The Garden took part in a public discussion in Haskovo City Hall

Yesterday representatives of The Garden Association took part in a very important public discussion in Haskovo's City Hall.

There was a presentation of the project for Integrated Plan for Urban Reconstruction and Development in Haskovo, term 2014 - 2020. It is a subject with a crucial importance for the urban environment and we wanted to share our ideas with the team which worked on the plan. It was my honor to present our interdisciplinary team's views.

I shared our vision of Haskovo as a Smart city, which development unites administrative (aka soft) measures with infrastructure measures, dealing with economic development, green policy and environment, mobility and walkability, formal and non-formal education, arts, mass sports and physical activity, and so on.

Among our ideas are:

• bike lanes from the most Eastern to the most Western point of the city; 
• green roofs on the big public buildings; 
• creation of small forests in each school yard, instead of the concrete and the asphalt, which dominate now; 
• artificial climbing wall; 
• more nature-oriented playgrounds and more thematic playgrounds; 
• more public fountains with water for drinking in the city center; 
• free public toilets in the city center; 
• small public monuments, reminding of significant places, events, or persons from the city; 
• art-incubator: an institution encouraging the local artists and craftsmen; simultaneously creation of an annual art-festival; 
• creation of center for social entrepreneurship and social innovation; 
• creation of Museum of childhood - a place, collecting artifacts from different epochs and providing option for children games, shows, and thematic workshops for children; 
• establishment of an international university in Haskovo; 
• e-municipality; 
• free wireless internet access in the city center. 

We are glad that our suggestions met a positive feedback from Haskovo's vice-mayor Mrs Staneva and from the company which developed the project. They promised to add most of our ideas in the final version of the Plan. On our side, we proposed our expertise and consultation for free. 

The interdisciplinary team who created the above-cited ideas: 

Vladislav Dobrev, computer engineer, 

Deyan Yanev, philologist, education management expert,

+Georgi Stankov, psychologist, 

+Tanya Stoynova, lawyer, 

+Lydia Staikova, career & educational counselor, 

+Vladimir Grachki, linguist,
+Simon Zenopian, engineer,    

Veselin Harmandzhiev, engineer. 

The book of Brailsford on Macedonia has just been published

The seminal work of Henry Brailsford "Macedonia - Its Races and Their Future" has just been published. Besides the print edition, there is an e-book version, which is available here for free. The publishing of this book in Bulgarian was an old idea, but its realization went slowly because of the lack of money. Finally through the generous financial grant by Mr George Lebamoff (USA) the dream came true. 

Book's official presentation will be held on June 24th 2013, Monday, in the Museum of Sofia university.

The author: Henry Brailsford was a talented journalist, who spend several months in Macedonia. He was famous for the objectiveness and neutrality of his writings about one of the world's hottest spots in the dawn of the 20th century. 

The book:  "Macedonia - Its Races and Their Future" is a very respected independent source about the history, the population, and the political conflicts in the geographic region Macedonia in the dawn of the 20th century. Brailsford presented the Slavic-speaking population of Macedonia as Bulgarian.

The publisher: "Bulgaria - Macedonia" Institute is our partner organization. It is a Bulgaria-based think tank, engaged in research of Balkan political and social issues and the interrelation between Macedonia and Bulgaria in the 21st century.  

The full list of the people who donated for the book is on page 5. As organization, we are proud to be among the people who paid their tribute for this righteous cause. 

Support for the civil society in Turkey

The Garden Association supports the civil society everywhere in the world. We express our sympathy to the protests that started in the previous three days in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and many other Turkish cities. But we are strongly worried about the recent events in Turkey. 

Source: Internet

The Turkish government, led by Mr Erdogan, wants to demolish the only green space in the center of Istanbul - Gezi park at Taksim square. It plans to build a new cultural-market center (a kind of mall) in the style of ancient Ottoman military barrack. In this case government offences the Turkish society in two ways: 

First - environmental. The project envisions the destruction of a very important green space in the heart of the city. Along with its significance for the urban environment, Gezi park is a place for many non-formal cultural activities and outdoor meetings. 

Second - political. The government's project, taken in a wider perspective, is just one step (of many) for the rehabilitation of the Ottoman empire. The ideology of Erdogan's party is often described as neoosmanism. It is also Islamist and anti-secular in its roots. The project tries to change the symbolic significance of Taksim square. In this area of Istanbul is the monument of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, this is one of the symbolic places of the Turkish republic. 

The night of 31st of May - 1st of June. Protesters on the Bosporus bridge. Source: Internet.

So many people see the struggle for Gezi park as a struggle for the Turkish democracy. Thousands and thousands of Turkish citizens protest in all big cities of the republic. They struggle to preserve the secularity in the republic of Turkey, the basic principles of democracy and freedom of speech.

Unfortunately, the peaceful protesters were attacked by the police with gas! There is a brutal police violence and are hundreds of injured people, but the mainstream Turkish media doesn't broadcast anything of this!

The bridge of Bosporus today, 1st of June 2013. Greetings to Turkey!
Source: Internet

As a non-governmental organization, we, the team of The Garden Association, want to express our solidarity with the protesting citizens of Turkey. Among the people who protest the governments' policy in Turkey there are many people who we personally know and respect: Prof. Okan Cem Çırakoğlu from Başkent University in Ankara, Prof. Hikmet Sivri Gökmen from Dokuz Eylül Üniversity in Izmir, PhD candidate Türkan Fırıncı from Gazi Üniversity in Ankara, Ms Elif Kayran from Izmir Children's Atelier, PhD candidate Özgür Devrim Orman from Boğaziçi Ünversity in Istanbul, and many nice university students.

Don't give up, komşular! The free world is with you!

What the active citizens in Turkey want? Source: Patrick Heath 

If you wonder why Turks are so upset - this is why!

Live broadcasting from Istanbul: