of Education and Science, the National Children’s Palace, the Bulgarian Federation of Model Car Sports, the Bulgarian Federation of Model Ship Sports and the Bulgarian Federation of Model Aircraft, in organizing and conducting the National Student Competitions in Model Aircraft, Model Car Sports, Model Ship Sports and Model Rocketry. The aircraft modelling and rocket modelling competitions were held in the town of Lovech. 209 children and school children and 25 teams participated in them. From May 31 to June 2, 2024 the National Student Model Car Competitions were held in the town of Vratsa, organized by the Ministry of Education and Science, the National Children’s Palace, the Evrika Foundation, the Bulgarian Federation of Model Car Sports and the Sports and Technical Modelling Club (STMC) of the town of Vratsa. 66 children and school children from 11 teams from Pazardzhik, Sopot, Vratsa, Sofia, Ruse, Levski, Harmanli, Pleven, Dimitrovgrad and Razgrad took part in them. In the National Ship Modelling Competitions, which took place from June 7, 2024 to June 9, 2024 in the town of Pazardzhik, participated more than 156 children and school children.

Along with the United Children’s Complex in the town of Kyustendil, we organized and held another Competition for non-standard aircraft made by school children “IKAR ‘2024” within the framework of the “OSOGOVO” Air show in the town of Kyustendil. We received great assistance and help from the Municipality of Kyustendil, Torgoterm AD, Kyustendil, and the Bulgarian Aircraft Modelling Federation. More than 40 school children from the 1^st grade to the 12^th grade from the towns of Kyustendil, Zemen, Pernik, Sevlievo and from the city of Sofia took part in the competition. The accompanying shows of amateur rockets, airplanes and gliders, as well as the workshop for children, including assembling airplanes from blanks and demonstration flights were welcome with great interest.

Together with the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria, we organized and held the 52^nd National Conference on Physics Education on the topic “Physics Education and Digital Technologies” from June 13 to 16, 2024 in the town of Sliven. Within the framework of this conference, the traditional Youth Scientific Session for schoolchildren and students was held on the topic “Physics and the World of Technology.” The session featured 40 projects by 54 school children in the 9^th – 12^th grade age group and 16 projects by 20 school children from 14 secondary schools. As an integral part of the Youth Science Session, a National Essay Competition was held (for schoolchildren and students) on the topic of “Physics in My World”. 120 school children from 36 primary and secondary schools and 3 higher education institutions in three age groups participated in it. The in-depth studies in which most of the participants, including 5^th grade school children to students in Universities, approached the topic with great interest, the quoting of sources of information at the end of the essay, the in-depth presentation of the information, and most of all – the personal attitude towards the presented facts made an impression. A National Photo Contest for school children and students was held on the topic “Physics, Harmony and Phenomena in Nature”. 113 school children and students participated, from 33 schools from the following towns and cities: Ardino, Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Dobrich, Lyaskovets, Plovdiv, Radnevo, Radomir, Ruse, Svishtov, Sevlievo, Sliven, Smolyan, Sopot, Stara Zagora, Sofia, Troyan, as well as from 4 universities in Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Sofia and Moscow.

The beautiful bank of the Danube River near the village of Baikal welcomed the participants of the National “Astro Party Baikal” for the twentieth anniversary in early June 2024. The main organizer of this event was the Municipal Center for Extracurricular Activities and Interests in the Baikal Village, by the leadership of Ivo Jokin. The event is held under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Science and the Mayor of the Municipality of Dolna Mitropolia. For the second consecutive year, the Evrika Foundation is the co-organizer of this event. The main topic of this event was “From ancient Arab astronomers to modern digital technologies and artificial intelligence in space exploration.” The event was attended by 55 teachers and school children from all over the country and from schools in the municipality of Dolna Mitropolia.

For the second consecutive year, the Evrika Foundation, the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria and the Sofia Vocational High School of Electronics “John Atanasov” organized and held the Second National Youth Eco-Forum “For a Clean Environment and Sustainable Development”. It was dedicated to the World Environment Day on June 5^th. Since its initiation in 1973, the event has grown into a global platform to reach people from all corners of the world. It is celebrated in over 100 countries. Teachers and school children from a total of 13 schools from Sofia and the country participated in this forum. The school children presented 16 interesting projects, gave impressive presentations, and made fun demonstrations with solar panels and their application for environmental protection.

