On 12^th August, His Excellency Manuel Korček, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic to the Republic of Bulgaria, Ivana Marksfeldova, Consul of Slovakia, and Edita Blagoevova,

Honorary Consul of Slovakia in Varna, received a warm welcome at the Professor Ivan Shishmanov Special School for Visually Impaired Children in Varna.

 His Excellency Manuel Korček presented teachers and pupils with two Tatrapoint Adaptive 2 Braille machines and two Memonik tactile social games as a donation on behalf of the Union of the Blind and Socially Impaired in Slovakia. Julieta Petkova, the Director of the school, presented him with a Certificate of Donation and a letter of thanks. In her welcoming speech to the guests, she explained that the school had been founded in 1905 by Professor Ivan Shishmanov, the then Minister of Education for the Republic of Bulgaria. She also emphasised the fact that the Slovakian Ambassador was the second to have come to visit in its 115 year history, the first having been from Malta. The Director very much appreciated the support and reiterated her interest in strengthening cooperation and friendly relations.

The guests then looked with interest at the exhibits on show in the only museum of its kind in the country, "The History of the Education of Visually Impaired People in Bulgaria", which is located in the school building. They received gifts, made by the students during tactile creativity and occupational therapy sessions. Everyone also left with bouquets of lavender, grown by the graduates of the first professional course in Landscaping and Horticulture for visually impaired and disabled students, as well as a wealth of warm memories of the visit.

 Photographs provided by the Embassy of the Slovak Republic to the Republic of Bulgaria.

 In the top picture: His Excellency, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic to the Republic of Bulgaria (centre), during his visit to the school.