The awarding ceremony of the Advocacy Academy Program took place on 8 October 2024, bringing together a dynamic group of diverse and extremely committed advocates and leaders from various fields and backgrounds, committed to driving social change in Bulgaria. The event was a celebration of the hard work, passion, and transformative efforts of the program’s participants, who have spent months improving their skills, gaining new knowledge, and learning the complexities and fine art of advocacy in order to make a lasting impact on their communities and beyond.
The Advocacy Academy is a concise intensive program designed to empower professionals from business, government, and NGO institutions with the knowledge and tools necessary to advocate for social justice and policy change. Throughout the program, participants engaged in workshops, simulations, workshops, group sessions, and hands-on training in advocacy, community organizing, and public policy. The final awarding ceremony marked the culmination of this journey, where the devoted advocates were recognized for their achievements.
As the ceremony began, there was an air of excitement and pride in the room at the AUBG campus. The participants, hailing from diverse backgrounds and experiences, were united by their shared commitment to making a difference.
“Bulgaria has run out of heroes,” BESCO co-CEO Nedyalko Dervenkov said to the cohort. “The only way forward is to actually change our institutions, and you’ve created a line of resistance.”
Each of participants in the Academy had taken on a cause close to their heart, ranging from education and health, to children rights, youth empowerment, and gender equality.
“You’ve shown that it’s time to do more, to go beyond personal accomplishments and make a difference,” said President Ensign. “The world needs changemakers like you, who aren’t content to sit back and watch things happen.”
At the end of the day, there was a sense of optimism and hope for the future thanks to the the Alumni Network which is being established and will continue to be developed after the program officially ends at the end of October. The passionate advocates were not only recognized for their achievements but also reminded that their work as part of the program was just beginning. They had been equipped with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to continue their advocacy efforts long after the program and spread them as far as they could among their own networks and communities.
“We believe that having more partners in different areas will actually make it much easier for everyone of us to change what we don’t like about our country,” said Dobromir Ivanov, co-CEO of BESCO.
In their closing remarks, the program’s partners from BESCO CEOs Nedyalko Dervenkov and Dobromir Ivanov, as well as AUBG President, Dr. Margee Ensign, CIDC Executive Director, Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob, and the representative of the Curriculum development team, Prof. Crombois, expressed their pride in the participants and highlighted the importance of creating spaces where citizens and the society as a whole can thrive as advocates.
Prof. Crombois shared his excitement about this first cohort and the interactive educational process they had: “We didn’t feel like we were teaching you so much; it also felt that we learned a lot from you.”
The Advocacy Academy program is about more than just learning advocacy skills—it’s about building a community of changemakers and heroes who will support each other as they work to create a better world. Now everybody looks forward to the incredible impact the first cohort of the Academy will jointly continue to make in the future.
“You are now advocates, equipped with the tools to navigate and influence complex systems,” said Rozalija Vasilevska, Program Manager at CIPE. “The impact you’ll make isn’t just about policy; it’s about creating real, lasting improvements in people’s everyday lives.”
The ceremony was not only a celebration of its participants’ achievements but also a call to action for everyone who attended the event to support and uplift the next generation of changemakers and true advocates in their noble and challenging mission in contributing to a more just, inclusive, transparent and democratic Bulgaria.