Over the past year, we continued our good cooperation with the Association “Territorial Organization of Scientific and Technical Unions with the House of Science and Technology in the city of Plovdiv” to organize and conduct the National Youth Forum “Science, Technology, Innovation, Business”.  In the two sessions of the forum (the spring and the autumn forums), 159 young people participated – school children, students, doctoral students, young professors from higher education institutions and young professionals from practical fields, as well as their scientific supervisors. Scientific developments in the fields of aviation, transport, mechanical engineering, computer technology, agriculture, food technology, business and entrepreneurship were presented. A total of 112 reports were presented. After two rankings by committees composed of habilitated professors, were honored and awarded a total of 29 youth works, reported in five sections of the spring edition and in six sections of the fall edition.

In 2024, together with the Scientific and Technical Union of Construction in Bulgaria, we organized and held the 13^th Youth Conference with international participation “Design and Construction of Buildings and Facilities” DCB’2024. The forum brought together leading specialists and scientists from Bulgaria, Ireland, Syria, Latvia and Turkey. 62 scientific reports were presented, 28 of which were published in the prestigious scientific publication IOP Publishing, the rest in a specialized Bulgarian collection. The conference included the traditional Student Session, which was attended by students, doctoral students and young scientists from UACEG, the Chernorizets Hrabar Free University of Varna (VFU), the Lyuben Karavelov Higher School of Construction and the Todor Kableshkov Higher School of Transport, as well as school children from the vocational high schools of architecture, construction and geodesy.

During the reporting year, we continued our successful joint activities with the National Society for Environmental Engineering and Environmental Protection, as one of the organizers of the Youth Scientific Session within the framework of the 8^th International Conference on Environmental Engineering and Environmental Protection /EEEP’2024/. It was held in October 2024 in the town of Velingrad. A total of 33 scientific reports and 21 posters were presented at the conference by scientists from Bulgaria and from 8 scientific institutions from Ukraine, France, China, Poland, Serbia and Cyprus. Eighteen young scientists and school children from Bulgaria participated with 20 reports, and eleven presented poster presentations at a high scientific and technical level.

The Evrika Foundation is a long-standing partner of the Union of Inventors in Bulgaria. We supported again last year the organization and holding of the series of Exhibitions “Inventions, Technologies, Innovations” /ITI’2024/. This is an annual event and is a very useful meeting of scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors, innovation intermediaries, breeders, producers, school children, students and patent specialists, with interests in the development and prosperity of their activities based on creativity, innovation and effective use of intellectual property.

One of the highlights of the foundation’s activities remains the traditional competitions for the “Evrika” awards for achievements in science and for the Young Manager, Inventor and Farmer awards. They have been held for many years – it is the thirty-fifth time for the award of Young Manager, the thirty-fourth time for the Young Inventor and Farmer award, and for achievements in science for the twenty-ninth consecutive year. These awards have public recognition and are carefully evaluated by state and public organizations and institutions. The competitions are recognizable in society and have their popularity, gained thanks to the valuable young people who have been honoured with such awards over the years.

For the third time, we have combined the presentation of the Evrika Awards and the presentation of scholarship certificates. This is an expression of our policy for discovering and developing young people with outstanding abilities in science, engineering and technology and their preparation and realization. Representatives of state and public organizations, university leaders, members of the Foundation Council, members of specialized juries, scientists, previous laureates of the “Evrika” award, former and current scholarship holders were present at the exquisite celebration to pay well-deserved respect to what was achieved.

For the year 2024, the Evrika Award for Achievements in Science was awarded to Dr. Maria Argirova. She received the joint award of the Evrika Foundation and the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria for her excellent defence of dissertation on the topic “Synthesis of 1H-benzemidazol-2-yl hydrazones and study of their anthelmintic, antineoplastic and radical-scavenging effects”. The results of her dissertation have been published in two Q1 articles, one with an impact factor of 5.194 and one with an impact factor of 3.361. 5 quotes from foreign authors in reputable publications were noted, which is proof of the relevance of the topic. The materials of the dissertation have been presented at 22 conferences in Bulgaria and abroad. Four of the posters on the topic of the dissertation have received awards from scientific events.

