Empower Students through Leadership Training

Dear BEST Angels, 

In 2023 Student Leader (SL) Program accepted over 40 nominated students from all across Bulgaria. 

The SL program is a traditional year long training event that supports over 40 students in their efforts to develop leadership skills. Student Leaders are nominated by their BEST coach for their outstanding leadership, encouragement, and commitment to their team. The program trains Bulgarian high school students participating in BEST to be team leaders, mentors to younger students, and active servants in their home communities. 

SLs are helping not only their fellow students but the local community as well. The community projects that have been implemented by the participants throughout the years provide us with a great example of the added value of the program. Awards are given at the end of the year for the most outstanding performances.

The Student Leader training was held in Sofia for a weekend training held in Hotel Forum in early October. Several workshops were made and they covered titles such as: how to create and manage a BEST team, attracting candidates for BEST tournaments, fundraising, project management etc. 

A couple of sessions were organized for generating Community project ideas: student leaders were divided into groups and had to come up with their own mini-project under the guidance of a management team member. Then they presented it in front of everybody and were given valuable feedback - strengths and weaknesses were pointed and discussed.

We had a guest Alumni of the program who presented their successful project from the previous year and shared knowledge and tips for success.

There was a guest lecturer, a Psychology specialist and a Student Leader Coordinator in BEST previous years - Hristina Todorova who organized several unforgettable Team Building games. The main goal was to present ideas how to make their BEST teams more united and strong via game and fun.

We had a special session with the successful entrepreneur, the owner of the company Fast Track - Hristo Popov, who held a Q&A session with the students about how to be proactive, what to expect when dealing with a project, what is the successful mindset, etc. 

Amalipe - center for interethnic dialogue and tolerance had a workshop with games that helped our students to become aware of problems that the Roma students might meet while trying to be more accepted in school. The session was fun and at the same time showed the importance of the positive dialogue between all ethnic groups. 

All these activities help the student leaders create a strong community for the year to come. The program creates a sense of belonging among the SLs which is vital for the BEST community.

We look forward to the new Projects who will be soon presented and approved by our dedicated Student Leader Coordinators - Emona T. and Desislava T. 

Thank you for your continued support and we wish you very happy holidays!