No talent and genius is possible without intense, inspiring work, education, and creation. All people realize best themselves when they give their best for the peace and benefit of the society.

Ivanka Nikolova Lechev is a leading expert in plant and environmental protection in Bulgaria. She is the only woman who is a dean of a faculty, and she works for equal rights for women in education. As a member of the Organizing Committee of the Balkans Ecoforum for Peace, Ivanka has participated in the development of a strategy for policy in the field of ecology. She promotes biodiversity and ecological farming and has carried out educational programs for children and young people on environmental protection and ecology.

As a member of the Organizing Committee of the Balkans Ecoforum for Peace, Ivanka Lecheva has participated in the development of a strategy for policy in the field of ecology, particularly in transboundary pollution of air, water, and soil. She was nominated as a representative of the association Women in Science in the Balkan Ecological Center. In 1995, within the project Women in Development, she helped prepare and present brochures in Bulgarian, English, Turkish, and Greek languages on ecology, children, and nature for a panel on women and science. The aim was to educate children on the protection of green systems in the cities: parks, gardens, flowers, trees. She also developed a special program aimed at ecological education of students and young people. Her desire is for children to live in harmony with nature. She has motivated young people from the Faculty of Plant Protection and Agroecology to establish a Young Ecologist Club within the NGO Green Balkans and she often gives lectures on the protection of biodiversity as a volunteer. Ivanka believes that lifestyle is very important for young people and especially for women, since lifestyle particularly affects our food choices and consequently the safety of the food we eat. With a women's team, she has presented organic foods – produced at the Agricultural University at the Plovdiv Fair – at the College of Science and Technologies. As a member of Ecofarm, an association for ecological agriculture, she has participated regularly as a volunteer in workshops, training courses, and seminars, promoting organic farming, safe food, and environmental protection for a high quality of life.

Agricultural University Plovdiv Balkans Ecoforum for Peace Ecofarm