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- 07/04/2026 19:47
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On April 4, TEDxAUBG held its annual conference in the Dr. Carl Djerassi Theater Hall. This year’s theme was “Contours of Clarity.” The event was filled with abstract ideas and presentations by nine speakers from various fields.
From an American singer of Bulgarian folklore music to the art of being cringe, this year’s conference focused on challenging the viewer’s edges of possibility. The event was divided into three panels with three speakers each. Every one of them shared their thoughts and experiences aimed at challenging the audience’s boundaries of clarity.
First Panel
Kristiyana Kiranska and Mariya Arsova, hosts of this year’s conference, opened the stage to the first panel, inviting the audience to challenge their views on life.
Revaz Topuria
The first speaker of the conference - Revaz Topuria, is a lecturer and researcher in the field of politics, currently teaching at two Georgian universities. He brought to the stage a new perspective on democracy through something rather unusual – a corgi.
In his talk, Topuria compared democracy to the act of caring for a pet – it “needs rules, consistency, and attention.” He highlighted the importance of ignorance and lack of participation in politics among people – a prerequisite for disinformation, authoritarianism, and populism.
Topuria further emphasized the importance of active everyday participation in democracy and its power to reshape people’s lives.
“Democracy doesn't die when it's attacked. It dies when it's abandoned. It needs us. Not just to vote, but to care.”
Chudomir Dragnev
The next speaker - Chudomir Dragnev, is the founder of the art studio Loneytools. He is also an artist and a sculptor, who plays a major role in various art projects in Sofia.
During his presentation, Dragnev led the audience through the complex process of creating a 5,000-square-meter skate park – a project created with the shared effort of all kinds of artists.
One thing that he acknowledged throughout his presentation was the power of collaboration, support, and belonging. He believes that these are the foundations of communities and present opportunities for people to create art.
“Every place, with enough passion and cooperation, can be a place for change. So, find your people. Cooperate. Create. And if the place you need doesn't exist yet, build it.”
Maria Hristova
The speaker who concluded the first panel was a familiar face at the AUBG campus – fourth-year student Maria Hristova. She is an active participant not only in the university community, but also in the NGO “Teach for Bulgaria.”
Maria introduced the audience to a new educational method – holistic education. Completely different from the “propagated, troubling educational value system,” the holistic approach fosters one’s personal development through social interactions, storytelling, and active participation.
To illustrate this idea, Maria provided a real-life example she witnessed during her exchange year in Japan. In the small village of Hiraya, there is a school of just 20 students. Through holistic education, it has built a stronger and more hopeful community.
Concluding her presentation, Maria highlighted the need for change in European education. A change that “breaches the gap between the student and the world, between generations, purposes, and consequences”, one that nurtures curiosity and social responsibility.
Second Panel
Olha Zota
Olha Zota, a Ukrainian ambassador for STEM and co-founder of two tech companies, opened the stage for the second panel of the conference.
Zota delved into the topic of curiosity and what it really means in the engineering and IT industries. She spoke about the road she followed to find the true meaning of curiosity. For her, it started with an idea from a book – insect robots, and it ended with a working prototype of a robot in her hands.
Zota encouraged the audience to be curious, attentive, and most importantly – to be willing to turn ideas into reality.
“Innovation rarely begins with certainty. It begins with someone willing to examine a problem deeply enough to test an idea against reality.”
Deya Shopova
The next speaker’s talk challenged the viewer’s approach to love and anxiety. An expert in the field of psychology and sexology, Deya Shopova provides a new look to psychotherapy in Bulgaria through innovative tools and virtual reality.
During her talk, Shopova explained the importance of language and its power to shape the subjectivity of people’s actions. She also focused on the power of active choice and how, used effectively, it can reshape everything people perceive in life.
She illustrated that through the feelings of excitement and anxiety – they both trigger the same part of the brain, but one perceives the emotion negatively, and the other – positively.
“Active choice is not an idea that erases difficulty. It gives us the possibility to cope [with the difficulties] and to find different ways to be happy.”
Polina Nedkova
The last speaker of the second panel was the actress Polina Nedkova. She has starred in various TV and film series and has an active social media presence.
Her talk, named “The Importance of Being Cringe” delved into how this new concept has created borders for pure and genuine reactions, prioritizing being “cool and nonchalant” instead. She argued that this has made people curate themselves to fit into the public norms of behavior.
Polina strived to encourage the audience to stay authentic and to be unapologetically themselves in a world that desperately needs some “hunger for humanity.”
“Cringe is not the enemy. Indifference is. And if you ever feel embarrassed, remember, you're not failing. You're just being human. And we desperately need that.”
Before the coffee break, the stage was filled with music by the trombonist Max Stoyanov and the saxophonist Mihail Ruskov, who were this year’s conference performers.
Third Panel
Daniel Adsett
The third panel continued with another familiar face to the AUBG community – Professor Daniel Adsett, whose philosophical articles have been published in various popular academic journals.
In his talk, Prof. Adsett explored the philosophy of Karl Jaspers – a topic on which the professor has recently published a book. He challenged two contemporary philosophical views – foundationalism and coherentism, and explained the unstable presuppositions on which people base their world views.
Refusing the possibility of being wrong, according to Prof. Adsett, blocks people from reaching final unity and leaves room for irrationality.
“We must look back to reason and what it requires. It requires that we allow ourselves to be open to the possibility of being wrong. It requires that we accept vulnerability without necessarily giving up our convictions.”
Ivan Blažević
Ivan Blažević is a philanthropy manager with over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector, working in civic engagement and social innovation. He posed a serious social question on stage: What is solidarity, and why do people need it in their everyday lives?
His presentation posed a social shift he had witnessed in his experience – people usually come together as a whole when a disaster strikes. He provided examples from the COVID-19 pandemic, the December 2020 earthquake in Croatia, and the war in Ukraine.
Blažević emphasized the importance of solidarity as a daily practice – not with money, but with actions.
“Solidarity is not a miracle that falls from the sky when a tragedy happens. It's a muscle we choose to train.”
Angela Rodel
The last speaker of this year’s conference entered the stage singing a Bulgarian folklore song – “The Field Grows White,” stunning the audience. Angela Rodel is an American who has contributed to the popularization of Bulgarian culture worldwide, even translating Georgi Gospodinov’s “Time Shelter” in English.
Rodel shared with the audience that while she was studying at Yale University, she encountered the powerful method of Bulgarian women’s singing. Its emphasis on chest singing and emotions helped her reconnect with her own emotions.
She moved to Bulgaria to learn more about folklore singing and while feeling emotionally fulfilled, she still struggled with the rationality of her mind. That is when she turned to Buddhism to help her balance between rationality and emotions.
Rodel encouraged the audience to follow their hearts: “Find a place where your voice can sound as loud and as powerful as your great-grandmother's reaping song, because our souls reap what our voices sow.”
The conference was concluded by final remarks from the TEDxAUBG President Simona Trendafilova. She expressed her gratitude towards the speakers, the audience, and the club members.
Edited by: Vasil Paskov & Toma Krumov
This article was brought to you by AUBG Daily's title sponsors:
- United Bulgarian Bank (Member of KBC group)
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