Issue 91 Fall 2020 NEWSLETTER Bulgarian-American Commission for Educational Exchange Digital +/- Presence Old Bones and New Friends Говориш ли български? Clever, Kind, Tricky and Sly The Bulgarian-American Fulbright Commission board consists of ten members, five American citizens and five Bulgarian citizens. They represent the major areas of state and public activity: government, education, the arts, and business. The Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Bulgaria and the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria serve as honorary chairpersons of the Commission and appoint the regular board members. The board members during Fiscal Year 2020 included: Honorary Chairs BG Members of the Board Krassimir Valchev Karina Angelieva Bulgarian Minister of Education and Science Deputy Minister of Education and Science Herro Mustafa Radostina Chaprazova Ambassador of the United States to Bulgaria Country Director, Arete Youth Foundation Georg Georgiev Chair Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Drake Weisert Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy in Bulgaria Julia Stefanova* Former Executive Director Treasurer of the Bulgarian Fulbright Commission Brent LaRosa Cultural and Educational Affairs Officer, Tzvetomir Todorov* US Embassy in Bulgaria Managing Director, Bulgarian American Management Company US Members of the Board Richard T. Ewing, Jr. President, American College of Sofia *Fulbright alumni Sarah Perrine* Executive Director, Trust for Social Achievement Cover photo: Eric Halsey* AY2020-21 English Teaching Assistants in Belchin, Managing Director, Halsey Company September 2020. Fulbright Bulgaria thanks its sponsors for their support: FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CONTENTS Fall 2020 was challenging time for all around the world, and Bulgaria was no exception. The summer of 2020 had given us a bit of a respite from strict pandemic measures – warm weather made outside activities possible, while case counts FEATURE remained relatively low. At 02 Six ETAs Return to Bulgaria Fulbright Bulgaria we were hopeful that the lessons learned FEATURE from Bulgaria’s effective 04 Digital +/- Presence campaign to curb of the virus during the spring would help the country avoid a major second SUCCESS STORY wave when the academic year began again in September. Thus with 06 Bulgarian Students in the U.S. cautious optimism we navigated the complexities of visa regulations and travel restrictions and brought our group of six returning ETAs HOLIDAY STORYTELLING to Bulgaria on September 1. We also helped three degree-seeking 08 Clever, Kind, Tricky and Sly Bulgarian students travel to the US to begin their programs. The academic year began optimistically, with high school and universities offering in-person instruction. For nearly two months our ETAs were reunited with students they had not seen since March, and were able to restart their extracurricular activities. However, by early November, Bulgaria, like most of Europe, found itself facing a second wave of Covid-19 cases, which eventually forced all schools to shift to online instruction. The rising case counts also put pressure BG LANGUAGE TRAINING on the healthcare system here as in many places around the world, 09 Говорите ли български? thus the Fulbright Commission, in consultation with the US Embassy and other partners, made the difficult decision to suspend the US FOCUS ON US GRANTEE program in Bulgaria once again. 12 Danielle Harris We would like to thank our brave cohort of six ETAs who came to FOCUS ON BG GRANTEE Bulgaria and worked tirelessly with their students this fall. We also 14 Vesela Petrova greatly appreciate the support of their host schools, the America for Bulgaria Foundation, the US Embassy, the Bulgarian Ministry of ACADEMIC YEAR 2020-2021 Culture, and everyone who supported our Fulbrighters in Bulgaria BG and US Grantees and the US during this difficult time. We look forward to Fall of 2021, 16 when we hope to resume the crucial work of long-term in-person academic and cultural exchange! FOCUS ON US ALUMNI 18 Dr. Naomi Martisius Angela FOCUS ON BG ALUMNI Bulgarian-American Commission for Educational Exchange 20 Ognian Georgiev 12 Vitosha Blvd, 5th floor, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria FULBRIGHT ALUMNI Tel: +359 2 981 85 67 I Fax: +359 2 988 45 17 24 ACHIEVEMENTS [email protected] I www.fulbright.bg FALL 2020 FEATURE Six ETAs Return to Bulgaria By Iliana Dimitrova Returning ETAs meet with Lina Jarad (left) Despite the global suspension of the Fulbright programs for the first semester of AY 2020/ 2021, we were one of the few lucky commissions in Europe who were able to still host a limited number of grantees in the beginning of the academic year. Despite the global suspension of the US trying to get to