2. Table of content
4 Review
5 Board of directors
6 Achievements
7 Approach
8 Elementary and middle grades
9 16 + programs and events
10 Highlights
11 Events
18 Competitions
26 In memoriam
27 Financial statement
28 Contrubutors & partners
JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 3
3. Review Board of directors
JAB has always been As we look back to 2011,
devoted to providing the
full cycle of entrepreneur-
we must surely note the
continuing interest in Sasha Bezuhanova Boni Bonev
ship education for young JAB entrepreneurship
people – starting from the programs on all levels. Chair Member
earliest age and going 31,021 students in 579
up the ladder towards schools and universities Hewlett-Packard Nestle Bulgaria / Vaprtzarov AD
high school graduation had experience(s) with JAB Director “Public Sector for Emerging Board Member/ Chairman
and university. We are programs and initiatives. Markets”
especially pleased to see that in 2011 our long- 617 teachers worked to ensure that the knowledge
term efforts to create prerequisites for full-breadth and skills provided by the programs reach and stay
implementation of entrepreneurship education in those young creative minds that are the future
programs in the Bulgarian educational system were leaders of Bulgaria. Many of the students who dis-
supported on a much wider level by the Ministry of
Education, Youth and Science. 300 new teachers
tinguished themselves on national level, took part
in international competitions. The winners of the Eu-
Ralitza Againe Nikolay Nedelchev
were trained to deliver the programs “Ourselves”, ropean Banks in Action competition were students Member
Member
“Our Families”, “Our City” and “Our Community” for from the Varna Vocational High School of Trade in
grades 1-4 and started work right away. Designed Bulgaria who outstripped very tough competition! Publicis/Marc
specifically for pupils aged 5 to 11, these programs In 2011, JA Bulgaria received for the fourth year in Financial Consultant
General Manager
provide building blocks for skills development and a row the prestigious Model Organization Award
understanding of the ‘world of work‘ – how and why given by JA-YE Europe to JA organizations in recog-
individuals, families, communities and nations work nition of the quality of their board, management,
together. These programs encourage the young
generation’s economic literacy, initiative and inde-
and operations, their impact and programs at all
age levels. Barbara Lapini Stefan Felstein
pendence and teach them how they can realize
their ideas in practice. I would like yet again to express our deepest grati- Member Member
tude to all of our private and public partners that
What is more – enough good practices have al- contributed both financially and through donat- US Embassy in Sofia Citibank Bulgaria
ready amassed from schools all over the country, ing the time and expertise of their employees Commercial Attaché Country Officer
which enabled JAB to organize the first conference who were mentors to student companies, social
for sharing of best practices from entrepreneurship innovation teams, innovation camp participants,
education programs in the elementary grades. It is managers for a day and many others. We are
incredibly inspiring to see the enthusiasm of schools also very thankful to the devoted voluntary busi-
and teachers locally who establish ties with munici-
palities, businesses, volunteers and organize trade
ness consultants who contacted us individually and
got involved in our programs simply because they
Nadya Vasileva Georgi Randelov
fairs, bazaars and other celebrations of the entre- believe young people need to be supported and
preneurial spirit and culture. that’s a worthy cause! Member Member
The developments in 2011 give us confidence to Manpower Bulgaria Microsoft Bulgaria
double our efforts to work for achieving similar Country Managing Director Bulgaria, General Manager
results in the middle grades as well! Serbia&Croatia
Yours, Yours,
Andon Ichev Milena Stoycheva
Milena Stoycheva Sasha Bezuhanova
CEO Chair of the Board of Directors Member Member
GE International JA Bulgaria
National Adviser for Bulgaria CEO
4 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 5
4. Achievements Approach
5 years
in a row JA Bulgaria receivies
the Model Organization Award of
ers
Junior Achievement Young Enterprise
61
7t
nte
ea
olu
ch
0v
ers
74
300
teacher started working on the programs
1international
Accenture 2011 Enterprise without Borders
for elementary grades after trainings, sup- High Potential Award for students
ported by the Ministry of Education, Youth from Denmark, Italy and Bulgaria
and Science
31,021 students reached 31,021 students
6 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 7
5. Elementary and middle grades 16 + programs and events
Through the elementary and middle grades programs, Junior Achievement Bulgaria is delivering As high school students begin to position themselves for their future, there are many unanswered
the youngest members of society a truly innovative educational experience. Designed specifi- questions about what lies ahead. Junior Achievement’s high school programs help students
cally for pupils aged 5 to 15, these programs provide building blocks for skills development and make informed, intelligent decisions about their future, and foster skills that will be highly useful in
understanding of the ‘world of work‘ – how and why individuals, families, communities and nations the business world.
