A presentation by H.E. Mr. Thabo Thage, the Ambassador of South Africa to Bulgaria at the regular meting of Rotary Club Sofia International took place on 15 January 2020. The meeting was entirely dedicated to the presentation of H.E. Mr. Thabo Thage. Thus after the official opening the President Mr. Plamen Kertev welcomed the guests and gave the floor to H.E. The presentation focused on the bilatreal relations between South Africa and Bulgaria. The expose of H.E. Mr. Thage included information about the South Africa’s foreign policy Locus, the investment promotion of the country, the economic transformation and reform. Then continued with key Facts about South Africa and the relations with Bulgaria, as well as he bilateral economic relations. The presentation, as expected, raised a number of questions and a long question and answer session followed.
Rotary Cub Sofia International would like to thank H.E. Mr. Thage, his wife Mrs. Busisiwe Thage, Mr. Mashudubele Mamabolo, Chargé d’affaires a.i. and invite them to visit our regular meetings and fundraising events, such as the 15th Birthday Celebration of the club, whenever they have possibility to do so.
After the official part, the fellowship continued with lots of photos and informal conversations and discussions.
Rotary Club Sofia International’s first meeting for 2020 was held on 8 January in Hilton Sofia. Traditionally for the start of the new year the President greeted all present and wished them health and prosperity. Mr. Kertev then continued with warm welcome for our guests. Our dear friends and members Mr. Claude Badan and Mrs. Inna Badan are back in Bulgaria. They were present in the meeting after few months of absence due to travelling. They were also very heartily welcomed. Inna and Claude were very active in France and participated in numerous Rotarian activities there. They presented the President with the District flag from France and shared a few words about their experience. Inna and Claude treated all the present with Rotary branded sweets from one of the activities they participated in.
Afterwards the main driver behind the MED-Bul Project, Mr. Rumen Rusinov, shared an article in Targovishte local newspaper about this project and the gratitude of the local hospital to our club. Rumen was again kindly greeted for his great contribution. Enormous thanks, as well, to Mr. Marc Bouzy who has provided the financial support for the transportation, crucial for the realization of the project.
Rotary Club Sofia International’s meetings schedule for January and February 2020 is available on our website. As anticipated, lot of interesting presenters and events are coming. All members and guests are welcome to join and invite family and friends to take active participation in these.
Take a note that the 15 Anniversary of Rotary Club Sofia International is on 27 February 2020 in Oborishte 5 Gallery and Hall in Sofia. We expect to see all of you there to celebrate our Birthday with us and support our main cause – the sitting volleyball team for handicapped people Sofia Owls.
The German Weihnachtsmarkt in the City Garden at the Batenberg Square in Sofia was the venue for the weekly meeting of Rotary Club Sofia International on 18 December 2019. The cosy and festive atmosphere of The German Christmas Market hosted 12 members and 4 guests. All present, of course, enjoyed the traditional Christmas German specialties, mulled wine and famous German beer brands. By buying Christmas gifts and souvenirs from the booths many of our friends supported the charity causes presented at the bazaar. The visit to the Weihnachtsmarkt has become a tradition for the club.
Rotary Club Sofia International will celebrate its 15th anniversary 27 February 2020 at the Oborishte 5 Hall and Gallery. Please, save the date. Follow us here and on our Facebook for further details. The organization of this event goes full steam ahead. The invitations will be ready soon. We intend to organize a different and special event this time. Thus, we encourage everyone to spread the word. This way we could attract more visitors and sponsors, so we can ensure the event’s success. And last but not least, guarantee support for our main cause – the sitting volleyball team for handicapped people Sofia Owls.
On 11 December 2019 the regular meeting of Rotary Club Sofia International took place in Hilton Sofia with a presentation on medicine regulations. Once again welcomed numerous new guests: Mrs. Marianna Rossi, an Italian musician and Rotary Club member. She is the Past President of the Rotary Club Formia Gaeta, District 2080. Mr. Christian Strassgschwandtner, Manager of Porsche Finance Group Bulgaria, Mrs. Nikil Nikolova, Mr. Max Ryan, and also our regular guests: Mrs. Nadka Hristova and Mrs. Nevena Doycheva.
In the beginning of the meeting, the President made an internal announcement on Paul Harris Fellow Recognition. Mrs. Radka Stamenova donated $1100 to the Rotary Foundation (Annual Fund) and will be acknowledged with Paul Harris Fellow recognition. She designated our friend Mrs. Snezhana Doncheva, with many merits for her Rotary activities, to transfer the points she receives to her. This way Snezhana will also be acknowledged with Paul Harris Fellow Recognition.
