Center for Educational Initiatives is a non-governmental, non-profit association aimed at enhancing innovative educational initiatives and facilitating educational reforms in the Bulgarian educational system. The main objectives of the organization are to encourage co-operation in the field of education on local, regional and European level, to implement new teaching methods, mainly based on ICT, and to enhance co-operation between public institutions, educational and scientific organizations and NGOs at all levels via professional networks and platforms.
CEI has experience of doing research and analysis and preparation of comparative reports (national and international); building teams with sociologists and psychologists for project tasks; working with young people; dissemination and lobbying for introduction of innovations; work with media; training of teachers, etc.
In 2010, Center for Educational Initiatives established a Training center, whose main objective is to train teachers, school principals, university professors and education experts in e-learning skills and digital competencies. The Training center provides variety of methodological courses for ICT-based teaching, ICT-based assessment practices, etc. based on open educational resources as MOODLE. Over 2000 secondary school teachers from 143 schools were trained in the Center until now.
Significant part of CEI portfolio are several international projects aiming to create, develop and promote new pedagogical and teaching approach, based on ICT tools and focused on training students, staff, civil protection volunteers and professionals about procedures and rules to be respected in case of natural or anthropic disaster and offering a complete set of educational resources to all the categories involved in the prevention, preparedness, self-protection and cultural comprehension of the risks. All these projects are focused on web based tools, open source platforms for identification and exchange of good practices, development of e-learning courses and training, as well as local based dissemination and training actions.
Projects with focus on civil protection:
- RACCE - “Raising earthquake Awareness and Coping Children’s Emotions (RACCE)”, Civil Protection call by EU, 2010 – 2012, №070401/2010/9066/SUB/A4, 2011, etc.
- SEE – Safeguarding Educational Environment” – Funded by ECHO/SUB/2012/638511, 2013-2014
- E-PreS: Monitoring and Evaluation of Natural Hazard Preparedness at School Environments, ECHO/SUB/2014/698447
During the implementation of the above projects CEI establish a good contacts and accumulates an experience in collaboration with geologists, psychologists, museum workers involved in rescue operations, government experts, volunteers.