work together. We truly believe that the implementation of these programs in the elementary and
middle grades greatly enhances the quality of business and economic education in some of the With a range of dierent programs, Junior Achievement teaches about concepts from micro-
most needy areas of Bulgaria. The programs also supplement core elements of the National Cur- economics and macroeconomics to free enterprise. The volunteers bring real-life business ex-
riculum, particularly with its links to literacy, citizenship and personal and social health education. perience and guidance into the classroom at a time that represents an essential crossroads for
As we look to the future, we know that it will greatly depend on the efforts of our youth and on us young people.
as we strive to promote their education, diligence and career aspirations. JAB’s programs encour-
age the young generation’s economic literacy, initiative and independence and teach them
how they can realize their ideas in practice
Programs
Programs Enterprise without Borders
Economics
Ourselves (5-7 year olds) Leadership and success skills
Our Families (7-8 year olds) Business Ethics
Our Community (8-9 year olds) Banks in Action
Our City (8-10 year olds) JA Titan
Europe and Me (11-12 year olds) Youth Business
It’s My Business (12-13 year olds) Graduate Company Program
Events
Events Youth Business Forum “Rising Stars”
Juniors in Action Best Student Company of Bulgaria
Open lessons Best Graduate Student Company
Local initiatives & trade fairs Manager For a Day
National Competition “Virtual Enterprise”
National Competition “Banks in Action”
Smart Start Student Conference
Innovation camps
Eco Camp
Facts
For the 2010/2011 academic year more
than 1500 young entrepeneurs
completed the Company Program
8 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 9
6. Highlights Events
More than 1000 young people run
The curriculum for the concentration “Technol- the country in "Manager for a Day"
ogy - entrepreneurship and business” with en-
rollment in high schools after graduation of 7th Students from high schools and universities 1000 per year. For the 10 working days in the
grade has been approved by the Minister of took the positions of highest level managers history of the national initiative, young people
Education, Youth and Science on 27 January and governors in the country during the tenth have been hosted by 300 different companies
2011. The curriculum entered into force in the anniversary edition of the initiative “Manager and institutions in 120 towns and have worked
2011-2012 school year. The curriculum includes for a Day”, organized by Junior Achievement a total of 50,800 hours which amounts to
subjects such as “Market economy”, “Entre- Bulgaria. More than 1000 young people were 320,000 leva. 900 employees and managers
preneurship”, “Geography and economy”, hosted by 250 leading companies and state have taken care to show the working process
“Marketing and advertising”, and “Accounting”, institutions. This adds up to a total of 6350 par- to the students and to share their knowledge
while also putting an emphasis on foreign lan- ticipants in the program for the 10 years of its and experience.
guages. The content is modeled along Junior existence.
Achievement Bulgaria’s programs and its prac-
tically-oriented interactive teaching methods. The event was opened by Simeon Dyankov,
Such a concentration in entrepreneurship and Minister of Finance of Bulgaria and patron Manager for a Day” is an initiative which
business already existed for the schools that of the initiative. He welcomed all guests and gives a lot of valuable experience and emo-
have enrolment after the 8th grade, thus the received his young one-day substitute - the tions every year and that’s the reason we
newly-approved concentration is a further step student Sara Asenova from Vocational High participate yet again this year.”
towards giving opportunities to more students School “Asen Zlatarov” in Vidin who had the op-
to experience learning-by-doing education in portunity to participate in important meetings Georgi Randelov, CEO of Microsoft Bulgaria
entrepreneurship. and to take managerial decisions under the
supervision of the Minister. Among the official
Meanwhile, the upward trend in entrepreneur- guests of the event was Ms Susan Sutton, Depu-
ship education programs for the elementary ty Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Bulgar-
grades also continued. Thanks to the marked ia, who also hosted a manager for a day.
focus of the Ministry of Education, Youth and During the day, the teenagers take active part
Science toward providing proper qualification in the work process, complete practical tasks
for teachers to deliver JA programs, JAB man- and take decisions related to the development
aged to train a new group of 300 teachers in of the organization they manage. The cur-
2011 who started work on the programs right rent managers, on the other hand, share their
after the trainings. experience and talk about the challenges and
opportunities for development in their sphere of
business.