Afterwards, Mr. Rumen Rusinov gave MED-Bul Project update. The planned donation of medical beds was transported to the hospitals of Razgrad and Shumen with the final delivery happening this week. Our President Elect, Mr. Marc Bouzy with his company has provided the cost of transportation. His donation is the biggest club member donation to date. Credits to Rumen and Marc for the successful realization of the second phase of this project.
Later on followed the highlight of the evening, the presentation of Prof. Tatyana Benisheva on the topic of Medicine Regulations and New Medicine Process of Approval and Offer at the European Union Market. Mrs. Benisheva did a great presentation, which was so interesting, professional and useful to all present. After her expose a long Q&A session followed.
After the official part of the meeting the fellowship continued with further discussions on the topic.
On Monday 9 December 2019 Ms. Ani Hristova, Past President of Rotary Club Sofia International, paid a visit to Rotary Club of Bala & Penllyn.
Ms. Ani Hristova, was in North Wales and decided to spend her Name Day with friends from Rotary in The White Lion Royal Hotel, Bala.
The meeting was also special because Mr. Bob Maskall, the District Governor of District 1180, was visiting the club. The hosts welcomed warmly Ms. Hristova and Mr. Bob Maskall.
Mr. Paul Dale, the President of Rotary Club of Bala & Penllyn, presided the meeting with a smile and British sense of humor. He presented the activities of the club and the current financial situation.
Ms. Hristova, on her side, presented some of the projects of Rotary Club Sofia International as Sofia Owls and MED-Bul Project. All present agreed that in the future the two clubs can work together.
Ms. Hristova thanks all the friends in Bala for the great hospitality and for, once again proving the power and spirit of Rotary, because Rotary Connects the World.
On 7 December 2019 four members of Rotary Club Sofia International attended the Christmas Ball of Sofia Rotary Clubs. The members were accompanied by their relatives and friends (a total of 14 people). The ball was held in Sofia Hotel Balkan, a Luxury Collection Hotel.
The Christmas Ball of all Sofia Rotary Clubs is a traditional annual event. This year the program of the event included: presentations of every club’s main project; music program with special guests the rock band D2; a charity auction. Rotary Club Sofia International presented its main project – Sofia Owls – the sitting volleyball club for handicapped people. We are proud to have announced, that we have established such a club, which has already started training sessions with a group of people in Mine-Geology University every Friday evening.
As usual in such events, there was a fund raising auction. This time every club brought items to sell for their own causes. Rotary Club Sofia International provided three items – the symbol of Sofia Owls – the bronze sculpture “OvO” – kindly provided by our Past President Mr. Enrico Repouz and two vouchers for weekend vacations with the kind support of our Past President Mrs. Radka Stamenova.
We are happy to announce that we sold one of our Items for 400 BGN and the money goes for our cause – Sofia Owls.
The eleventh regular meeting of Rotary Club Sofia International for the current Rotarian year took place on 4 December 2019 in Hilton Sofia. The meeting started with important announcements. The first one was that Mrs. Radka Stamenova will be acknowledged with Paul Harris Fellow recognition for her donation to the Rotary Foundation.
Secondly, the President congratulated Mr. Claude and Mrs. Inna Badan for their participation as Rotary Club Sofia International members in the National Food Collection Action for Poor People in France. Inna and Claude spent three days in a supermarket and collected, together with the other participating clubs, 14 pallets of food. Special thanks to Inna and Claude for their devotion and engagement on behalf of all club members.
Then, Mr. Plamen Kertev continued by sharing, that Rotary Club Sofia International will take part in the Christmas Ball of the Sofia Rotary Clubs. There we will have the opportunity to present our main project – Sofia Owls. Guests can support this initiative by giving in the Rotary Club Sofia International’s donation box and through the silent auction, where we participate with three items.
Consequently, Mrs. Elena Vasileva shared her impressions form the 3 in 1 Rotary Seminar in Pravets. Our club participated in all the 3 panels with Ms. Ani Hristova, Mrs. Elena Vasileva and Mr. Grant Dale.
Last, our dear Mr. Rumen Rusinov, the driving force behind the MED-Bul Project, gave an update on the latest developments. We have successfully realized another two deliveries from Austria. These include surgery beds and medical equipment, which were shipped to the hospitals in Razgrad and Targovishte.
Rumen explained that this project can be extended, as some of the items on offer can be used in senior residences in Bulgaria. Additionally, the project can be extended into Germany, as well. The same process of closing small hospitals and merging them into big ones is taking place there. As usual, all the latest developments will be published on our web page and Facebook.
