International Program Update: Tsvetelina from Bulgaria

Tsvetelina sharing her experience in Columbus at the Franklin County Board of Commissioners weekly meeting.

This October and November, US Together has hosted two international professionals through the Shaping Participatory Democracy Professional Fellows Program. Tsvetelina Petrova has come from Bulgaria, where she works with the Mayor of Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital. Tsvetelina chose to participate in this program for two reasons. First, she is very grateful for all the support she has in her life from her family, friends, and co-workers. Because of this, she wants to give back to members of the community who don’t have similar support networks. She believes this program provides the necessary training to achieve this goal. Second, she feels that in today’s rapidly changing and globalized world, it is important to stay ahead of the curve and to search for solutions to inequality in different places.

Before her visit, Tsvetelina assumed America would have all the answers. “I thought it was perfect,” she said, and believed that America did not have homelessness or marginalized populations like Europe does. She has come to realize this is not the case, as America definitely struggles with inequality. She wanted to learn how America attempts to tackle various issues surrounding refugee resettlement and poverty. Upon her arrival to Columbus, she was surprised to discover how many successful programs our city has established for vulnerable groups. Tsvetelina feels she has benefited from all the meetings she attended during her time with US Together and plans to implement what she learned back home. Specifically, she was inspired by The Columbus Way: a concept of community collaborations between non-profits, the city, businesses, and academic institutions unique to Columbus. She hopes to encourage her local government in Sofia to partner with local private and non-profit sectors because she believes introducing this type of collaboration can revolutionize social work in Sofia.

Tsvetelina’s favorite thing about America is everyone’s can-do spirit and enthusiasm to help others. She loves the variety of social programming and methods whereby Columbus coordinates between different entities to serve marginalized communities. We are honored to have facilitated the opportunity to connect Tsvetelina to local professionals in Ohio and help them work together towards common goals!