Foreign academic delegations visited Svishtov to participate in the first joint final conference of the environmental Erasmus+ project, "Trifold Approach to Circular Economy: Perspectives of Academia, Business, and Wider Society" (CRCLEcon). The event gathered over 50 representatives from business, public administration, and education at the conference hall of Ivanoff Hotel in the Danube town.
On behalf of the project contractor, the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, the forum was opened by Prof. Dr. Andrey Zahariev, head of the research team from Svishtov. He expressed gratitude to the partners from Romania, Serbia, and Türkiye for the remarkable results achieved during the two-year project. The intellectual output from the research teams of four Balkan universities includes 15 reference books published in five languages—English, Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian, and Turkish—produced by printing houses in Svishtov, Nis, Bucharest, and Istanbul. The project also involved the organization of six workshops, four transnational project administration meetings, and two joint final conferences, held in Svishtov and Istanbul. Furthermore, numerous scientific reports and articles were written and published in prestigious journals and conferences.
The conference also received recognition from the Regional Governor of Veliko Tarnovo, who expressed strong state support for the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics and its initiative to be an active part of the transition towards a circular economy. The Deputy Governor Mrs.Yulia Mutafchieva was an official guest at the final conference on the environmental project. At the opening of the forum, she welcomed the participants on behalf of the Regional Governor Ivaylo Zdravkov, and emphasized that one of the key priorities of the institution he leads is the transition to a circular economy, a model of production and consumption that minimizes waste. "The project of which you are part is in line with the modern legislation of the European Union, which aims to encourage the transition to a more sustainable model for the preservation and development of the continent - the circular economy," Mutafchieva said.
Within the framework of the conference, the institutional partners presented the results achieved. The presentation for the Bulgarian team, which included Chief Assistant Dr. Petko Angelov (Project Coordinator), Senior Lecturer Dr. Margarita Mihaylova (International Secretary of the project), and Prof. Dr. Stoyan Prodanov (Reviewer of the reference books), was delivered by the project manager, Prof. Dr. Andrey Zahariev. He emphasized the importance of the achievements made through comparative analysis and the sharing of best practices from the four Balkan countries in advancing environmental protection and the rational use of resources, including the recycling of essential materials such as glass, paper, metals, and plastic.
The Romanian delegation was led by Prof. Dr. Alexandru-Lucian Manole, Rector of Artifex University in Bucharest. On behalf of the Romanian team, the presentation was delivered by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Catalin Deatcu-Gavril. The team also included Dr. Ghenadie Ciobanu, Dr. Veronica Vasile, and project activity administrators Maria-Valeria Popescu and Elena Deatcu-Gavril.
The Serbian delegation was led by Prof. Dr. Maja Ivanovic-Djukic, Project Coordinator for the University of Niš, who also made a presentation on the contribution of her team. In Svishtov, together with Prof. Maja Ivanovic-Djukic were Prof. Dr. Tatjana Stevanovic, Dr. Zorana Stankovic and Researcher Miljana Talic.
The Turkish delegation was led by Chief Assistant Dr. Ahmet Munir Gokmen, Project Coordinator for Esenyurt University in Istanbul, who delivered a detailed presentation on the contributions of various Turkish scientists and administrators to the project. In Svishtov, he was joined by Chief Assistant Dr. Yasemin Sarici and Chief Assistant Dr. Saban Onur Viga, both of whom are authors of research included in the published multilingual series.
On behalf of "Borisov Studios" - the developer of the project website (www.circlecon.eu) and of the digital content based on the published books, a presentation was made by Slaveyko Slavkov, who demonstrated interactive modules created in offline mode.
At the closing of the forum, Prof. Andrey Zahariev commended the partners from Istanbul and Bucharest, noting that this marks their first project under Key Activity 2, "Cooperation among Organizations and Institutions" in the Higher Education Sector, within the Erasmus+ Program. He emphasized that, along with the team from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Niš, the Bulgarian partner has successfully shared their experience and know-how with colleagues from Artifex University in Bucharest and Esenyurt University in Istanbul. This included managing inter-institutional projects with mobility activities, creating intellectual outputs, and organizing forums to achieve the outlined in the project proposal goals for each work package of the project. Participants at the forum received promotional kits provided by the hosts, as well as the latest editions of the reference books on the circular economy in Bulgarian and English.
The quality of the service provided by Ivanoff Hotel-Restaurant, along with the hosting of the conference, received the highest praise from the project team and the conference participants.
During the visit of the foreign delegations to Svishtov, a formal meeting was held with the Rector of D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marin Marinov. The delegates also visited the academic museum and the renovated Professional State High School of Commerce "Dimitar Hadzhivasilev", which implements "Caps for the Future" initiative, a part of Bulgaria's positive experience in the field of circular economy and education of students for environmental protection.
The project "Trifold approach to circular economy: perspectives of academia, business and wider society” aims to present the implications of the circular economy and introduce tailored solutions to its challenges, with the goal of bringing together students from diverse social backgrounds, particularly focusing on those who may feel discouraged or are facing challenges in keeping up with their peers. The primary target groups also include universities, various businesses, and all stakeholders involved in implementing policies related to the Green Transition and mitigating the negative impacts of climate change.