The winner of the Evrika Prize for Young Inventor of 2024 is Emil Mitev. It was awarded to him as a co-author in a protected patent for the invention “On-board control system for electric vehicles”, registered as a patent by the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria under No. 67309 B1 dated April 29, 2021. The task of the invention was to propose an on-board control system for electric vehicles, to provide the ability to grip the steering wheel continuously with both hands, without the need to release it when performing other basic or additional activities in the driving process.

Vessela Nikolova received the Evrika Award for Young Manager for 2024. Since 2022, she has been the Managing Director of Amdaris Bulgaria and the Regional Operations Director for Eastern Europe of Amdaris. Her professional path combines strategic leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation. It was focused on the growth of technology centers, positioning and establishing the company as an employer leader among software services companies. In 2024, he led the company’s development in the region and improved efficiency in the operational function of the technology centers in Moldova, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. The company’s revenue for 2023 was £39.3 million, up from £26.9 million in 2022.

The Evrika Young Farmer Award for 2024 went to Yaman Husman. He is a second generation farmer. He has been involved in farming his entire life, always being around his parents and helping them as much as he could. For 8 years now, Yaman Husmen has been managing the farm of “Karadzha-FAG” OOD in the town of Isperih. They cultivate a little over 15 thousand acres of land. They raise 1,100 Holstein Friesian dairy cattle, of which 450 are dairy cows. They have modern equipment and a full set of necessary equipment for the purpose – Lexion class combine harvesters; Fendt tractors; John Deere tractors; Jaguar forage harvester; soil tillage equipment, mainly from the Bulgarian manufacturer “Ralomex”; self-propelled sprayers “Tecknoma” and “Apache”; a spraying drone “XAG P100pro”; self-propelled mixer for animal feeding “Zago”; a Delaval “mother” robot for feeding the calves; robot for pushing feed in front of dairy cows and others. The average yield of production from the cultivation of the land of Yaman Husmen’s farm over the last year is as follows: wheat – 780 kg/decare; barley – 900 kg/decare; rapeseed – 330 kg/decare; sunflower – 290 kg/decare; corn – 360 kg/decare. The average daily milk yield per cow for 2024 was 26 litres. The produce is sold mainly on the Bulgarian market. Yaman Husmen’s farm employs 60 people, some of which comprise entire families. Great attention is paid to social activities and the constant organization of creative vacations, gatherings, team building and other events for the families of workers and employees, as well as working to help people in need in the community. The annuity/ground rent they paid in 2024 was 90 BGN/decare.

Another competition that we are involved in and which has subsequent international stages is the contest of the Ministry of Education and Science – “Young Talents”, in the implementation of which we are also a successful partner. The top three finishers received the right to represent Bulgaria in the European Competition for Young Scientists. For another year, the Evrika Foundation organized the participation of the awardees for applied projects in the European Youth Science Exhibition ESE’2024, which took place in July in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For 35 years now, the foundation has tirelessly supported projects to stimulate the development of abilities and talents of young people who have chosen the difficult path in science and technology, stands behind young innovators and entrepreneurs, and promotes the dissemination of scientific, technical and economic knowledge and good practices in education and research. To this effect, we also use the expertise of consulting offices for the protection of intellectual property, on some legal issues of the organization and functioning of companies and non-governmental organizations, for the opportunities for even more complete use of new equipment and computer technologies.

 

3. To support the spread of natural-scientific, technical and economic knowledge and information

 The accumulation of knowledge that leads to the improvement of our lives is essentially a large part of the history of Earth’s civilization. This is a process that has continued from antiquity to the present day, which occurs through observations, experiments, accumulation of facts, discoveries, and following the path of science – understanding and explanation. One of our main goals is to promote education and scientific research.