Manager for a Day started in Bulgaria in 2001
and aims to give the chance to students from
Facts the upper grades of high school and first years
of university to take a close look at the working
The curriculum for the concentration process in their desired profession and to meet
“Technology - entrepreneurship and busi- well-known managers and leaders.
ness” with enrollment in high schools after Junior Achievement Bulgaria’s statistics show
graduation of 7th grade has been ap- that about 80% of the students who participate
proved by the Minister of Education, Youth in the initiative apply for it again the next year.
and Science on 27 January 2011. While in the first year only 100 students were
interested in the event, during the last 5 years
the number of participating students reached
10 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 11
7. Events Events
Students discuss their career devel- ja bulgaria alumni business club
opment at “Smart Start 2011”
JA Alumni?
Managers in leading companies and entre- in big companies. The decorator Boris Delchev The National Coordinators Meeting (NCM) is
preneurship experts discussed the possibilities spoke about how to start a business in the art an annual European event organized by JA- The JA Alumni members are all former
for career development and starting business sphere, and the entrepreneur Hristo Simeonov YE Alumni Europe. The NCM’s main goal is to participants of mainly the JA-YE Compa-
with more than 200 students at the conference and the TV news anchor Gena Traykova dis- gather the leaders of the nationals JA-YE alumni ny Programme and all share a passion for
“Smart Start” in Sofia. As a result of their par- cussed the difference between managing your networks to: share experience, strategic plan- entrepreneurship and leadership.
ticipation in the conference, some of the best own business and working in a big company. ning and goal settings.
performing students receive internship offers at Macarthur Antigua from the U.S. non-profit
the participating companies. organization Public Allies gave interesting in- From 20th to 23th of May 2011 the annual
formation about the principles of social entre- NCM took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. 45 partici-
The conference “Smart Start” gives young peo- preneurship and was immediately followed by pants from 17 countries worked on the range of
ple the opportunity to meet and talk to suc- the presentation of a new social business that topics: project management, CSR, fundraising
cessful entrepreneurs, representatives of differ- was just launched in Sofia by a group of young etc.
ent companies and job experts. It was officially people. The managing partner of Wolf Theiss
opened by Scott Pozil, Commercial Counselor Bulgaria Richard Clegg spoke about working Facilitators and speakers including Victoria
at the U.S. Embassy and member of the Board overseas and Ognian Gadoularov from Deve- Blazheva, Head of the Identity and Communi-
of Directors of JA Bulgaria, and Nadia Vassi- lor Bulgaria was able to give essential do’s and cations at UniCredit Bulbank, Nikolay Todorov
leva, Manpower Country Managing Director for dont’s about presentation skills in just under half – project manager at Bulgarian Red Cross and
Bulgaria and member of the Board of Directors an hour. Mr. Apostol Dyankov from Green Knights, who
of JA Bulgaria. “In the economic crisis many brainstormed together with the participants
young people face difficulties to find realiza- Divided into 10 groups, in the second part of on new projects and initiatives that will support
tion for the knowledge and skills they acquired the conference the students solved challenges social entrepreneurship and youth activities
at school and in the university”, said Mrs. Vas- posed to them by leading companies in Bul- across Europe.
sileva. “I believe that during these encounters garia. The participants who performed best
with the business community we give them have the opportunity to make an internship at In addition to the social entrepreneurship, the
valuable advice, contacts and a chance to the respective company. Meanwhile, students workshops also tackled the field sustainable
lay the foundations for the future career devel-
opment”, added Mrs. Vassileva.
from grades 8-12, participated in parallel ses-
sions on how to build your CV and cover letter,
leadership and volunteering, where the coun-
tries present at the meeting shared knowledge
JA Alumni Bulgaria
how to behave during a job interview and how of best practices and problems encountered. JA-YE Alumni Business Club Bulgaria is
In the first part of the conference the partici- to work successfully as a team. one of the oldest Alumni organisation in
pants heard different viewpoints and personal Four new alumni networks were created as a Europe, founded in 2000. More than 80
stories of entrepreneurs and people who work direct result of the year’s NCM and more than members are involved in Big Sister Project,
80% of the participants were extremely satisfied Most Inovative Product Award, National
with the overall meeting. conference and JA-YE Success Stories of
Sponsors The motto of the meeting was “Success is a
Bulgaria
journey, not a destination”.
