On November 30, 2023, a meeting was held at the Sofia Municipality building to present the results of the campaign “Do You Know What You Are Breathing?”, dedicated to the indoor climate in schools and kindergartens. So far, the social information campaign has covered 29 educational institutions in six cities across Bulgaria. The event was supported by the Mayor of Sofia, Mr. Vasil Terziev, and featured a special guest, Ms. Marieta Georgieva (Deputy Minister of Education and Science). Representatives from municipal, state, and educational institutions, as well as campaign partners, attended the meeting.
Ms. Georgieva emphasized that monitoring and measures for air quality in educational institutions are critically important and that actions must be taken to ensure a better environment for children. “It is important to have campaigns like ‘Do You Know What You Are Breathing?’ which raise crucial issues about protecting the health of children in schools and kindergartens,” she said.
Efforts to monitor indoor air quality should also be directed towards kindergartens, emphasized Petya Yosifova, a member of the Union of Heads in the Public Education System in Bulgaria.
The initiator of the campaign is Mr. Hristo Atanasov, who presented numerous international studies highlighting the dangers to both health and cognitive development of children due to polluted air. Classrooms and spaces in kindergartens without proper ventilation play a crucial role in the spread of viruses, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and allergies.
The social-information campaign “Do You Know What You Breathe?” started in the city of Ruse at the end of 2022, initially covering three schools and one kindergarten. Over the course of one year, sensors were installed in 29 educational institutions across six cities, and there is already a donation of a TANGRA EVB School energy recovery ventilation system at 119 Secondary School “Academician Mihail Arnaudov.” The initiative is gaining increasing institutional and public interest, as well as support from local business and civic organizations.
A challenge remains public awareness, as there are still parents, teachers, and principals who do not realize the importance of the issue or have not seen firsthand how the sensors and ventilation devices in classrooms work. Data from the installed sensors over 12 months show that approximately 40% of classrooms are in the red zone, and more than half are in the yellow zone. Unfortunately, these statistics reflect daily results of an extremely poor indoor climate in which our children live.
“Over 90% of children worldwide under the age of 15 breathe polluted indoor air, and 600,000 of them contracted respiratory infections in 2016,” reported Ivan Armianov, a member of the Board of the Bulgarian Association for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, which supports the initiative.
There are opportunities to support educational institutions both from the business sector and through additional financing programs.
Thanks to funding from PUDOS under the National Campaign “Clean Environment – 2023,” “Vicho Gruncharov” Secondary School in Gorna Oryahovitsa is one of the first schools in the country to focus its efforts on cleaner air in classrooms. The proactive efforts of the school management and team made it possible to install 20 sensors to measure indoor air quality. According to Neli Atanasova, the school principal, caring for students’ health and creating a favorable environment is a top priority. “Installing the sensors is part of our green vision for the well-being of both staff and students. The interest and enthusiasm of the students after the sensors were installed was impressive. They actively monitor the indicators and ensure timely ventilation of the rooms.” she shared.
The campaign „Do You Know What You Breathe?“ is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of air quality in kindergartens and schools.