We continue our long-standing and very successful collaboration with the National Polytechnic Museum. Every year we enrich the established fund of projects – drawings and models from the National Competition “Space – the Present and Future of Humanity”. During the official awards ceremony for the competition winners, the Museum specialists exhibit a special exhibition with drawings and models of the participants. We make great efforts to encourage teachers, who in many cases are also leaders of science and technology clubs and schools, to use the Museum as a natural and very convenient environment for conducting field training by interests. For thirty-three years now, together with the National Polytechnical Museum, we have been publishing the children’s newspaper “Technitarche”/the little Technical guy/. It is a children’s Museum publication with a technical focus, which popularizes the history and development of Bulgarian and world science, engineering and technology, introduces its readers to Bulgarian and world cultural heritage, and instils a love for science, engineering and Museum activities. Together with the National Polytechnical Museum, in implementation of a targeted donation from “Velev Invest”, we managed to implement a project on the topic “RoBo – LegoTech – past and future in one”, which we described in detail above in the report. At the beginning of 2025, we have already started work on a new joint project on the topic “RoBo – LegoTech – the next generation of inventors.” This project is directed at children from grades 1 to 4 and aims to introduce them to the world of robotics, engineering and programming through interactive and hands-on learning, using LEGO-Education sets. The training is suitable both for children without previous experience and for those with some knowledge in the field, as well as for those who have already completed the first levels of training.

For the second consecutive year, we worked very successfully to implement a joint project with the Bulgarian Physics Federation on the topic “Young Researchers”, including maintaining a permanent column “Young Researchers” in the printed issue of the Bulgarian Physics Federation – “The World of Physics” magazine. The magazine is aimed at the Bulgarian audience and its goals include informing readers about physical phenomena, processes, and achievements from around the world in an accessible form in their native language. Original and full-length review articles are published in all areas of physics and natural sciences. It includes articles by leading Bulgarian scientists and translated materials on current issues in the field of physical and natural sciences, their applications in modern technologies, the history of physics, the relationship of physics with other sciences, such as biology, mathematics, philosophy, etc.

The other publication that most broadly and competently covers our activities is the newspaper “Az-buki” /the ABC/, a publication of the Ministry of Education and Science. Through their publications, we reach every school and university. The newspaper continues to be our media partner in the organization and conduct of the National Competition “Space – the Present and Future of Humanity”, and is also an official media partner of several national youth events, of which the foundation is the main co-organizer.

We are grateful to the “Capital” newspaper, which also annually presents the winners of the “Evrika” awards and draws attention to individuals with outstanding abilities from the business and research circles.

We must also express our gratitude to one of the few university newspapers, “New Technical Avant-garde” of the Technical University of Sofia, with which we also have a long-standing partnership. We are pleased to say that we have always been accepted with understanding and willingness to support, especially when we need to promote information about students of the Technical University of Sofia, but also about the successes, initiatives, and achievements of students and young scientists from universities.

We find it very useful and will continue our joint work with the National Radio – the program “Hr. Botev”, broadcasting the “Evrika! Successful Bulgarians” in the program line “Efir Znanie”/ The Aether of Knowledge/. The project is aimed at school children, students, specialists, scientists, etc., who are given the opportunity to talk about themselves and their scientific achievements on the national radio waves. The goal is to continue to tell about the achievements of successful Bulgarian scientists and specialists from various fields and thus motivate school children to follow their example, accumulate knowledge and develop creative thinking and ingenuity. This section promotes the activities of the Evrika Foundation and its contribution to nurturing and stimulating young Bulgarian talents. The foundation’s work with young scientists, students and school children is made public, promoting their successes at home and abroad. Last but not least, they introduce themselves and show the experience of their teachers and lecturers. In 10 minutes, twice a month, scientists and specialists, teachers, agricultural producers, entrepreneurs, students and school children are presented. This section tells about the projects and activities of these Bulgarians, how they are implemented and developed around the world and in Bulgaria, who and what they owe their success to. The response to the broadcast of this section so far has been very positive, both from the audience of the national radio and from the successful young Bulgarians who participated in the programs, laureates of many contests and competitions organized by the Evrika Foundation in recent years. Twenty-four editions of the section were prepared and broadcast over the past year. They presented projects and activities of talented and successful young Bulgarians, their realization and development around the world and in Bulgaria, and what their successes are due to. The implementation of this joint project of the foundation with the Bulgarian National Radio is a vivid example of a very important activity that contributes both to increasing the authority of the Evrika Foundation and to very good promotion of the successes of talented Bulgarian youth.