12 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 13
8. Events Events
EuropeanEcoCamp
The European Eco Camp 2011 was held in Velin- cut wood to the production of end-products from ply in practice what they had learned during the and figures, items for interior design. Because the
grad, Bulgaria as a joint pilot project of JA Bulgar- wood. At the forestry department the students first days of the exchange. The innovation chal- items can be made unique according to the
ia, JA Romania and JA Spain. It was realized with were instructed by professionals how to plant a lenge was preceded by a workshop on presen- preference of the client (limitless possibilities in
the active support of General High School “Vasil tree and all participated in a tree-planting at a tation skills to boost the participants’ confidence terms of shape, style and colour), they satisfy the
Levski” in Velingrad. This was a one-week educa- specially designed lot. We were very proud that and on-stage performance. aesthetic needs of people, as well as their need
tional exchange funded by the “Youth in Action” the 40 trees planted were enough to offset the Divided into international teams, all youngsters to be different.
Programme of the European Commission. Its aim CO2 emissions generated by the transportation were challenged with the task to propose a new Eco Camp Velingrad 2011 was successful not only
was to educate 60 young people aged 15-18 of participants from Spain, Romania and Bulgaria product/service, or a new way to use the materials because of the wonderful experience it brought
from Bulgaria, Romania and Spain about the by airplane, bus and train. In one of the most that are considered waste from the point of view to all of the participants but because it was a
value of forest resources and the opportunities for interesting experiences of the Eco Camp, the of the wood industry and usually are burned for great way to enliven the local community and
their wise usage by means of sustainable business. participants visited a wood-processing company heating purposes. The solutions had to be able to bring it in as a partner in various ways. The camp
The Eco Camp kicked off with a team-building in a village near Velingrad where they could see generate profit, environmentally sustainable (not was supported both financially and in-kind by
activity for intercultural communication – a treas- all stages of the production process – the sawing damaging the environment), innovative, harmless Velingrad institutions and businesses. Whenever
ure hunt of interesting historical, cultural and reli- of timber, the fine processing of wooden elements to the health of all people (they don’t use toxic it was possible the services of local companies
gious places in Velingrad. The small mountainous of different sizes and the end product. The indoor chemicals and processes in production). were used – for transportation, materials, etc. For
town became lively with the excitement of small educational workshops and movie screenings Every team was composed from students from a small community, this was a big event which left
groups of young people running around with their focused on providing knowledge about the global Bulgaria, Romania and Spain and had a laptop long-lasting memories and generated local rev-
maps in a race to be the first to arrive back as the environmental crisis, as well as on the possible and access to Internet in order to research infor- enue.
winner. solutions that can be provided by sustainable mation and build their solution. The winning solu-
Some of the activities in the next days were held business. tion came from the team “From Dust to Art”. They
outdoors among nature and centuries-old woods. In the last two days of the program, a special proposed an innovative concept in which waste
Their aim was to educate participants about the educational format – innovation challenge – har- becomes material. Using a combination of saw-
path of wood – from the birth of a young sapling nessed the participants’ entrepreneurial thinking dust and eco glue the team creates pieces of
to the growth of an old forest to the processing of and creativity and gave them the chance to ap- fine art – personalized portraits, statues of heads
WHICH OF THE SKILLS YOU DEVELOPED DURING ECO CAMP WILL YOU USE IN THE FUTURE?
