Energised by exchange: teachers from Georgia and Bulgaria come together

In October 2025, Maka Makaridze travelled to meet her Bulgarian colleague Anna Zhekova to deepen the cooperation between their schools in science subjects and beyond. This is her report:

The meeting took place in an open space, in the school yard. Apart from teachers Snezhana Tsonkova, Maka Makaridze and Anna Zhekova, about 15 Bulgarian students participating in their joint project, as well as four interested guest teachers from Georgia attended the meeting. Maka Makaridze, project leader for "Blue Arteries: Clean Water for a Healthy Future", introduced the hosts to part of the methodology through which the project was implemented in Georgia and the research of irrigation waters was carried out. The Bulgarian teachers and students were presented with special strip tests that measure 16 chemical characteristics of water, such as: acidity, pH, hardness, the content of heavy metals, nitrates, nitrites, chlorides, bromides and other substances. In addition, they got to know a TDS-meter, a device that measures the total amount of substances dissolved in water and allows you to assess its pollution and hardness. This was a novelty for the hosts, and they measured the characteristics of two samples of the year right there.

After that, the Bulgarian hosts introduced the Georgian teacher to the activities carried out within the framework of the project: a visit to the water collector and the stages of chemical analysis of water, which they carried out. They also presented and physically showed the guests a scheme created by a Bulgarian student that measures soil moisture and thus determines the need for watering plants. This was an innovation and an interesting topic for the Georgian side.

As a result, the Bulgarians decided to test water samples with the strip tests they received as a gift, while the Georgian teacher decided to build a soil moisture measuring device with her students.

After that, the Bulgarian hosts showed the guests around the school buildings, introduced them to the principles of the Bulgarian school and its students and teachers. The Georgian teachers also attended one lesson.

In conclusion of the day, a final meeting of the Georgian teachers with the teachers and management of the Vasil Levski School was held, where they summarized the results of the project and planned future cooperation. It became clear that both sides are interested in international cooperation, both in planning and implementing joint projects, as well as in the student exchange program. They agreed to continue to contact and work to discuss in more depth and plan for fruitful cooperation.

All in all, Maka Makaridze states that "the interaction with a colleague who teaches in another country allowed me to better understand the different educational culture, teaching style, and school management model. The work of Bulgarian teachers and students clearly demonstrated how one can work on the same topic — water purity research — with different approaches, but with common goals. This strengthened my belief that despite cultural and educational differences, the language of science and innovation has no borders."