For the first time in many years, we supported a project under the “Scientific Research” program to financially support the publication of the article “Influence of the antimycotic drug itraconazole on plasma cortisol levels and blood pressure in a patient with burnout syndrome” in the international journal “Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Journal” by Trifon Popov, a student in the “Medicine” specialty at the Medical University of Sofia. He is the holder of the named scholarship “Academician Metodi Popov” of the Evrika Foundation for achievements in the field of medicine and biology. He is also the recipient of the Dean’s Award of the Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University of Sofia. He is fluent in English and German and has won numerous awards for medical and biological research. He is the co-author of three articles in Q1 journals of high impact factor and two reports at international scientific conferences, which reflect the results obtained in the two projects funded by the National Science Foundation.

 

4. Participation in international educational, natural & scientific and technical programs and projects for international youth scientific & technical cooperation.

 One of the goals formulated through our statute is related to supporting and developing the scientific and technical cooperation with young people. What is being done among children and youth and their organizations is the foundation for future collaboration in science and related technologies. Over the past year, we have continued our efforts to maintain such cooperation, mainly within the international organization MILSET, of which we have been a member for more than 30 years.

After the extremely successful Bulgarian participation in 2023 in the World Science Expo in Mexico, where we were honoured with the right to organize and hold several accompanying events, we took an even more responsible approach and carefully prepared the Bulgarian participation in the European Youth Science Exhibition Expo-Sciences Europe’ 2024, which took place from July 15 to 21, 2024 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Using the already established practice from past participation in similar events, the Bulgarian group was formed by laureates of the National Competition “Young Talents” and included the school children: Kaloyan Dimitrov and Momchil Kolev from the American College in Sofia and Ivaylo Kurtev from the High School of Mathematics  “Academik Kiril Popov” in Plovdiv. They presented two projects on the following topics: “SHARO” – in the field of engineering sciences; “Research on phosphorescent materials obtained by a modified method not involving co-precipitation”. As always, the Bulgarian participants performed at an extremely high level. We are already actively working together with the Science Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Science on organizing the Bulgarian participation in the World Science Expo, which will be held from September 27 to October 3, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

For the twentieth time, MILSET – Europe held the European Science Day for Youth (ESDY’2024) from March 11 to 15, 2024. This was a unique opportunity for curious and creative Bulgarian children and youth to enjoy science by organizing and sharing entertaining experiments on the topic of “AIR”.  The European Science Days connect young people through a themed day across Europe.

The scientific photo contest “Where Art Meets Science” was also held for the eighteenth time.

We managed to provide an opportunity for many schools to participate and be part of the International Day of Scientific Culture on September 28, 2024, by organizing and conducting activities promoting STEAM education and sharing the experience on social media using the hashtag #IDSC2024.

Again through MILSET, we provided an opportunity for Bulgarian participation in the YCC program, dedicated to encouraging young people to actively engage in discussion through debate about the social impact of science and technology on the modern world.

We continue to look for new international partners with whom we can, above all, prepare projects and apply for international funding to support talented young Bulgarians.

 

5. With regard to some activities related to our ideal goals and the place and role of our organization in the development of cooperation with other organizations and institutions in our country.

 In recent years, our organization has been a confident supporter of partnerships with other organizations and institutions.

Our largest partnership is with non-governmental organizations. We have long-term contacts, many joint activities and projects. An example of this can be our joint activities with the Union of Mathematicians in Bulgaria, the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria, the international Foundation  “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”, the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria, the Cluster “Sofia City of Knowledge”, Bulgarian Donors Forum, the Foundation “University for Children”, the Bcaus Foundation, the Union of Inventors in Bulgaria, the Association of Agricultural Producers in Bulgaria, the SOS Children’s Villages Bulgaria Association, the Milen Grigorov Foundation etc.

