SDSN Bulgaria Has Been Officially Launched
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By ringing the academic bell the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and the President of Bulgaria for 2012-2017 Rosen Plevneliev officially launched the National Sustainable Development Solutions Network - SDSN Bulgaria, part of the global SDSN established by the UN to promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs/) of the world organization. Our University is the Coordinator of the Network for Bulgaria under the chairmanship of the Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and the Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs Assoc. Prof. Dr. Michael Musov.
Among the official guests were also the Vice President and Head of the SDSN office in Paris Guillaume Lafortune, the Co-Chair of SDSN Europe and SDSN Greece Prof. Phoebe Koundouri, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Michael Musov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sheryo Nozharov, Vice-Chairman of SDSN Bulgaria, Chief Assist. Dr. Atanas Dimitrov and Assist. Dr. Gabriela Naskova - Managers of SDSN Bulgaria.
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| Chief Assist. Dr. Atanas Dimitrov, Guillaume Lafortune, the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, the President Rosen Plevneliev, the Vice-Rector Assoc. Prof. Dr. Michael Musov and Assist. Dr. Gabriela Naskova |
The Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov welcomed the guests with the words: "SDSN Bulgaria is a real network with partners all over the world who focus on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. People do not realize how important this is and what exactly it requires to implement the SDGs, so our task is to transform them into plans, monitoring, strategies, education and training through which everyone can understand what they mean for its region, city or university. It is an enormous task and the responsibility to bring awareness and to lead our societies towards the implementation of SDGs is ours, therefore, I hope that working within a global network we will be able to achieve the SDGs step by step. It is indeed a great honour for us to host today's event and it is very important that the President Rosen Plevneliev also supports this endeavour".
"Our country’s accession to the UN Sustainable Development Goals happened during my mandate as the President of the Republic of Bulgaria and it became a part of my mission and motivation because the SDGs unite people globally to work for achieving a humanitarian society", pointed out in his statement the President Rosen Plevneliev. He also highlighted the challenges he had faced on the path of promoting the UN SDGs in our country: "It is of great importance for Bulgaria to work actively to implement the SDGs and the SDSN Bulgaria could become a very strong network, so let us build strong institutions, let us plan, educate and be committed to the cause of creating a sustainable future – to eliminate the extreme poverty, to tackle the inequalities and injustice, as well as the climate changes".
In his speech Assoc. Prof. Dr. Michael Musov underscored that the official opening of SDSN Bulgaria was not by coincidence held on the World Environment Day and therefore, it was preceded by a sod-turning ceremony marking the beginning of the construction of a photovoltaic installation for electricity production. In this way, the UNWE will become the first Bulgarian university with a photovoltaic park, contributing to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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The Vice President and Head of the SDSN office in Paris Guillaume Lafortune expressed his gratitude to the Rector for hosting the event. He highlighted the importance of today's event for Bulgaria and emphasized on the importance of the SDGs worldwide. In his presentation he examined the status of the SDGs globally at the mid-point in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and presented a global vision of how the world could implement the SDGs. Mr. Lafortune appreciated the efforts of governments and their commitment and outlined the place of Bulgaria in the SDSN networks. He noted that after 2020 and during the COVID-19 pandemic, a little progress was made due to lack of global collaboration regarding the sustainable development of the countries. However, according to him the SDSN would not give up on the SDGs no matter what challenges they would face.
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"For humanity to survive, science must be actively involved in research at global, national and regional levels so that we can also involve people at all levels in the implementation of the UN SDGs", pointed out in her statement Prof. Phoebe Koundouri. In her presentation, she considered the measures that need to be taken at all levels, the research that needs to be done in all spheres of public life, in order to realize the achievement of the SDGs globally.
The launch event was also attended by representatives of the Network members Varna Free University “Chernorizetz Hrabar”, Dimitar A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, and Trakia University - Stara Zagora. Among the official guests were also representatives of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, the National Statistical Institute, the Bulgarian National Audit Office, the Higher School of Insurance and Finance, the National Youth Forum and the UNWE Student Council.
The President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva greeted the official launch of the SDSN Bulgaria. In her address she states that "over the years the UNWE has established itself as one of the most authoritative and prestigious higher education institutions not only in Bulgaria, but also abroad with significant educational and scientific capacity in sustainable development. I would like to assure you that we through us - the supreme audit institution of the Republic of Bulgaria – you have a supporter and a like-minded institution for achieving our common objective of building up a sustainable future for our society”.
The Network’s Chairpersons expressed their gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Blaga Blagoeva who has initiated the idea for the creation of SDSN Bulgaria and to the team that has worked for more than a year on the concept of the national network: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nina Tipova, Chief Assist. Dr. Alexander Dimitrov and Chief Assist. Dr. Kristian Zhelev.
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The next important event organized by the SDSN Bulgaria will be in the autumn of 2023, when its first Annual Scientific Conference is planned. The Conference will be submitted for indexing in the global databases Scopus and Web of Science.
For more information about the SDSN Bulgaria click here.
