USAID - Supported Documentary Series Highlights Diverse Human Stories of Bulgaria

Press Release
November 24, 2006

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A documentary series featuring stories of people of different ethnic backgrounds and their achievements starts on Bulgarian National Television (BNT, Channel 1) on Monday, November 27 at 8:45 a.m.  The series was produced with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 

The series, “Faces from Bulgaria,” is produced by the Broadcast Training Center (BTC) ProMedia and presents human stories of people of different ethnic backgrounds living in varied social conditions. The stories, which will air every Monday morning for 25 weeks, are based on activities carried out by the USAID Ethnic Integration and Conflict Resolution Program implemented by Partners Bulgaria Foundation.  Journalist Plamen Assenov and a BTC ProMedia film crew traveled to some of the most remote villages and poorest neighborhoods in Bulgaria in search of stories of human achievement and successful models of ethnic integration.

The series includes profiles of a youth cycling club in Isperih that has fostered friendships between Bulgarian, Roma and ethnic Turk teenagers, a Turkish woman who initiated extra-curriculum activities for children in Kurdzhali’s poorest district, and a woman living in a Roma neighborhood in Assenovgrad who established a computer club for local children.

“With this series we hope to raise awareness of the many positive things happening around the country that don’t often attract media attention,” said USAID/Bulgaria Mission Director Michael Fritz.  “We wanted to focus on real people who have accomplished change in their communities, and can provide inspiration for others.”

For additional information: Petko Georgiev, Broadcast Training Center
Phone: 955-5884
Email: petkog@techno-link.com