We work hard and are happy to justify the trust of the business and in 2024 we received again significant support from “M+C Hydraulic” AD from the town of Kazanlak and Velev Invest OOD

In fulfilment of a targeted donation in 2024, we participated in the organization and holding of the next edition of the Competition-Exhibition “Youth Technical Creativity MTT’2024”. The funds from the donation were used for: making stands for displaying models, utility models, constructions, prototypes, tools, machines, software and demonstrations; advertising and information provision for the event; organizing and conducting accompanying events; attracting new participants and promoting the achievements of young people and their clubs at the exhibition.

Again in fulfilment of the donation terms and conditions, we managed to implement a joint project with the SOS Children’s Villages Bulgaria Association on the topic of “Steps Forward, Looking to the Stars.” Children as discoverers in the world of digital technology and science. Children from the SOS Foster Care in Sofia took a course in robotics and immersed themselves in the depths of technology and the future. The established “Astroclub Dren” organized five events designed for children from alternative care, with the aim of igniting their interest in astronomy and fostering a love of science. 80 children, 4 to 18 year-old participated in the events. In the theoretical activities, the children acquired or recalled basic knowledge about the planets, their satellites, stars, constellations and galaxies. Using telescopes and binoculars, they observed celestial objects such as the Moon, the Evening Star, and searched for specific constellations in the sky. The captivating experience of stargazing was more than just an educational activity, but a moment of awe and wonder. Within the framework of this project, visits were organized for 55 children and 40 foster parents to the National Polytechnic Museum, the Techno Magic Park and Muzeiko. Thirty-nine young people were included in training and workshops on working with a 3D printer. In the final activity of this project, 21 young people went through the process of extracting clay, preparing it, kneading it, creating a clay vessel, putting it in the oven and making a useful pot for the home. The excellent results from the implementation of this project gave us reason to launch a new joint project on the topic “Journey into the world of science and technology – from the magic of clay to the secrets of space”. The implementation of this project is currently progressing successfully and is intended for children and young people from vulnerable groups aged 10 – 18. The project activities are diverse, divided into age groups, according to the children’s level of development. Over 200 children, youth and parents are involved in the implementation of the project.

Through a targeted donation, we expanded the scope of our previous joint activity with the Faculty of Physics and Technology at Plovdiv University “Paisiy Hilendarski”. During the reporting year, the following were organized and held: The National Student Conference “Physics – Engineering – Technology”; The Second National Scientific Conference for school children and doctoral students (PhD candidates) “Physics – Engineering – Technology” with International Participation; Student Academy at the Faculty of Physics of the University “P. Hilendarski” with the aim of encouraging school children’ interest in physics and engineering technologies.  The second national conference for school children and doctoral contenders with international participation was held on November 27 and 28, 2024 in Plovdiv. It was attended by more than 150 school students, faculty and guests. Guests at the event were prominent scientists from Great Britain, Romania, India and Sweden. There were a total of 66 oral and poster presentations, reported by 66 participants from 24 higher education institutions, centers, institutes and laboratories in the country and abroad – Paisiy Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, the Technical University of Sofia, the Plovdiv Medical University, the Sofia University of St. Kliment Ohridski, the National Military University “Vasil Levski”, University “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov” in the city of Burgas, the University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev”, the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Electronics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Solid State Physics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute for Climate, Atmosphere and Water Research of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Space Research and Technology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Polymers of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Robotics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Central Laboratory of Applied Physics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Astronomy with the National Astronomical Observatory of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oceanology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the National STEM Center, the University of Abertay Dundee in Scotland, University of Craiova in Romania, Malmo University at Malmo in Sweden, Vellore Institute of Technology in India, National Institute of Technology at Warangal in India.

On December 7, 2024, the Faculty of Physics and Technology of the Plovdiv University “Paisiy Hilendarski” held the National Student Conference “Physics-Engineering-Technology”. It provided a field for creative expression for school children from various schools in Plovdiv and the country with an interest in physics, engineering and technology. The teenagers were given the opportunity to show models, simulations, computer games and other products they had developed and to present them in an interesting and attractive way. The conference was attended by 65 school children, divided into 28 teams from different schools in Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Devin, Sliven, Stamboliyski, etc.

