With concert performances on September 25 and 26 in the Palace of Nations and in the premises of the International Labour Organization, the Sliven Children's Symphony Orchestra from Bulgaria made its debut in Geneva under the direction of the Bulgarian violinist Georgi Kalaidzhiev.

The concert on September 25 at the Palace of Nations, UN headquarters in Switzerland, was dedicated to one of Bulgaria's leading national commitments as a member of the UN Human Rights Council: guaranteeing the enjoyment of their human rights by all children without discrimination, including through universal access to education. The United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Nada al-Nashif, met the young musicians before opening the concert. In his introduction address, the Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the UN-Geneva, Ambassador Yuri Sterk noted that the moment of the event coincides with the Summit for the Future held by the UN. The performance of the orchestra from Sliven gives us the opportunity to hear the voice of children and young people - directly, but also through their art, through the music to which they have devoted themselves.

The performance of the Bulgarian children at the International Labor Organization (ILO) on September 26 celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The event was supported by Alliance 8.7 and presented as part of the ILO's Music Against Child Labor Initiative (MACLI).

Both events, which were attended by many ambassadors and other diplomats from the UN member states, high-ranking representatives of the UN and the International Labor Organization, as well as by Bulgarian citizens living and working in Switzerland, were carried out on the initiative of the Permanent Representation of Bulgaria to the UN-Geneva within the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Programme for Public, Cultural and Digital diplomacy.

The Sliven Children's Symphony Orchestra has been created within the framework of the Bulgarian project "Music instead of the street" (launched in 2008 by Georgi Kalaidzhiev and his partner Maria Hauschild), and provides musical education for girls and boys aged 4-18. The little musicians have performed many times on world stages over the years, their major achievements include a concert in Strasbourg, France on May 24, 2022, opening of an international festival in Germany in the same year, as well as a concert at Pierre Boulez Hall of the Paris Philharmonic within the framework of the DEMOS project.