Dear friends, colleagues, and fellows,
This year, Montessori Society Bulgaria celebrates ten years.
Ten years of learning, searching, courage, and believing that education can truly become an aid to life.
Anniversaries naturally invite us to look back. We remember our first steps, the conferences, the training programmes, the classrooms that have flourished, the teachers who discovered their calling, and the children whose lives have been touched.
But today, what fills my heart most is not what we have achieved. It is who we have become together.
When Montessori Society Bulgaria became affiliated with the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) ten years ago, our goal was never simply to establish an organisation.
We dreamed of building a community. A community of like-minded people who believe in the child; a place where educators, parents and professionals could meet, learn from one another, ask difficult questions, and continue growing throughout their lives. Today, that dream exists because of all of you. My gratitude goes to:
- every teacher who chose to see the child in a new way;
- every Children’s House and every school that, with courage and dedication, has created an environment where children can freely develop their potential;
- every parent who dared to believe that education could look different;
- every trainer, lecturer, and mentor who has generously shared their knowledge and experience;
- every volunteer who has quietly and unconditionally given their time, energy, and heart;
- every partner who believed in our mission and continues to walk alongside us;
- and the children, who surprise us every day and remind us why we continue this work.
We also express our deepest gratitude to the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). For more than a century, AMI has preserved, developed, and carried forward Dr Maria Montessori’s scientific pedagogical legacy with fidelity to her vision. For us, being an AMI Affiliated Society has never been merely a formal partnership. It is a sense of belonging to a global community united by respect for the child and the understanding that human development is the foundation of a better society.
Over these ten years, we have learned something very important.
Communities are not built through events, certificates, or social media posts. Communities are built through relationships:
- the conversations that continue after lectures have ended;
- teachers supporting one another;
- schools opening their doors to each other;
- parents who are not afraid to ask questions;
- those quiet moments when someone says, “I thought I was alone,” only to discover that they are not.
Looking back, I realise that our greatest achievement cannot be measured by the number of conferences, training programmes, or initiatives we have organised.
It is measured by the people who continue to learn, who continue to serve children, and who continue to believe that education is, above all, about the development of the human being.
Today, education faces challenges unlike any previous generation has known:
- artificial intelligence;
- the rapid pace of technological development;
- the overwhelming flow of information;
- the absence of a long-term national vision for an educational system that truly serves the child;
- and increasing aggression within society.
Yet all of this reminds us of something timeless – children still need adults who know how to:
- observe;
- listen;
- prepare environments with care and love;
- trust the natural process of development;
- and see in every child a future human being capable of contributing to the world.
That has not changed, and it is unlikely ever to change.
Today, as we celebrate ten years, we look forward with hope and back with gratitude.
The next chapter belongs to all of us. May we continue to:
- build bridges between schools and Children’s Houses;
- learn from one another;
- ask deeper questions;
- and place the child—and the human being—at the centre of education.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Thank you for helping build a community that continues to grow through trust, collaboration, and shared responsibility.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to celebrate together on 25 September.
If you have not yet registered for the conference, we warmly invite you to do so here.
May the next ten years continue to inspire us to follow the child, support the adults around them, and develop an education that remains true to Dr Maria Montessori’s vision—education as an aid to life.
With gratitude,
Anna-Mariya Yotsova
Co-founder
