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About us

About us

"Values, Virtues, Integrity" Foundation is a Bulgarian non-governmental organization registered at the Sofia City Court on March 5, 2015, acting in the public interest.

 

Goals of the organization

The main goal of the Foundation is to foster the formation, promotion and embodiment of life-affirming values, virtues, and integrity in Bulgaria, Europe, America, and the globe at the levels of personality, family, organization, guild, community, and society in fields like education (formal and informal – for children, youths, and adults), science, arts and culture, sports and tourism, ecology and sustainable development, civic participation and public actions for the formulation of policies, healthcare and social activities, work with representatives of vulnerable (including Roma) groups, media, and other interested in the foundation’s sphere of activities organizations and institutions at the local, national and international levels.

Mission of the organization

The main mission of the Foundation is the creation and development of intelligence on values (or VQ – values quotient, similar to IQ and EQ – intelligence and emotional quotients) in Bulgarian society.

                                                          Team

Founders of the “Values, Virtues, Integrity” Foundation are Dr. Stanimir Kiskinov (political scientist) and Mr. Yordan Tankovski (psychologist), who together and separately represent the organization.

The Foundation has a two-tier governance structure: Board of Trustees and Director.

Board of Trustees:

Mr. Stanimir Kiskinov, Chairman

Mr. Yordan Tankovski, Vice Chairman

Ms. Adriana Tankovska, Member

Director:

Ms. Ralitsa Rumenova

Stanimir Kiskinov

 Chairman. Ph.D. in Political Science, author of scientific publications, strategies, and analyzes in the field of social sciences, as well as of literary texts. He has served many years at the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, administering programs for cultural and educational exchanges and for funding of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations. After completing his engagement with the embassy, he has moved "on the other side of the barricade", daeling manly with teaching (strategic communication, advocacy, and other “soft skills) and developing, evaluating, and implementing projects in the non-governmental sector. Certified coach of the Leadership Academy Program (for local authorities) of the Council of Europe and a certified trainer for Bulgaria under the ROMED Program (intercultural mediation for Roma communities) of the European Commission and the Council of Europe, he is also the best table tennis amateur in the neighborhood.

Yordan Tankovski

Vice-Chairman. With more than 20 years of experience in organizational development and conducting soft skills trainings for school teams, non-governmtal, governmental, and business organizations, Mr. Tankovski is a current Ph.D. Candidate at the Institute of Psychology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. For a long time he has worked with young volunteers at the Bulgarian Youth Red Cross Organization (from 1996 to 2000 as an expert on youth activities and from 2000 until the end of 2005 as a Director of the organization), conducting numerous training for youth leaders of NGOs, on volunteer management, advocacy, and project planning and management. Organizational consultant specialized in organizational assessment and strategic planning, has is also an author of handbooks on health education (prevention of addiction-risk behavior, sexual-risk behavior, and trafficking in human beings and violence) and a creator of a three-modular methodology for peer-to-peer training on health-related topics. A major part of his training portfolio are the leadership and management courses for representatives of the middle and senior management of the state administration, business organizations, and NGOs. He also conducts trainings for various professionals and social groups on negotiation, communication and presentations skills; stress management (prevention of occupational burnout), team efficiency and more. Since 2006, he is the Manager of Skills Consult Bulgaria Ltd., a company that focuses on organizational development, training, and management of human resources. He is also a Management Board Member of the Bulgarian Association for Training and Development.

Adriana Tankovska

Member of the Board. As a financier, she monitors the financial reporting, fundraising, and spending at the foundation.

Ralitsa Rumenova

Director/Art Facilitator. A graduate engineer, with experience in organizing public procurement and project administration (both in the construction and the non-governmental sectors), she is also a facilitator/moderator of public and art events. Her leading know-how and proven skills for conducting a collaborative oil finger painting process, applicable in various contexts, have become a hallmark of the foundation. She has also specialized in other artistic handicraft activities such as bredbildings, wool work, drawing on glass and silk, decoupage, and others.

In December 2019, Ralitsa represented Bulgaria at the World Youth Forum held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. As of 2023, she is a Certified Trainer in non-formal education for the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programs of the EU, after completing a three-module training of trainers organized by SLATO-Youth Training and Cooperation.

Elena Kirilova

The newest addition to the team. Danish graduate in Humanities. At the foundation she is handling the logistical aspects of the Erasmus+ projects; documentation; PR- social media platforms, website; always participates with great enthusiasm in the art activities of the foundation. Her interests are psychology, philosophy, personal development, environmentalism, architecture, design, art, cooking and wide range of other different fields.

                                    Atanas Alexandrov

Head of Sector European Solidarity Corps. Volunteers' supervisor and volunteer teams' manager for the organization's short and long term projects. He began his development in the youth field in 2014 as a member of the Culture Committee of the Student Council at SU "St. Kliment Ohridski". Since then, he has completed dozens of projects as a participant, co-facilitator, coordinator and manager. Completed the student program for Entrepreneurship and Business Management of Southwestern Advantage(USA) with several awards - a global program with over 150 years of history. Now he wants to support youth and adults in their personal development. For him, volunteering is a way of self-knowledge and he shares the belief that one cannot teach others what one does not know and one cannot lead people where one would not go oneself. He likes to read and spend time in the mountains.

                                                      Dr. Venelin Stoychev

Research Associate at VVIF. Doctor of Sociology, he has nearly 30 years of experience as a researcher and 25 years of experience as a lecturer and trainer. Dr. Stoichev is the author of three scientific monographs, over 20 scientific articles and over a hundred popular scientific articles, devoted to the polarities of democracy, the empowerment of citizens, the rule of law, etc. His interests are in the field of the theory and practice of democracy, public policies, civic education, etc. Dr. Stoychev leads courses at Sofia University, University of National and World Economy, SoftUni. Currently, Dr. Stoychev is part of the team of the Public Policies and Social Changes section at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.