Our last meeting for 2022 was held on 14 December at the Italian restaurant “Da Mamma Carla & Fabio” located at the top Center in Sofia, where we held our Christmas party.
We started as usual at 18:45, some of our members invited friends and family members and almost 20 people managed to come at the announced time, but later on, some more friends joined us for a glass of wine. Two of our Rotaractors Nevena and Philipp joined as well. Our dear friend Slavena, who is in maternity leave and we had not seen her for a long time joined the party as well. We were all very happy to see her.
Our President made a few announcements and let the guests introduce themselves. He shared some club internal affairs, then called for collection of funds for the operation of the five-year-old Danny from Haskovo, who is diagnostician with Ewing’s sarcoma. More information and how to donate here.
Аfter feeling the pleasant atmosphere of Guatemala with coffee and rhum last month, this month we immersed ourselves in the pleasant atmosphere of Italy and its wonderful cuisine. Ani and Linda brought table decoration made from the President of Rotary Club Dupnitsa – Mrs. Iliana Vakavchieva. We had the pleasure to taste vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, Italian salami, cheese, bruschetta, main dishes and Italian wine and beer. One thing was not included in the entrance fee – the dessert. Тhen Linda stepped in and served homemade stollen and tiramisu.
We witnessed a fantastic Rotarian fellowship. Everyone enjoyed the party and stayed until the restaurant closed.
Our president couldn’t wait the start of the meeting on 7 December 2022 to announce the news that whole Bulgaria already knew. The 18-year-old Jacqueline Taracchi – Past President of our Interact Club Sofia International at high-school Meridian 22 is the new Voice of Bulgaria. After an impressive performance of the song “Povey, vetre” by the Bulgarian singer Mrs. Pasha Hristova, she won the Voice of Bulgaria statuette. We asked our friend Mrs. Radka Stamenova, who is the owner of the school to convey our warmest regards to her student Jacqueline. We are very proud of her and we will be expecting her visit in our club as a guest speaker.
All 13 persons present at the meeting including our guests Mr. Hanan Solomon and his wife Mrs. Smadar Solomon as well as Ms. Evgenia Boranova and our guest speaker Mr. Dimitar Dimitrov congratulated Radka for the achievements of her student.
Our new friends, the family Solomon are from Rotary District 2490, Israel, from Rotary Clun Shlomi. Mrs. Solomon had Birthday, so we surprised her with singing Happy Birthday song for her and sweet cake!
After announcements of several club internal affairs the floor was given to our guest speaker, the publisher Mr. Dimitar Dimitrov to present the newly published book: “Bulgaria and Macedonia. History and Politics”.
Mr. Dimitrov presented shortly the historical background and revealed the reasons for publishing this book The first part of the monograph covers the period from antiquity to the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). 32 authors participated in its writing. One of the biggest problems, which has existed for the last more than 100 years, is that the Bulgarian point of view was poorly represented in Western countries and they hardly know it. He pointed out that the Bulgarian thesis may be absolutely correct from the point of view of the historical sources, but it remained poorly presented. Bulgarians were convinced of the rightness of their thesis, and therefore they did not make any special effort to present it.
The second volume begins with Macedonianism and what was done by the Comintern (Communist International), it includes the period of the Second World War /1941-1945/ and it tells about the events that happened after 1945. „It will completely fill all the gaps and it will give answers to all questions we ask”, stated Dimitar Dimitrov.
Mr. Dimitrov said that many people in the West do not share the Bulgarian position because they have been processed by Macedonian historical thought and propaganda. The book has already been offered to all the major world libraries through the National Library.
On 3 December 2022, the traditional Christmas charity Ball of Rotary Club Dupnitsa was held. The cause of the event was to raise funds for renovation and to purchase equipment of the Children’s Department at the “St. Ivan Rilski” Hospital in the town of Dupnitsa.
The event was attended by the Deputy Regional Governor, Mrs. Valentina Karaganova, the Chairman of Dupnitsa and Municipal Council, Mr. Kostadin Kostadinov. Guests were also the Past District Governor, Mr. Borislav Kadrekov, friends from Rotary Club Samokov, Rotary Club Kyustendil, Rotary Club Gorna Banya, Rotary Club Zlatograd Nedelino and Macedonian friends from Rotary Club Kumanovo, Rotaract Club Dupnica and Rotaract Club Veliko Tarnovo. From Rotary Club Sofia International there were Ms. Ani Hristova and Mrs. Linda Kim.