14 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 15
9. Events Events
GlobalEntrepreneurshipWeek
The Global Entrepreneurship Week was launched type of education in our educational system. The and to develop a plan for its successful position-
in Bulgaria on November 14, 2011 with a discus- conference was part of a project of the Ministry of ing and marketing. Juries consisting of teachers, The Global Entrepreneurship Week was hosted by
sion about the need to introduce entrepreneur- Education, Youth and Science to introduce entre- parents and business professionals evaluated the Junior Achievement Bulgaria in Bulgaria for the
ship education in the primary schools. The discus- preneurship education in the elementary grades teamwork of the students. The winners from all fourth year in a row. Globally, the initiative is held
sion was only the first of a series of events to mark and was open to anyone interested in the topic. schools qualified to participate in a final innova- in more than 100 countries and close to 10 million
the Week in our country. Innovation camps and tion camp in February 2012 in Sofia. people will take part in over 40,000 initiatives. The
open classes on entrepreneurship were organized The Global Entreprepeneurship Week went on aim of the initiative is to provoke the creation of
in 33 schools from 14 to 19 November. with 19 innovation camps and 16 open classes in Representatives of business and local govern- links, the sharing of ideas and the finding of solu-
The top event of the Week was the conference different schools in the country which implement ments were guest-lecturers in the open classes tions to local problems and thus help the nurturing
entitled: “Introduction of entrepreneurship educa- JAB’s entrepreneurship programs. The participants organized in 22 cities in the country. They shared of the next generation of entrepreneurs.
tion in the elementary grades of school educa- in the innovation camps were challenged with a experience and tried to solve problems when
tion”. The event was held at the Aula of the Sofia business task created by Microsoft Bulgaria, lead- starting and running one’s own business. The
University “St. Kliment Ohridski” where representa- ing partner of the GEW in Bulgaria. Divided into agenda of the open classes also included crea-
tives of the business and the academic commu- teams, the students had to propose a new in- tivity workshops, discussions about business com-
nity presented good practices in entrepreneurship novative product that doesn’t need a lot of start- munication, the sustainable development of busi-
education and talked about the place of this up investment and can be also sold only online ness, the clash between dreams and reality.
Numbers Ideas
722
number of students who
Vocational High School of Mechanical
and Electrical Engineering in Haskovo:
“Lava shoes” – shoes that can be heated.
took part in open classes They are targeted towards people who
during GEW’2012 spend a long time in the outside in cold
weather. There are small heaters installed
inside of the shoes which are powered by
804
number of students who took part in
Li-ion battery. The battery needs a couple
of hours to charge and can last up to 5
hours. The control is possible through but-
innovation camps during GEW’2012 tons located on the shoe’s tongue.
16 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 17
10. Competitions Competitions
18 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 19
11. Competitions Competitions
Students run virtual banks during Students from Plovdiv became the
the national “Banks in Action” “Best virtual enterprise” in Bulgaria
competition
60 students managed their virtual banks at the to take part in the annual European online 6 Students from Plovdiv gained the honor to the task to create virtual companies that com-
Banks in Action competition held on April 29, competition which is independent of the na- represent Bulgaria at the prestigious global peted among each other to produce and
2011 in Sofia. The initiative is a joint project of tional competition. The teams that go through management competition “HP Global Business sell a hologenerator - an imaginary innovative
the educational institution Junior Achievement the European qualification rounds compete for Challenge” which was held at the beginning product created especially for the competition.
Bulgaria and Citibank Bulgaria and is part of the the “Best European student bank” awards. of December 2011. The Bulgarian participants The teams started on equal footing and tried
National calendar of out-of-school activities of - Antoaneta Krasteva, Anna Atanasova and to beat their rivals according to criteria such as
the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science for Vesela Vlaykova - were determined on April income, sales, market share. Each team made
2010-2011. The team “O Bank” from the Na- “The simulation gives us the chance to 30 during the finals of the national competi- decisions on 5 indicators - price, production
tional High School of Trade in Plovdiv won the check where we stand and to compete tion “Virtual Enterprise”. The competition was volume, marketing, capital investment, R&D.
prize “Best student bank of Bulgaria”. with the best students from all over Bul- organized by Junior Achievement Bulgaria with The team with the highest Index of Market Per-
garia. “Banks in Action” brings in the practi- the support of Microsoft Bulgaria. The winners formance wins the first place.