After the official part of the meeting the fellowship continued.
Rotary Club Sofia International went bowling again on 27 November 2019. The club hosted a business and fun evening in Sky City Mall. There, after a nice dinner, a club bowling tournament took place once again.
Rotary Club Sofia International was happy to welcome as guests Ms. Veselina Cholakova, President of Rotaract Club Sofia, and Mrs. Nadka Hristova. After the guests introduced themselves a brief discussion on routine club affairs followed.
Subsequently, all present had a friendly dinner. Following the dinner the club held its second bowling tournament. There were 2 teams of 4 players each, who demonstrated their athletic skills. It is worth noting the remarkable performance of Tanja, Thomas, Radka, and the guests Vesselina and Nadka.
Obviously, there are a number of potential bowling “stars” in the club. They will, definitely, have the opportunity to prove their abilities at one of the next tournaments we are going to organize in the coming months.
Of course, everyone is invited to join one of the next Rotary Club Sofia International tournaments. Just need to keep on checking the club’s website and Facebook page for more details.
Members of Rotary Club Sofia International once again visited the traditional Wine and Friendship event organized by Rotary Club Harmanli in “Prikazkite” restaurant in Harmanli on 23 November 2019. It was the 16th consecutive year of the event running. Traditionally the hosts also celebrated their 18th anniversary.
Ms. Ani Hristova, Ms. Dessy Tian, and Mr. Grant Dale form Rotary Club Sofia International attended the event in Harmanli. The celebration of the friendship started at 14 o’clock with a wine tour to wine cellar Malkata Zvezda and Villa Bassarea. In each winery the guests tried 6 different wines accompanied with special “meze” finger food.
The highlight of the night, as usual, was in “Prikazkite” complex. The President of Rotary Club Harmanli, Mr. Milko Milkov welcomed the 250 guests. The District Governor of D-2482 Bulgaria, Mr. Mitko Minev then stepped in to take the floor for welcome speech. He later awarded the President of Rotary Club Harmanli – Mr. Milko Milkov and Mrs. Stefka Zdravkova with pins for their donations to the Rotary Foundation and with Paul Harris Fellow certificates.
The party, of course, was also a fundraising event and the funds collected will go for the realization of 2 projects of the host club: “The School – an Attractive Center for our Children”, which will constitute of construction of a multi-functional playground in the yard of “Ivan Vazov” primary school in Harmanli and “I Planted a Tree” initiative. The “I Planted a Tree” initiative is addressing everyone who loves the nature. The idea is to plant at least 1 tree and hashtag it with #аззасадихдръвче or #Iplantatree along with the location where the tree is planted. Rotary Club Harmanli will then prepare a map of Bulgaria, on which every planted tree will be marked. The club will also invite other Bulgarian and foreign Rotary Clubs to convey the idea in their city and their country and so together we can make the world a better place.
Later the evening continued with musical program, songs and dances, and wonderful friendship atmosphere.
The fundraising raffle auction brought 14,635 BGN for the above mentioned projects.
Rotary Club Sofia International thanks Rotary Club Harmanli for the hospitality, the friendship, and the great moments.
On 20 November 2019 Rotary Club Sofia International held its annual meeting and the elections for a new President 2021-2020 and Board members of 2020-2021.
Before the annual elections updates on the internal affairs of Rotary Club Sofia International were shared.
Mr. Kostadin Kostadinov together with our Interact Club took part in the Annual Interact Assembly in Smolyan. Kostadin was impressed by the young Interactors and their dreams of achieving great successes. We all wish them all the best in their endeavors.
Following, Mrs. Dessy Tian talked about the Rotary visit in China earlier this month. 12 Rotarians took part together with members of the Chinese Culture Center and representatives of the Bulgarian media. The visit also included a trip to a city close to Shanghai. There the Rotarians were guests of a local Rotary club and exchanged flags as a symbol of friendship. The event was organized by the Chinese Culture Center in Sofia, where our Mrs. Dessy Tian is an adviser. A Bulgarian-Chinese Association has been established during the visit. The ambitious plans of the association are to support the bilateral trade and business relationships between both countries.
Afterwards, Enrico gave an update on the training sessions of our sitting volleyball club “Sofia Owls”. At the beginning 11 athletes participated, but then few people dropped from the team. There are different reasons for that -people in wheel-chair found the game hard for them to play, cannot adapt sitting on the ground. Now we have 8 players, though, only half of them regularly participate in the practices. The biggest challenge, currently, is to find more athletes and retain them in the club. The goal is to develop a competitive team with the ambition to participate in the Paralympic games in Paris 2024. The support of all members is needed to spread the word and find players. Everyone is encouraged to visit the training sessions regularly and motivate the players.