The third part of this large project with the Faculty of Physics and Technology of the University of P. Hilendarski” includes the organization and functioning of a Student Academy for high school children with a claimed interest in natural sciences and technology. Currently, the Academy continues its work. Classes are held on a monthly basis according to the pre-announced program. There is a great deal of interest in the attractive lectures presented with demonstrations and practical classes related to various areas of physics and engineering. School children participate actively, having the opportunity to get involved in solving a variety of practical tasks. The Student Academy involves teachers, young scientists, and school children from the Faculty of Physics and Technology.

We continue our common actions and projects with the BAS. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute for Schoolchildren is also developing extensively, using the experience gained at StIMI.

Our relations with the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria are excellent. During the reporting year, we supported the organization and holding of the National Scientific Conference “80 Years of the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria – to the Service of Society”. It was held from October 4 to 6, 2024 at  the /hotel complex/ Frédéric Joliot-Curie International House of Scientists, in the resort complex of “St. St. Constantine and Helena. About 100 scientists from various scientific institutions – BAS, the Agricultural academy /SSA/ and other universities presented reports and posters from all scientific fields, as the members of the Union of Universities in Bulgaria (UUB) are scientists and teachers who have dedicated their research to various branches of science and education.

We continued to expand our joint activities with our long-standing partners from the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria to implement projects for talented children and young people in the field of science and technology. It was an honour for us to be official guests at the 4^th National Congress of Physical Sciences in October 2024. Many of our scholarship holders and competition laureates, along with many other school children, teachers, parents, children, school children, researchers, and citizens, were part of the Spring Open Day at the Faculty of Physics of the Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski.

In 2024 we were also among the participants in: The Art and Rights Festival ‘2024 Civil Alarm Clock’; Young European Entrepreneur Awards YEEA; Conference on “Intelligent Consumption of Water Resources and Blue Diplomacy”; the Club “Union of Automation and Informatics”; Sofia Science Festival 2024; Swiss-Bulgarian Mechanism for Civic Engagement and Transparency; Conferences of the Science and Education Foundation as part of International Scientific Events 2024; Discussion Forum “Business and Civil Society: Partners for a Better Environment”; International Science Fair organized by school children for school children of the American College of Sofia; National Forum for Contemporary Space Research; European Night of Scientists 2024; Olympic Meeting of Competitors from National Science Teams; 2024 Agribusinessman of Bulgaria Awards of the Bulgarian Farmer Newspaper, which was won by Reni Slavova – winner of the Evrika Award for Best Young Farmer in 1999; the awarding of the Gibson Scholarships of the International Foundation St. St. Cyril and Methodius”; the “Manager of the Year 2024” competition of the “Manager” magazine; the “Horizons 2024” Gala evening under the title “Culture and Developed Society”. For another year, we participated in the campaign and nominations for the “John Atanasov” awards of President Rumen Radev, where a large part of the laureates are former and current scholarship holders of the foundation.

Our partnership with the National University Center for Creativity and Innovation (NUCCI)of the Sofia University ‘St Kliment Ohridski. In June, we held the pilot edition of the “Ideas That Change the World” Festival. Fourteen school children and student teams from Varna, Dobrich, Kazanlak and Sofia participated in the festival program. Honorary diplomas were awarded to school children from the 97^th Bratya Miladinovi Secondary School in the city of Sofia, From the188 Primary School “Apostol Joan Bogoslov”, city of Sofia, “Leonardo da Vinci” High Language School, city of Dobrich, Dr. Petar Beron High School of Mathematics, city of Varna, the Plovdiv High school of Nature and Mathematics “Nikola Obreshkov”, town of Kazanlak, the American College in Sofia. The projects of school children were distinguished by ideas for solving real problems in a new, unconventional way, as well as presentations of the most important discoveries, inventions, and designs that are the basis for the development of science and technology, the humanitarian and social sciences, the arts and sports, as well as social activities. Together with the NUCCI, we will hold this festival of ideas again in 2025, because the initiative has a good future and deepens the ties between the university and the school. In the last months of 2024, we organized another relevant and very important initiative together, and at the beginning of 2025, we managed to hold the Academic Conference “Creativity and Innovation – Dimensions of the Future”. The conference focused on the dimensions of the future, reflected in the perspectives of knowledge about innovation and creativity as accelerators of change, carriers of inspiration and an advantage for overcoming challenges. It featured 95 presentations with reports, a poster session and two round tables. Many teachers, school and kindergarten principals, lecturers, doctoral contenders, students, representatives of business organizations and military universities from across the country participated in the discussions. The results were published in a referenced and indexed collection included in digital databases.

