Positive Education Became the Main Focus at the Fourth International Education Forum
Prof. D.Sc. Rumen Stamatov - professor of psychology at Varna Free University, together with Prof. Dr. Todorka Kostadinova from the Medical University - Varna, presented the topic ‘Positive Education, Well-being and Health’ at the Fourth International Education Forum. The event took place in Varna and was organized by the Municipality of Varna in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science, the National Association of the Municipalities in Republic of Bulgaria and ICT Cluster Varna. The main theme of the forum this year was Education Through the Paradigm of Humanism and Artificial Intelligence".
The presentation of Prof. Stamatov and Prof. Kostadinova on the topic ‘Positive Education, Well-being and Health’ was met with great interest by school headmasters and kindergarten directors, teachers and representatives of the education sector. The topic emphasizes the need to integrate positive education into the educational system in order to develop not only academic abilities, but also emotional and social resilience in students.
The team's development is based on scientific evidence of the effects of positive education programmes that improve the mental health and well-being of students. According to them, positive education includes not only academic success, but also building skills for happiness and well-being - key factors for the personal and social development of young people. The programmes reviewed in the report encompass methodologies for developing students' mental resilience, social and emotional abilities, and growth mindset.
For the Positive Education project implemented by Prof. Stamatov with the team of SU "Geo Milev" in Varna in the period 2022 - 2023, he was awarded the prestigious Varna Award for 2024.
The Fourth International Education Forum provided a platform for the discussion of innovative solutions and the exchange of experience between representatives of secondary education, academic institutions, business, local and national authorities. Along with the Bulgarian participants, it was attended by international partners, as well as representatives of employer and trade union organizations, including the Union of Employers in the Public Education System and the Union of Bulgarian Teachers.