We are a public benefit association "Community for Democratic Education".

In 2013 we gathered enthusiastic parents and teachers and after a year we created our dream school. More than 40 children come to the Center for Democratic Learning with joy, desire and curiosity because they know they will find respect here, they can learn what interests them and they are not forced to do things that are unnecessary for them.

The professional knowledge of the teachers matters, but most important are their human qualities, which we know they pass on to the children. For them, the CLC is a place where they can be themselves, share their knowledge and skills in the way that works best for them and the children, free to create and create completely new forms of learning and interaction.

Today, we need your support to keep practicing this new model for our country more and more!

Democracy schools sound innovative, but the truth is that they have been around for 100 years and share similar characteristics around the world:
- freedom combined with responsibility - children have no obligation to attend the activities offered and create their own programme with the help of their mentor;
- children retain their innate curiosity and original thinking, they are not asked to rote learn;
- they learn from books, from the natural environment, from talking to others, from observation, from doing experiments, etc.;
- children learn to know themselves and others;
- teachers are not busy filling in paperwork but caring and supporting pupils' development and each other;
- instances of aggression are the exception, and social and emotional intelligence is highly developed;
- there is a sense of community where people are valued, work together towards common goals and support each other.
Decisions are made together by teachers working in the school and pupils. We learn to listen to each other, to understand other people's points of view, to argue our own.

Surveys of graduates from democratic schools show that the majority are people who have very good relationships with others and believe that their lives depend on themselves and not on any external circumstances. In our opinion, the development of such human qualities is a pledge for a society in which dictatorship, mass manipulation and war can hardly exist.

We want this model to be available to as many children in Bulgaria as possible.

Our teachers can only increase their knowledge and skills about the model by meeting foreign democratic schools. And they all come together once a year at the European Conference for Democratic Education. After attending the conference, our teachers will apply what they have learned in the school and share it with other teachers, including in municipal schools. This year's event is even more important because it is being held in the world's first democratic school, Summerhill, UK. We would like to send four of our senior teachers to the conference.

At this stage, the development of innovative educational models is not recognised as a priority and is not funded by the Bulgarian state. We are a citizen initiative funded solely by parents who understand the need for a new approach to education. The financial burden on families at this stage is great and we find it difficult to ensure regular participation of our teachers in such unique innovative forums on our own.

With your support, however, we could make it happen.

To cover the cost of attending the EUDEC conference we need £6,000 for the registration fee, travel, food and accommodation - for each we have looked for the cheapest option, including having our fees reduced as a democratic school.
We are appealing for support from anyone interested in a more comprehensive introduction and implementation of new practices in Bulgarian education.

Georgi, parent of two children at the CSC: "I liked from the beginning that what the school was looking for was the 'element' of the child - their strengths and those areas and activities they feel good at. Every child is equal to an adult, entitled and encouraged to stand up for the things they want, able to change the environment if they can persuade others to vote for their proposals."

Donate now and be part of a change in education that has yet to bear fruit!