Later on, Rumen, who is doing all the organization of the MED-Bul Project, gave an update that medical equipment from Austria will go to two hospitals in Razgrad, where there is a real need.
Following the internal affairs the club continued with the annual elections for President 2021–2022 and Board 2020–2021.
Hereby the results:President 2021-2022 is Mrs. Hristina Malchevska.
Board members for Rotarian year 2020-2021 are:
Ms. Ani Hristova;
Mr. Rumen Rusinov;
Mr. Jörg Schenk;
Mr. Enrico Repouz;
Mr. Yordan Dukov.
Additionally members of the Board for 2020-2021 are also:
Mr. Plamen Kertev (President 2019-2020);
Mr. Marc Bouzy (President Elect 2020-2021);
Mr. Hristina Malchevska (President Nominee 2021-2022).
It is worth mentioning, that this board will support Mr. Marc Bouzy (President Elect 2020-2021). Congratulations to all elected.
After the elections the fellowship continued in the lobby bar of the hotel.
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A presentation by H.E. Mr. Thabo Thage, the Ambassador of South Africa to Bulgaria at the regular meting of Rotary Club Sofia International took place on 15 January 2020. The meeting was entirely dedicated to the presentation of H.E. Mr. Thabo Thage. Thus after the official opening the President Mr. Plamen Kertev welcomed the guests and gave the floor to H.E. The presentation focused on the bilatreal relations between South Africa and Bulgaria. The expose of H.E. Mr. Thage included information about the South Africa’s foreign policy Locus, the investment promotion of the country, the economic transformation and reform. Then continued with key Facts about South Africa and the relations with Bulgaria, as well as he bilateral economic relations. The presentation, as expected, raised a number of questions and a long question and answer session followed.
Rotary Club Sofia International’s first meeting for 2020 was held on 8 January in Hilton Sofia. Traditionally for the start of the new year the President greeted all present and wished them health and prosperity. Mr. Kertev then continued with warm welcome for our guests. Our dear friends and members Mr. Claude Badan and Mrs. Inna Badan are back in Bulgaria. They were present in the meeting after few months of absence due to travelling. They were also very heartily welcomed. Inna and Claude were very active in France and participated in numerous Rotarian activities there. They presented the President with the District flag from France and shared a few words about their experience. Inna and Claude treated all the present with Rotary branded sweets from one of the activities they participated in.
The German Weihnachtsmarkt in the City Garden at the Batenberg Square in Sofia was the venue for the weekly meeting of Rotary Club Sofia International on 18 December 2019. The cosy and festive atmosphere of The German Christmas Market hosted 12 members and 4 guests. All present, of course, enjoyed the traditional Christmas German specialties, mulled wine and famous German beer brands. By buying Christmas gifts and souvenirs from the booths many of our friends supported the charity causes presented at the bazaar. The visit to the Weihnachtsmarkt has become a tradition for the club.
On 11 December 2019 the regular meeting of Rotary Club Sofia International took place in Hilton Sofia with a presentation on medicine regulations. Once again welcomed numerous new guests: Mrs. Marianna Rossi, an Italian musician and Rotary Club member. She is the Past President of the Rotary Club Formia Gaeta, District 2080. Mr. Christian Strassgschwandtner, Manager of Porsche Finance Group Bulgaria, Mrs. Nikil Nikolova, Mr. Max Ryan, and also our regular guests: Mrs. Nadka Hristova and Mrs. Nevena Doycheva.
On Monday 9 December 2019 Ms. Ani Hristova, Past President of Rotary Club Sofia International, paid a visit to 
On 7 December 2019 four members of Rotary Club Sofia International attended the Christmas Ball of Sofia Rotary Clubs. The members were accompanied by their relatives and friends (a total of 14 people). The ball was held in Sofia Hotel Balkan, a Luxury Collection Hotel.
The eleventh regular meeting of Rotary Club Sofia International for the current Rotarian year took place on 4 December 2019 in Hilton Sofia. The meeting started with important announcements. The first one was that Mrs. Radka Stamenova will be acknowledged with Paul Harris Fellow recognition for her donation to the Rotary Foundation.
Rotary Club Sofia International went bowling again on 27 November 2019. The club hosted a business and fun evening in Sky City Mall. There, after a nice dinner, a club bowling tournament took place once again.
Members of Rotary Club Sofia International 
On 20 November 2019 Rotary Club Sofia International held its annual meeting and the elections for a new President 2021-2020 and Board members of 2020-2021.