The event was attended by more than 180 people. There was a raffle with many prizes, provided by the club, as well as a charity auction of antiques and artwork.
The World kickboxing champion Ms. Alicia Susanina, from Sports Club “Patriot”, Dupnitsa attended the Ball and donated the boxing gloves with which she won the championship title to the charity auction. On behalf of Rotary Club Dupnitsa, the Club President Mrs. Iliana Vakavchieva presented Alicia with a plaque of appreciation.
The guests of the charity celebration were entertained by the wonderful performances of the children from Flute Club from St. Kliment Ohridski school with teacher Mrs. Augustina Georgieva, wonderful Dara Draganova, Ivanina Panayotova and Angela Dragomirova from Art School “ArtPop” with manager Mrs. Tanya Kamburova, girls from PTS “Zora” at People’s Community Center “Zora 1858” Dupnitsa with manager Mrs. Diliana Dikanska and Dance Machine with manager Mr. Alexander Dimitrov.
The host of the event and guest performer Mrs. Vladislava Hristozova heated up the passions with skillful folk performances and shocked the guests when she played beautiful Bulgarian songs on bagpipe.
The net amount, collected was 44,610 BGN. Adding the donations from people from the city and private companies the total amount is 82, 000 BGN.
We had the pleasure to meet in person and online at Hilton Sofia and online for our annual elections on 30.11.2022.
The president of the club, Mr. Rumen Rusinov made a few announcements and shared updates on the internal affairs of the club. He presented once again the eligible candidates based on the attendance list and reminded about the Internal rules. Then he explained about the procedure for voting. The elections followed and the results are as follows:
President of Rotary Club Sofia International for Rotary year 2024/2025: Mrs. Linda Kim
Board members of Rotary Club Sofia International for Rotary year 2023/2024 are:
Mrs. Hristina Beeva
Ms. Ani Hristova
Mr. Plamen Lazarov
Mrs. Elena Vassileva
Mr. Plamen Latev
Mr. Claude Badan
Members of the Board for 2023-2024 are also:
Mr. Rumen Rusinov (President 2022-2023)
Mr. Grant Dale (President elect 2023-2024)
Mr. Linda Kim (President nominee 2023-2024)
Congratulations to the newly elected President and Board members. We wish them a successful mandate.
The Vibrant Club Seminar took place from 18 to 20 November in Borovets ski resort. This year the event was covering the following topics – Membership, Projects, Public Image. Mr. Vladimir Vasilev, President of Rotary Club Samokov and Mrs. Violina Kostova, District Governor of District 2482 welcomed the guests.
The day started with an introductory session – The Power of the Good with moderator Mrs. Nina Miteva, Past District Governor. It was followed by an online presentation from the President of Rotary Club Karlovo about the flood that befell the villages around Karlovo. The topic was United We are Stronger. Next presentation was about the Nadejda Rotary Community Corps with topic New Partnerships – New Friendships. Later on, the Make a Dream Come True project of Rotaract Bulgaria aimed at families with reproductive problems was presented.
The program continued with work sessions under the motto “No Challenge is Too Big for Us”. The moderators of the different panels were: for the Expanding our Reach and Amplifying our Impact panel Mr. Valentin Stoyanov, Past District Governor and Mrs. Nedyalka Rosenova from Rotary Club Smolyan, for the Enhancing our Engagement and Increasing Adaptability panel Mr. Hristo Mihailovksy, District Governor Elect and Mrs. Margarita Bogdanova, District Governor Nominee, for the New Opportunities for Rotary and Business panel, Mrs. Elitsa Stoilova, Chair of Public Relations and Public Image Committee, Mrs. Violina Kostova and Mrs. Nina Miteva.
At the end of the day the winners of District Grants were announced by Mrs. Nedyalka Rosenova, Chairman of Rotary Foundation Committee.
The seminar was closed by Mrs. Violina Kostova.
The busy day was followed by an official dinner organized with the motto “Rotary Evening of Friendship” with nice surprises, organized by Rotary Club Samokov.
Rotary Club Sofia International was represented by Ms. Hristova and Mr. Rusinov.
On 8 November our Past President, Ms. Ani Hristova visited Rotary Club Brussels Cantersteen. The meeting was held in Stanhope Hotel in Brussels.
