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Vice President Margarita Popova, Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, ministers of EU funds, education, health, regional development and culture; ambassadors of the U.S., France and Britain would have Roma and Bulgarian survakari organized by Center "Amalipe" on the occasion Vasiliitsa which is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by most Roma in Bulgaria on January 14.

Sofia initiatives are part of a national campaign. Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance "Amalipe" , hundreds of schools and community centers across the country are organized to celebrate and promote the celebration Vasilitsa - Roma New Year. The majority of events will take place on January 14, Monday.

Initiatives in Sofia

10:00 - Vasil Levski Primary school,  village of Vidrare, Pravets Municipality and  St. Ivan Rilski primary school, village of Balvan, Veliko Tarnovo Municipality will visit the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues, where students will greet Deputy Chairman Georgi Krastev and Secretary of NCCEII Rosica Ivanova.

The program will include poems on the occasion, sourvakane, greetings and blessings as part of rituals, running at Vasilitsa.

10:00 - Students from 106 Gregory Tsamblak Primary school in Sofia will visit and perform the traditional survakane  to Sasho Donchev - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Industrial Association.

11:00 – Paisii Hilendarski High school, town of Varbitsa, Varbitsa Municipality will greet  Vice President Margarita Popova and her team.

The school was nominated as the best school to distinguish dozens of success in keeping children in school, working with parents and educational integration of minority children in the Decreasing the dropout rate among  Roma students Program, realized by Center Amalipe .

11:00 - Students from St. St. Cyril and Methodius PS, village of Dobrolevo,Borovan Municipality will narrate the legend of Bango Vassili to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy T. Mladenov. The school program will include the restoration of the custom Vasilitsa.

11:00 - 171 PS Stoil Popov will visit the Ambassador of France to Bulgaria- His Excellency Philippe Autie and will perform a short program.

11:00 - Small survakari from St. Ivan Rilski PS,  village of Balvan will visit the UNICEF Executive Director for Bulgaria Ms. Tanya Radochay and the whole team of the fund.

11:30 - Hristo Smirnenski Elementary school, town of Byala Slatina will tell the customs regarding Vasilitsa to the Ambassador of USA in Bulgaria, Her Excellency Marcie B. Ries.

The school is located in the Roma neighborhood in Byala Slatina and is consisted mainly of Roma children,who numbered 157for the academic 2012/2013. After completing their elementary stage the children continue their education in ethnically mixed schools in Byala Slatina.

Hr. Smirnenski ES provides quality education (higher scores on the assessment test), and is reduced to a minimum dropouts. The school has become a center for the local community and has a very high confidence of parents and students.

11:30 - Rayno Popovich PS, town of Karlovo will visit Minister of EU funds Management Tomislav Donchev.

The program will include a performance of the song Dzhelem, Dzhelem ; dance Amalipe, blessings and sourvakane on Roma and Bulgarian custom.

11:30 - Vasil Levski PS, village of Karadzhovo, Sadovo Municipality will be greeted with singing, blessing and restoration of Vasilitsa ritual  to Minister of Health  Desislava Atanasova.

The school participates for the third consecutive year in Decreasing Roma children drop out of school Project of CIEDT Amalipe. Successful practice of the school is attracting students in EPA classes for decorative and applied arts for making wicker furniture. A parent volunteer from the group of basket men is also attracted to the classes.Especially important is the commitment of parents - some of them are involved in the operation of the school board. Great success is the involvement of all teachers with activities for the integration of Roma children. The students will present the following program: blessing and traditional sourvakane, telling the legend Bango Vassiliand dance.

11:30 – St. St. Cyril and Methodius PS, village of Aprilovo, Gorna Malina Municipality will greet and make the traditional survakane to Minister of Regional Development and Public Affairs Lilyana Pavlova. The program includes songs, dance, blessing and telling the Bango Vassili story.

11:30 - 136 L.Karavelov PS, Sofia will greet Mr. Boni Bonev - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian - Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

12:00 - St. Kliment Ohridski PS, village of Tishevitsa, Vratsa Municipality will attend Ministry of Internal Affairs and greet Minister of Interior and president of  NCCEII Tsvetanov.

The school is an example of what a central school should be. Besides the excellent and well-maintained facilities, it offers full-time training and canteens for all students. Various interest clubs, extracurricular activities and EPA are formed. All students study the EPA Ethnic Folklore - Roma Folklore", which enjoys a special popularity. Parents are involved in various ways with the school and local informal Roma leaders. Teaching staff is highly motivated to work, and the director is an energetic person with proven organizational and managerial experience. Indicator of quality of education is the fact that few Bulgarian children from Tishevitsa and surrounding villages are enrolled in the village school, not in the town schools of Vratsa. For eight consecutive years the school has implemented a  EPA group "Roma folklore", which includes children of different ethnos.

12:00 - Dimcho Debelyanov PS , town of Ihtiman will tell the legend of Bango Vassili in Romani and Bulgarian language to His Excellency Jonathan Allen - British Ambassador to Bulgaria. The program will include the song "Oh, it is Basil !", the Bango Vassili legend in Bulgarian and Romani language and the so called Chichovo horo – national round dance.

12:30 - 171 PS Stoil Popov, Sofia will greet Patrick Brakan - President of "America for Bulgaria" Foundation and Sarah Perrine - Director of the Trust for Social Achievement Foundation

13:00 - Vasil Levski PS, village of Vidrare, Pravets Municipality and St. Ivan Rilski PS, village of Balvan, Veliko Tarnovo Municipality will visit and perform the traditional survakane  to Minister of Culture V. Rashidov.

The school in the village of Balvan has enrolled children from the nursing home for children deprived of parental care.

The school of the village of Vidrare work for the third consecutive year under the Decreasing the dropout rate among Roma children Program, realized by Center Amalipe. Vasil Levski PS, village of Vidrare is a central school and enrolls 60 students from different locations. The director is very creative and proactive in terms of recruitment and retention of children in school. She has good management skills, which failed to improve the facilities of the school and to create a pleasant environment for teachers and students. Teachers are motivated and use interactive and intercultural techniques in the teaching process.

13:30 - Paisii Hilendarski High school, town of Varbitsa, Varbitsa Municipality will visit and greet for the Roma New Year the Minister of Defense Anu Angelov and representatives of his political office.

All the above mentioned schools participate in the Decreasing the dropout rate among Roma students Program, realized for the third consecutive year by the Amalipe Center with the support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation in 180 schools.

Vasilitsa is celebrated as the beginning of the New Year among many Roma groups in Bulgaria, and for several years - as a day of the Roma culture. Celebration of Vasilitsa is associated with the legend of St. Vasil, the defender of Roma people, who restored the bridge, destroyed by the Devil used from Roma to cross over, and thus saved them. The holiday is celebrated on 13, 14 and 15^th of January.

The campaign is funded by the Project Touch the untouchables: fighting traditional and new anti-Roma stereotypes, supported by the European Commission program Fundamental Human Rights and Active Citizenship.