The young managers were divided into teams cal experience at school which is currently overcame a total of 800 candidates during
and took part in running different virtual banks missing and helps us test ourselves and the three rounds of the competition. Students “By means of competitions such as “Virtual
that competed among each other. The teams learn how the bank system works.” from grades 8 through 12 can take part in the enterprise” we, at Junior Achievement Bulgaria,
made key decisions related to the develop- Boryana Haydarova, “O Bank” national competition “Virtual Enterprise” which give young people the opportunity to show not
ment of their banks following parameters that is held under the form of a computer simula- only their theoretical knowledge, but to take
were set by the game software. Each team tion game of management and economy. practical decisions that have very concrete
had to determine the interest rate of the short- In 2011, 8 teams from Plovdiv, Samokov, Sofia impact on the company they manage”, said
term and long-term bank deposits and credits, and Valchi dol qualified for the live finals in Ms Georgieva. “We believe that this helps us
as well as the amount and direction of invest- Sofia. During one working day the finalists had encourage students to think logically and at
ments in order to strengthen its bank’s position the same time to build upon the theoretical
in the competition. Consultants from Citibank information they have learned at school”, she
Bulgaria assisted the teams during the compe- added.
tition giving them advice on their strategy.
The competition “Virtual Enterprise” has been
The team “O Bank” finished the competition held since 1997 on national, European and
with the highest index of bank performance global level. In Bulgaria “Virtual Enterprise” is
and thus grabbed the prize for best student included in the official calendar of national
bank. The teams that ranked second and third educational competitions of the Ministry of
also received awards. There were also awards Education, Youth and Science.
for “Best strategy” and “Fastest recovery”. The
students with best results from the test on finan-
cial literacy and bank management received
individual awards.
Achievement
Students from the Vocational School of
The competition is part of the “Banks in Action” Trade “G.S. Rakovski” in Varna took the first Facts
program which aims at introducing students to and second place at the European com-
the bank management sphere through a com- petition “Banks in Action” 2011 organized “Virtual Enterprise” has been held since
puter simulation game. The program engages by Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise 1997. It is included in the official calendar
students aged 16-19 and was developed by Europe. of national educational competitions of the
Citibank Bulgaria. It was introduced in Bulgarian Ministry of Education, Youth and Science.
schools during the 2005-2006 school year. The
national competition was held for the first time
in 2008. The Bulgarian teams are also eligible
20 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 21
12. Competitions Competitions
100 students give their shot at solving society’s problems Social Innovation Relay 2011
Students from all over Bulgaria worked to pro- agement, Botevgrad), and Rumyana Staevska Working with global partner HP Junior Achieve-
, the world of business. Those volunteers, from
pose business innovations that would solve (Vocational School of Technology, Samokov). ment – Young Enterprise has developed the HP worldwide offices, seek to understand how
pressing social problems at a two-day “Innova- They proposed an interactive website which Social Innovation Relay to encourage students ideas have been formulated and what poten-
tion Camp” organized by Junior Achievement identifies the wishes and abilities of the would- aged 15-18 to develop business concepts that tial they have to make a positive change in
Bulgaria in Sofia on 25-26 February 2011. The be students and gives them suggestions for ap- are socially innovative and could have a signifi- society and will score and judge each concept
winning team presented an idea for an interac- plying into higher education institutions that are cant positive social impact. The project piloted to determine one winning team from each
tive website that would assist future students in consistent with those wishes and abilities. The in 13 countries, among which Bulgaria, in the participating country.
choosing the most appropriate university and website will contain a database with data for spring of 2011.
major. The winners in the national competi- all European universities and colleges, where In Bulgaria, 38 teams entered the Social In-
tion received the chance to represent Bulgaria the information will be prepared by students in The interactive web based learning program novation Relay and the top 20 of them quali-
internationally at the European edition of the the respective educational institutions and will is designed to encourage students to think like fied for the preliminary round where they could
competition “European Creativity & Innovation be systematized, summarized and statistically Social Innovators whilst developing a host of further develop their ideas with the assistance
Challenge” in Brussels in May 2011. ordered. skills that will help them be innovative, entrepre- of volunteers from HP A jury, made up of HP
.
neurial and socially responsible employees and representatives, assessed all ideas and chose
“Junior Achievement Bulgaria aims at encour- business people in the future. Using interactive the 10 best ideas. Their authors presented and
aging the imagination and creativity of young meeting technology and online resources stu- defended them online in the national final of
people because creating the big idea is the dents participating in the Social Innovation Re- the initiative.