Rotary Club Brussels Cantersteen is created in 2001 and is the only English-speaking International club, as well is the first Mixed club (Women & Men), serving the European Capital and other communities. The Club is dynamic, open-minded, consisting of professional and business leaders of the wider Brussels community. The club members strive for a high standard of quality and integrity, while sharing an open mind and a positive attitude. Rotary Club Brussels Cantersteen consists of a group of friends ready to share their ideas, goals and way of life with members of the international community who share the same values of equality and service above self. Members value philanthropy, integrity and genuineness.
Expatriates interested in enlarging their business circle and enjoying camaraderie with Brussels-based professionals (Belgians and other nationalities) are welcome to Rotary Club Brussels Cantersteen. A club without barriers, they are happy to welcome visitors and for new members to join their mixed club which already has a wide international background and experience.
Ms. Hristova was warmly welcomed by all the member and especially by the President, Mr. Oliver Drewes. The club members are 32. 27 of them are Mans and 5 Ladies. More information here.
The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of Mr. Robbert Baruch, SVP Public affairs Europe in Universal Music Group N.V. (UMG).
With offices in more than 60 territories, UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment. UMG’s corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its operational headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California, USA.
They exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. They are a community of entrepreneurs committed to creativity and innovation. They own and operate a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. UMS identify and develop recording artists and songwriters, and we produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to delight and entertain fans around the world. Knowing that music, a powerful force for good in the world, is unique in its ability to inspire people and bring them together. They are the home for music’s greatest artists, innovators and entrepreneurs.
Mr. Baruch presented in more details, that the UMG has 4 divisions: creation of music; Creation and publication; Recording the music.
He explained how important for example is for composers to know what they are earning and where the music is performed. The song is in the head of the composer, the Label is distributing to the ear of the people and as well is merchandising it. He said that they have amazing merchandising and gave example with the band “Rammstein”, but will keep the story, when Mr. Baruch present it in our club. In that very story didn’t sell the items, but everyone spoke about it!
He also mentioned how important is the Digital innovation. They are also in Tik Tok and they have special application, that can check for what Tik Tok video is used their song for example.
They are also in Spotify, Apple music, Deezer. So for the few years that in their business was a crisis, because of the free application for music, now the situation is far better
Some of the names of the artists, that are in their Label are: Taylor Swift, BTS (Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band), Metallica, Rammstein, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Iron Maiden, Rihanna, Guns N’ Roses, Nicole Scherzinger and many others popular names.
Ms. Hristova one more time express her gratitude for the hospitality to all the members of Rotary Club Brussels Cantersteen.
On 5 November the official celebration of 10 years since 2the twinning between the Rotary Club of Sofia Vitosha and the Rotary Club of Pirot took place. It was also an evening celebrating the Bulgarian-Serbian friendship.
The event was attended by: His Excellency Associate Professor Mr. Željko M. Joviћ, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia in Bulgaria; Lieutenant Colonel Željko Simiћ from the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Bulgaria; Mrs. Violina Kostova – District Governor of District 2482 Bulgaria; District Governor of District 2483 Serbia and Montenegro – Mr. Nikola Božiћ, the Ambassador of Rotary District 2483 Serbia and Montenegro for Bulgaria Mr. Vladitsa Tošiћ.
Representatives from 19 clubs from Bulgaria were present, as well as Rotarians from the Rotary Club Zajecar, Rotary Club Nis Konstantin, Rotary satellite club Pirot Luzhnitsa, Rotary satellite club Pirot Remesiana.
Rotary Club Sofia International members attending the celebration were: Ms. Ani Hristova, Mrs. Linda Kim, Mrs. Elena Vassileva and Mr. Rumen Rusinov.
Our Wednesday meeting in the first week of November started with the announcement that our dear friend Mr. Claude Badan, who was participant at the Rotary Conference in Geneva – “World Polio Day 2022 and Beyond” had the opportunity to speak and present our club to Mrs. Jennifer Jones – Rotary International President 2022-2023. We expect Claude to share his moments at one of our next meetings.
Later, Mr. Rumen Rusinov, President of our Club explained about a potential MED-Bul project named “E-Training for Care”. The project is from Rotary Club Witten-Hohenstein, Germany. It is a E-learning platform for medical specialists to train them in wound management with qualified specialists and then accompany them in practical application. The education is free of charge. It is planned the pilot project to start in Gotse Delchev end of November.
