Our approach to learning is inspired by the Brazilian educator, philosopher, and humanist Paulo Freire, who describes traditional education as mechanistic and depressing. Instead of giving people the freedom to express their ideas and develop their thinking, the usual school and university education require them to reproduce like parrots certain ideas, facts, and ways of thinking. Most educational institutions teach people not how to think, but what to think.

According to Freire, everyone, whether educated or not, has unlimited potential to reflect on the state of the world and fight for change to develop critical thinking. 

According to Freire, education that liberates the mind and spirit inevitably leads to the acquisition of experience and desire to act and opposes passivity and obedience (Freire 1985). His pedagogy rejects the teacher-student hierarchy. When education is inspired by the experiences of those who participate in it and creates the conditions for authentic dialogue, everyone is both a student and a teacher.  

1.  Developing English communication skills: we create a learning environment in which participants can significantly improve their skills by immersing themselves in and being surrounded by language 24/7.
2. Improving critical thinking skills: we support the development of critical thinking skills by training our participants to question their thinking, take into account different points of view, critically evaluate the information they receive, and create effective arguments. 
3. Preparation for action: we support our participants in their process of self-empowerment and promote the idea of active citizenship and contribution to social change through various forms of leadership. 

Първото издание на Immersion Language & Leadership Academy се проведе през м. Юли, 2017г. в курортно селище близо до Рилските езера. Двайсет и четири младежи на възраст 14-25г.участваха в 18-дневната ни младежка програма, а две групи от по 9 възрастни участваха в програми с продължителност от 7 и 10 дни. 

Seventy percent of participants received full or partial scholarships to participate in the programs. The academy brought together a diverse group of participants representing more than 25 localities, several ethnic groups, and different languages , and religions. The program also included a boy with reduced mobility, three Syrian refugees, and an intersex activist.

The design of the curriculum aimed to challenge participants inside and outside the classroom daily. Each day began with four hours of training sessions led by experienced facilitators, who provided a safe space for participants to step out of their comfort zone and break their thinking through thematic discussions and activities. While the training focused on improving critical thinking skills, each afternoon’s self-led skills-sharing workshop contributed to the active exchange of skills and experience and helped participants work on their leadership skills. The intensive daily program, in which participants used English 24/7 and had access to individual consultations with American facilitators, supported the development of various aspects of foreign language proficiency and contributed to the overall process of personal development. At the end of each program, participants presented their ideas for projects related to public issues of interest.

Our programs in 2017 were funded by Davis Peace Projects, the Middlebury College Career, and Internship Center, and individual donations from the United States and Bulgaria.