know each we were joined by Drake Weisert, the Fulbright programs for the first other, this time we all fit into a cozy Public Affairs Officer; Brent LaRosa, semester of AY 2020/ 2021, we were small meeting room, trying to get the newly appointed Cultural Affairs one of the few lucky commissions used to our new appearance, and Officer; and Ivanka Ivanova, Cultural in Europe who were able to still our smiles hidden behind face masks. Affairs Assistant at the US Embassy host a limited number of grantees But the enthusiasm was the same in Sofia. The meeting also included in the beginning of the academic if not greater, and the time passed Eve Gower, a health practitioner at year. On September 3, 2020, we quickly in catching up with each the embassy, who, together with were excited to welcome back other’s news and brainstorming on a Bulgarian colleague, joined us our six returning English Teaching how to best navigate the brand new online to touch upon various medical Assistants – Allison Rice, Danielle situation we had found ourselves in. issues. In the afternoon the group Harris, Emilie Ehrman, Lukas Koester, Angela Rodel, Fulbright Executive met for the first time in person with Matt Lauer, and Sara Huzar, for Director, and Nancy Schiller, Lina Jarad, Executive Director of the tiniest of all Fulbright Bulgaria President& CEO of the America for the BEST Foundation, who gave us Orientations. Instead of the large Bulgaria Foundation, greeted the a detailed overview of the activities halls filled with the chatter of over group, and spoke about some of the planned by the organization during 40 grantees from various corners of challenges ahead. Just before lunch the upcoming year. A special treat 2 FEATURE FALL 2020 awaited us in the evening – a trip to the village of Belchin, where, amidst the ruins of the Tsari Mali Grad fortress, we enjoyed a beautiful ballet performance by Sofia National Opera and Ballet: “Zorba the Greek” by Mikis Theodorakis. Our six returning ETAs were able to spend almost two months in the classroom with their students in Lovech, Ruse, Burgas, Dimtrovgrad, Yambol and Varna, as the pandemic situation remained relatively stable in the early autumn. However, by late October, case numbers in Bulgaria, Nancy Schiller greets the group as in much of Europe, began rising precipitously, putting unprecedented pressure on the healthcare system and forcing schools to switch to online teaching. In partnership with the US Embassy and our program sponsors, in November the Fulbright Commission made the difficult decision to suspend the ETA program once again, and all ETAs departed Bulgaria by late November. We were extremely grateful to our six ETAs who returned this fall and spent another few months teaching - you were a welcome ray of light to your schools and communities in what has been an otherwise very difficult year. We wish our AY2020-21 ETA cohort all the best and hope to see them in Bulgaria Meeting with US Embassy representatives again at some point in the future! Zorba the Greek ballet 3 Digital +/- Presence: An Exploration of Contemporary Communication By Rada Kaneva On November 21 and 22, 2020, the Bulgarian Fulbright Bulgaria and an Academic Exchange Commission hosted a hybrid conference entitled “Digital Officer at the US Department of State. +/- Presence.” The goal of the conference was to explore the After their greetings, the executive director of the Bulgarian Fulbright transformation of communication from personal to digital Commission and moderator of the or hybrid in spheres directly related to the Fulbright mission: conference Angela Rodel gave the education, culture, and society. floor to the first keynote speaker, Dr. Alexandra Glavanakova, head of the English Department at Sofia University, The new opportunities opened speakers, two musicians, and a and a current Fulbright grantee, who by forced online communication platform for discussion for the more shared highlights from the fascinating since the start of the pandemic, the than sixty participants who watched research she conducts on the role of challenges such changes posed, and the event online. literary reading in the posthuman age the importance of personal presence of acceleration and distraction. in this new digital-only world were The conference opened with HE discussed by Fulbright alumni in light Ambassador Herro Mustafa, the US The first panel aimed to explore of their personal and professional Ambassador to Bulgaria and Honorary the institutional dimensions of experiences. The conference was Chairwoman of the Bulgarian- digitalization. Fulbright alum streamed live from the Launchee American Fulbright Commission, and Professor Larry DiMatteo (University space in Sofia and included nineteen Scott Righetti, a long-time friend of of Florida) discussed the concept 4