"How do we keep them in class, get their attention, be better than them, because as much as we say that every next generation is different than the last, well, believe me, as a parent, I see that is quite a stark difference between our generation and the children who come after us. To be able to arouse and maintain this interest, it is not even enough to know more than them. You have to speak their language, use their thinking pattern and their behavior, not deny it, because that would be the biggest and fatal mistake, but try to speak that language so that you understand and keep that interest. And not only that - to make that amalgam, that wonderful combination of knowledge, experience, innovations, models, interest, so that together with the children you can sculpt from this rich color palette the image of the homeland far beyond the Bulgarian borders."

"The child is born in a completely foreign environment. They go to a kindergarten that has nothing to do with our language or our culture, sometimes  the parents are too busy to be able to compensate the lack of this culture and language at home and everything ultimately depends on you. Everything is in your hands. It's a huge job, a huge effort, because it's not just a question of pouring some amount of knowledge into a funnel, but you have to fight against many prejudices, you have to make this child think differently, to think like a Bulgarian child".

The Vice President also emphasized that Bulgarian Sunday schools are the most effective and successful Bulgarian policy for the Bulgarian diaspora abroad. Because in addition to educating, Sunday schools turn into a a kind of spiritual and cultural centers. Bulgarian holidays are celebrated in them and parents gather to be together and feel like a community. Iliana Iotova also recalled her idea for the creation of a Bulgarian national cultural institute abroad, similar to other European countries.

"It is a shame that only our country, which created an entire civilization - the Slavic one, does not have such an institute",  commented Iotova in Lisbon. "This is a shame and a disgrace! Hopefully we will be lucky and our country will one day have enlightened and literate politicians who know how important this is! Because education and culture open those heavy locked doors that ordinary diplomacy sometimes cannot open."

According to the vice president, this institute will significantly support the activities of the Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad. In addition, it will attract the interest of foreign citizens to the Bulgarian language, traditions, culture and our spirituality.

She stressed that the study of Bulgarian language and culture as a motivation for the return of some of the young Bulgarians to Bulgaria and expressed her conviction that in just a few years there will be no worse conditions for the development of young people in our country than in others European countries.

In Portugal, Vice President Iliana Iotova also met with the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Prof. Luis Ferreira. He defined her visit as an impetus for deepening cooperation in the field of education between Bulgaria and Portugal. The largest university in Portugal has 52,000 students, of which 20,000 are foreign. There is also a lectureship in Bulgarian language and culture, and the director of the Center for Slavic Languages and Cultures is the Bulgarian Prof. Georgi Hristovski.