first step in starting a new business”, said JA Bul- lay work their way through a series of competi-
garia CEO Milena Stoycheva. “Without a plan, tion stages, learning about social innovation The national winner: “Midori” from Vocational
though, great ideas often remain unrealized. and developing their own inventive solutions to High School of Transport and Transport Man-
That’s why we also ask the participants to think real life challenges. agement, Kazanlak
and develop a strategy how to realize their
idea.” The student teams learn to explain and defend
their ideas as they are grilled by volunteers from
During the opening phase of the innovation
camp, the international joint social innovation
One hundred students from 24 schools partici-
pated in this year’s final competition which was
initiative of Junior Achievement Bulgaria and
Hewlett-Packard “Social Innovation Relay” was Winning idea
devoted to social innovations. They were divid- launched.
ed into teams with students from other schools A car belt with bio-sensors that indicate the emotional state of the driver through indicators
and had to start working as a team very quickly such as heart beat and arterial blood pressure which measure the activity of the autonomous
in order to solve a challenge posed by Hewlett- nervous system and reflect the person’s emotional state. First, data for the driver in a tranquil
Packard Bulgaria. In more than 24 hours the state are entered into the car’s computer. When the indicators go above or below the upper
competitors had to come up with an idea for a and lower threshold for the individual, the speed of the vehicle gradually goes down and the
new product, service or technology that ben- emergency lights go on. The auto-pilot system will start itself and the vehicle will pull over and
efits society and to develop a business plan for stop. The car’s GPS will be set to send a signal to the national emergency phone number of
its realization. the country if such a case occurs. The innovation’s aim is to save human lives if the driver fells
unwell while driving or if he/she falls asleep on the wheel.
The winning team was made up of Encho
Enchev (Vocational School of Tourism, Veliko
Tarnovo), Mariana Stoilovska (Vocational School
of Economics, Blagoevgrad), Georgi Georgiev Impact
(Vocational School, Vidin), Marinela Nikolova
(Vocational School of Technology and Man- Certified Students: 269
Registered teams: 69
Submitted ideas: 38
22 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 23
Number of Volunteers: 9
13. Competitions Competitions
Young entrepreneurs showed their
innovations at “Rising Stars”
More than 500 young entrepreneurs presented traditional trade fair. A jury consisting of two
their innovative business solutions to the leaders teams of top managers and leaders of differ-
of Bulgaria’s largest companies and institutions ent institutions assessed separately the high
during the Youth Business Forum “Rising Stars” school and the university companies. Apart
on June 6. The large-scale initiative is organ- from showing their products at the trade fair,
ized every year by Junior Achievement Bulgaria they had to convince the jury in the potential of
(JAB) for students in high schools and universities their enterprise through a short presentation of
who develop companies as part of their edu- the company and its business plan.
cation in entrepreneurship. During the one-day
event at the Kempinski Hotel in Sofia the young- The participants in the event also had the
sters competed for the prestigious awards for opportunity to take part in a panel discus-
“Best Student Company” and “Best Graduate sion “Jobs of the future”. The Deputy Minister of
Student Company”. The awards give them the Education, young entrepreneurs and manag-
right to participate in the international final of ers of leading companies took part in it and
the best young entrepreneurs in Europe. discussed the emergence of new jobs in the
next 20 - 30 years, the new requirements of the
During the opening ceremony of the forum, labor market as well as the future of the em-
Milena Damyanova, Deputy Minister of Educa- ployees with “obsolescent” skills.
tion, Youth and Science, handed the awards
for “Teacher of the Year - recognition of the The initiative “Rising Stars” was held for the third
community” to Maya Gesheva, teacher at the year to mark the final of JAB’s programs “Stu-
National High School of Business and Finance dent Company” and “Graduate Student Com-
in Soifa, and for “Teacher of the Year of Junior pany”. For one school year or semester the
Achievement Bulgaria” to Lyudmila Kyosova, students form a team and develop their busi-
teacher at the General High School “Vasil ness idea and a prototype of the product/ser-
Levski” in Velingrad. The prestigious competition vice and realize sales. At the end of the school
was also honored by the Mayor of Sofia Yor- year, the companies are closed up and the
danka Fandakova who bestowed the prize for income is divided among the shareholders. The
“Best performing school in Sofia Municipality” to participants in the program are assisted by their
19th General High School “Elin Pelin”. teacher/professor and business consultants in
the course of their work on their business.
