For 10th Consecutive Year, the “Outstanding Achievers of Bulgaria” Receive Their Awards

On the eve of the Day of National Enlighteners, the “Outstanding Achievers of Bulgaria” received their awards. For the tenth consecutive year, the initiative organised by 24 Chasa has honoured pupils with exceptional achievements. The campaign aims to highlight young Bulgarian talents who have achieved success in science, modern technology and the arts at international events around the world.

A few months ago, we introduced you to Nikola for the first time, following his victory in the world’s largest and most prestigious international science and engineering competition for high school students. At the time, he won the grand prize for young scientists. As of today, he is also one of Bulgaria’s outstanding achievers.

Nikola Veselinov, Outstanding Achiever of Bulgaria: “I truly appreciate this recognition and, more generally, the attention being given to scientific work at high school level. I’m glad to be able to share that, in recent years, there has been a strong continuity between generations in scientific work itself. In other words, just as I am now mentoring younger pupils in science, there are many others doing the same. This helps create a close-knit community in which people can work much more productively and which ultimately leads to better results.”

Prof. Georgi Valchev, Minister of Education and Science: “It is extremely important to encourage children who have achieved results and have the ambition to embark on the difficult path of learning, because it is essential that they become an inspiration to their classmates. This natural connection can show that every child has a particular strength and, provided they seek it out and receive support from their teacher and family, success will inevitably follow.”

Success has also come to Simona, a Year 12 student. She is among 16 pupils from around the world selected to take part in a project exploring the use of artificial intelligence in diagnosing cancer.

Simona Krasteva, Outstanding Achiever of Bulgaria: “Artificial intelligence has its limitations. We, as human beings, are the ones who drive the world, not AI. Yes, it can help by making things easier for people, but ultimately we are the ones who move the world forward. We are also the ones who can help it develop, but it certainly has many shortcomings and cannot fully replace medical professionals and doctors. That is why I want to tell young people to stay motivated, be ambitious, never give up and truly follow their dreams, because one day they will be able to achieve what they want, if not more.”

Venelina Gocheva, publisher of the newspaper 24 Chasa: “To find people who know what they want. That is very difficult today. Everyone is hesitating, everyone is torn between different ideas of what they want. But knowing what you want – in other words, being intelligent and understanding that reading and educating yourself matter – is also a step towards becoming a brilliant mind. That is what motivates us.”

Today, they are all among Bulgaria’s outstanding achievers. Tomorrow, they will be our face to the world.