Orange and UNICEF join forces for better education and literacy of children in Bulgaria

Sofia, June 2^nd - The Orange bookstore chain and UNICEF in Bulgaria renew their partnership to improve the lives of children in Bulgaria. Education continues to be a key area where the two organizations will work together to increase the literacy of children. The motto of the educational initiative is "Literacy is a superpower".

What are our goals?

The collaboration between UNICEF and Orange aims to promote reading from an early age, provide better access to quality children's literature, increase children's reading motivation, and develop their critical thinking, analysis and information processing skills. In addition, the program envisages increasing the capacity of adults – teachers, parents and other key figures – to support the reading process and increase literacy. The aim of the partnership is to support the efforts of the Ministry of Education and Science and UNICEF for quality inclusive pre-school and school education, focusing both on access to education and on improving learning outcomes, especially for the most marginalized children.

What will we do with the funds?

The funds donated by Orange to UNICEF will support kindergartens and schools in several pilot areas, where reading corners, libraries and clubs, as well as communities for professional support on the topic of literacy will be built. Thousands of children will be directly involved in activities to improve reading and functional literacy and will be involved in community initiatives. The goal of the United Nations Children's Fund is not only to improve pedagogical practices, but also to inform future legislative changes that will ensure sustainability and long-term impact on education in Bulgaria. 

Why is this cause so important?

National and international research in the field of education, as well as the national standardized assessment of the educational achievements of children and young people, clearly show that many of them find it difficult to read and to make sense of what they read and transfer it as knowledge in real life.

According to PISA (Program for International Student Assessment for 2022), 53% of ninth-graders in Bulgaria do not have basic reading skills.  In 2024, about 8.5% of fourth-graders had a poor result in the national external assessment in Bulgarian. This represents the so-called "educational poverty," which is measured by the proportion of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand a simple written story.

According to the recent UNICEF “Report 19: The Well-being of Children in an Unpredictable World”, Bulgaria ranks last among 43 EU and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states on the level of children's academic skills. According to the study, only 3 other countries have a lower score - Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico.

"Every child has the right to quality education. Literacy is the key that unlocks a world of opportunities for every child. It's not just the ability to read and write — it's the foundation of self-confidence, critical thinking, and the ability to dream. "Literacy is a superpower!" – that's why we are glad that together with our long-standing partners from Orange we are once again uniting to bring children back to books, to ignite and inspire them to read and thus improve their skills to apply what they have learned in life," said Christina de Bruin, UNICEF Representative in Bulgaria.

For 12 years now, the Orange bookstore chain has been supporting UNICEF's causes for children and thanks to the commitment of the company, as well as the generosity of their customers, nearly one million leva has been collected so far.

"At Orange, we believe that business should have a mission. For more than 12 years, we have been actively working on programs related to education and early childhood development. Our brand recognition allows us to convey a message—that reading helps raise a generation with values, a clear understanding of good and bad, with imagination and critical thinking.

Over the years, we have supported key UNICEF campaigns, tracked the results, and believe in their impact. We are proud that the partnership between Orange and UNICEF continues. We have proven – and will continue to prove – that business can be a platform for sustainable social impact. We would like to thank UNICEF, as well as all our customers who embrace the cause as their own," said Nia Arsenieva, Executive Director of Orange Center.

Customers of the Orange bookstore chain will also be able to support the cause of quality education for every child with donations at the cash desks in the period from 5 to 15 June.