Engage 1000 Bulgarian students in public speaking

After the amazing spring tournaments and the incredible International tournament in March, on April 22nd and 23rd we held the National Tournament at The University of Nationals and World Economy in Sofia. We had 259 young adults from all over Bulgaria who took part in the tournament. 

Our Nationals could not have happened without the support and hard work of the 83 judges who dedicated their weekend to evaluating the outstanding performances our community had in store for them.  It was very impressive that we had alumni judges who were travelling from different European countries (France, the United Kingdom and Poland) to help the students with their constructive feedback. We highly appreciate the efforts of all volunteer judges and ETAs who provide us with tremendous support during each tournament. We also had 13 student volunteers who helped us with tabulation and logistics. 

This was the culmination of an amazing year for us after 4 regional competitions, as well as the international oratory tournament Balkan Voices, all of which gathered extraordinarily high interest, as well as high attendance rates. The students came from 33 schools throughout the whole country. 

The opening ceremony was filled with inspiring and interesting speeches from our honoured guest speakers. The new Ambassador of the United States in Bulgaria started the ceremony with a speech that praised the English language knowledge of Bulgarian students.

The Executive Director of Fulbright Bulgaria, also spoke to the audience highlighting that 10 years ago American English Teaching Assistants established the BEST Foundation.  top journalist from Nova TV, not only had a speech at the ceremony but also covered the tournament on national television.

The Vice Director of Academic Affairs at the University of National and World Economy, spoke to the participants and wished them good luck during the tournament.

Some of the student leaders made a creative duo performance during the opening ceremony.

At the closing ceremony the awards were given to the winners by the Rector of UNWE.

Among all schools a vote has been organised and the most supportive and inspiring BEST chaperones were selected and awarded. 

We also organised awards for the honoured judges of the BEST community. Seven judges received Awards for contribution and dedication in the BEST community. All of them participated in all tournaments through the academic year and received Certificates and gifts.

When being grateful, we could not continue without mentioning our Coaches. Those people have dedicated their time and energy to support their students. Even though we believe that every single Coach has already received its biggest award - the love and gratitude of their students, we provided two specail awards: Inernational and Bulgarian Coach of the Year! 

In 2023 BEST also celebrates its 10th Anniversary - an amazing life changing experience for everyone involved - full of challenges, inspiration, friendship and happy moments! During the past ten years, we have been lucky to create a space for amazing young minds to come together and connect with each other, as well as better understand themselves. After two challenging years in 2022 and 2023, we started seeing our community in person again and were very happy to find it bigger than ever, with school auditoriums barely being able to hold us together. 

Thank you all for your continuous support!  All that magic could not be possible without you!

We wish you a wonderful rest of your summer!