44 high school student companies and 12
university student companies took part in the
Year
BEST GRADUATE BEST STUDENT Outreach
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
STUDENT COMPANY COMPANY Number of 1 1 1 5 9 13 15
Universities The Start Up Programme gives post-
The team MSolutions of students from the The award for “Best Student Company” secondary students (aged 19 to 30) the
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” took the went to the team “Student World” from Vo- opportunity to experience running their
prize for “Best Graduate Student Compa- cational High School for Food Technologies Number of 25 39 45 51 108 305 500 own company, giving them an insight
ny”. The students from MSolutions develop and Equipment from Plovdiv. They recycle Students into how their talents could be used
location-based mobile applications for used towels to produce childrens’ plush to set up in business for themselves. In
smartphones. They represented Bulgaria at toys. Number of 1 2 2 6 11 28 35 Bulgaria, the Company Programme is
the European competition in July in Madrid. Student running for 7 years.
24 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 Companies
JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 25
14. In memoriam Financial statement
In memoriam: Dimi Panitza – 31 december 2011, in bgn
Bulgaria’s untiring ambassador balance sheet
July 28, 2011 was the day when we parted with
Dimi Panitza – Bulgaria’s most generous philan- Dimi will always occupy a very special place
thropist who lived in exile for so many years but in the history of Junior Achievement Bulgaria. In
worked unflinchingly to help the development 1995, after a chance encounter with Mr. Thom-
of our country. Growing up in Sofia until 1948, as Bata in Prague, who spoke enthusiastically
he emigrated with his family when the Com- about Junior Achievement, Dimi decided to in-
munist regime settled in Bulgaria. As a journalist vestigate the possibility of offering JA programs
Dimi rose from a young reporter at Reader’s in Bulgaria and contacted the headquarters of
Digest in 1952 to deputy editor-in-chief in 1994. JA in the US. He got the green light and within
a few months had gathered a founding board
His enthusiasm to help Bulgaria’s society after that established the Bulgarian organization.
1989 on its way to democracy, free media,
market economy, and social tolerance found From the establishment of JA Bulgaria till his
realization in scores of initiatives and organiza- last breath, Dimi Panitza truly believed and auditor’s report for the year ended
tions that he inspired or helped to launch: Free supported the activity of the organization with
and Democratic Bulgaria Foundation, Ameri- his special presence, charity and “goodwill
can University in Bulgaria, Bulgarian School of ambassador”-ship. We will remember him with
Politics, Institute for Studies of the Recent Past, his absolute faith in the potential and abilities of
Institute for Market Economy, Alliance Children young people, as well as with his great sense of
and Youth, Outward Bound, the Award for Civil humor.
Courage bearing his name, and others.
Dimi Panitza is one of those people, whose
For his contribution to the development of civil presence will last forever and live on in the ac-
society, in 2000 Dimi Panitza was awarded Bul- tivities of the civil organizations he inspired and
garia’s highest civil honor – the order of “Stara supported with his remarkable spirit and deter-
Planina”, 1st Class. In 2005 he was also made mination.
Knight of the Legion of Honor of the French
Republic and was awarded the “Pro Merito”
medal of the Council of Europe.
26 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011 27
15. Contrubutors & partners
America for Bulgaria Foundation Ministry of Finance
Citi Foundation European Lifelong Learning
Programme
U.S. Embassy
Youth in Action Programme
Microsoft Bulgaria
Andon Ichev
GE Foundation
Economedia
Hewlett Packard Bulgaria
Balkan News Corporation
Porsche Inter Auto BG
Emmis Bulgaria
Nestle Bulgaria
Manager Magazine
Publicis / MARC
Darik Radio
Manpower Bulgaria
Karieri.bg
Sofia Municipality
PC World
Enel
Investor
DSK Bank
Netinfo
Boni Bonev / Vaptzarov AD
Novinite.com
Kempinski Hotel Zografski
Expert.bg
Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan
Actualno.com
Ministry of Education, Youth and
Science T-Box
Ministry of Economy, Energy and
Tourism
HUGE THANK YOU!
28 JA Bulgaria Annual Report 2011
16. www.jabulgaria.org
Skills for Employability | Entrepreneurship | Financial Literacy