We continue to maintain good contacts with non-governmental organizations, especially those of which we are one of the founders.  According to the capabilities and interests of our organization, we participate in activities of the Bulgarian Donor Forum. Within this membership we participated in: A conference on “Civil Society Organizations and Lobbying Regulation”; the annual “Corporate Donor’2024” awards; an event for an online tool for self-assessment of donation practices; the first annual meeting of the Forum members; a series of “Donor Breakfast” meetings, at one of which the Executive Director of the Evrika Foundation was a special lecturer on the topic “Endowment: a financial instrument for sustainable support”; official presentation of the Annual Donation Analysis. Through the BDF we receive up-to-date information and analyses of donation trends, not only in Bulgaria, but also in Europe. In recognition of the role of the Evrika Foundation in strengthening the civil sector in Bulgaria and the significant results achieved in our work to date, we accept the unanimous election of the foundation’s representative to the Management Board of the Bulgarian Donors Forum.

We have actively participated in the Annual Meeting of the National Children’s Network and in a series of appearances and initiatives of this socially significant network of over 130 organizations, advocating for the rights and well-being of children.

We continue to use information about what is happening in the non-governmental sector from the Information Portal for NGOs in Bulgaria. There we also publish our information announcements about competitions and events of the foundation.

Eight years ago, the Evrika Foundation, together with 25 other companies, research institutes and universities, established the Sofia – City of Knowledge Cluster. Through this cluster, we seek new opportunities for proactively involving young people in joint initiatives and projects, together with scientific, development, educational and financial organizations, to transform the city of Sofia from a traditional administrative capital into a city of knowledge. The Evrika Foundation is actively sought out by the members of the Cluster for consultations and implementation of joint activities and initiatives. At the last Annual General Meeting, the representative of the foundation was proposed and unanimously elected as a member of the Board of Directors.

For the successful implementation of the activities under the thematic programs of the foundation, we owe a great deal of gratitude for the long-standing fruitful cooperation of the most representative organization of employers at the national level – the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AICB). They are our partners in organizing and conducting the Young Manager competition. With their financial support, we were able to implement many successful projects to stimulate and promote the achievements of young people in science, technology, and the management of business organizations. Together with AICB in 2024, we worked on the implementation of the projects with the National Polytechnical Museum and the Vale Computer School at the Zarya-1858 People’s Community Center of the city of Haskovo for Lego Robots; the project “Journey into the World of Science and Technology – from the Magic of Clay to the Secrets of Space”, jointly with SOS Children’s Villages; the organization and holding of the Competition-Exhibition “Youth Technical Creativity” 2024 in Gorna Oryahovitsa; the project “Physics – Engineering – Technologies”, jointly with the Plovdiv University “P. Hilendarski’. Our previous cooperation with AICB is an example of a sustainable partnership with business and we will strive to develop it in the future.

 

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The Evrika Foundation is a key element of the system for building young talents in the field of science and technology.  This report on our activities is the quantitative and qualitative indicator of the dedication and focus of our foundation, which has been investing in the development of young and talented Bulgarians for 35 years. Our small but united team manages to build- on each year and, despite the objective difficulties and the unfavourable social environment, manages to maintain the spirit, self-confidence and aspiration to acquire new knowledge of the inquisitive young Bulgarians, who spare no effort, work and diligence to learn and improve. They are our hope for the future of Bulgaria and we will continue to support and assist them. The dedicated work of the foundation and our pursuit of improvement are reflected in our increased capacity and influence on society. We move forward, along with the successful young Bulgarians.