At the end the highlight of the meeting was the presentation of Mr. Plamen Belchev about the achievements of the “Recreation Center for Children with Onco-hematologic Diseases”. A very impressive presentation with accompanying translation by Ms. Katya Vasileva from the center. It was very interesting to listen to the history and the motivations for creating such center as well as about their achievements and their current needs. We get to know that there are only six centers like this in the world. One of them is this in Opitsvet village, close to Sofia.
Our club has been one of the donators in 2016 for the purchasing of a new van for the needs of the center. Our members have been in contact during the years with the center and could witness the construction works and the finishing of the center. On 16 October 2022, Ms. Ani Hristova, Mr. Grant Dale and Mr. Rumen Rusinov visited the consecration ceremony of the center and were impressed by the achievements. More information here.
At the end, a slide with #endpolio was projected and all participants took a joint photo with #endpolio at the background.
On 26 October we had the pleasure to meet for the first time in this Rotarian year outside of Hilton Sofia for a joint meeting with all Rotary Clubs from Sofia. The meeting took place at Forest Restaurant. The occasion of the gathering was the celebration of the 21st anniversary of Rotary Club Sofia Serdika. Thirteen members of our club were present and most of the Rotarians chose to sit at different tables in order to get to know members of other clubs and to discuss about their club activities and projects. There were 130 guests celebrating the birthday of the hosting club.
The meeting started with a speech of the District Gouverneur – Mrs. Violina Kostova. It was announced that 10 BGN from the entrance fee will be donated for a new project called – Code Zero. Its goal is the prevention of violence and the distribution of drugs in schools.
Later on the Rotary Club Sofia Serdika presented their memories since the chartering of the club, and shared their club activities for the past 21 years.
The Rotarians attending the event continued the celebration with music, dances, discussions about current and future projects and invitations for joint meetings. At the end, as a memory of the meeting, our members took a joint photo against the background of the Rotary flags of the Sofia clubs.
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Our last meeting for 2022 was held on 14 December at the Italian restaurant “Da Mamma Carla & Fabio” located at the top Center in Sofia, where we held our Christmas party.
Our president couldn’t wait the start of the meeting on 7 December 2022 to announce the news that whole Bulgaria already knew. The 18-year-old Jacqueline Taracchi – Past President of our Interact Club Sofia International at high-school Meridian 22 is the new Voice of Bulgaria. After an impressive performance of the song “Povey, vetre” by the Bulgarian singer Mrs. Pasha Hristova, she won the Voice of Bulgaria statuette. We asked our friend Mrs. Radka Stamenova, who is the owner of the school to convey our warmest regards to her student Jacqueline. We are very proud of her and we will be expecting her visit in our club as a guest speaker.
On 3 December 2022, the traditional Christmas charity Ball of Rotary Club Dupnitsa was held. The cause of the event was to raise funds for renovation and to purchase equipment of the Children’s Department at the “St. Ivan Rilski” Hospital in the town of Dupnitsa.
We had the pleasure to meet in person and online at Hilton Sofia and online for our annual elections on 30.11.2022.
On 23 November 2023 we had joint meeting with our Rotaract Club Sofia International.
The Vibrant Club Seminar took place from 18 to 20 November in Borovets ski resort. This year the event was covering the following topics – Membership, Projects, Public Image. Mr. Vladimir Vasilev, President of Rotary Club Samokov and Mrs. Violina Kostova, District Governor of District 2482 welcomed the guests.
On 8 November our Past President, Ms. Ani Hristova visited Rotary Club Brussels Cantersteen. The meeting was held in Stanhope Hotel in Brussels.
On 5 November the official celebration of 10 years since 2the twinning between the Rotary Club of Sofia Vitosha and the Rotary Club of Pirot took place. It was also an evening celebrating the Bulgarian-Serbian friendship.
Our Wednesday meeting in the first week of November started with the announcement that our dear friend Mr. Claude Badan, who was participant at the Rotary Conference in Geneva – “World Polio Day 2022 and Beyond” had the opportunity to speak and present our club to Mrs. Jennifer Jones – Rotary International President 2022-2023. We expect Claude to share his moments at one of our next meetings.
On 26 October we had the pleasure to meet for the first time in this Rotarian year outside of Hilton Sofia for a joint meeting with all Rotary Clubs from Sofia. The meeting took place at Forest Restaurant. The occasion of the gathering was the celebration of the 21st anniversary of Rotary Club Sofia Serdika. Thirteen members of our club were present and most of the Rotarians chose to sit at different tables in order to get to know members of other clubs and to discuss about their club activities and projects. There were 130 guests celebrating the birthday of the hosting club.
