The Foreign Service Journal, April 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2021 55 Its population was about 9 million at the end of the 1980s, but it had fallen to fewer than 7 million in 2018. The United Nations Population Division has forecast that Bulgaria will lose 23 percent of its population by 2050. The two factors contributing to the shrinking population are low birth rates and massive emigration. But the migration statistics seem to be changing. According to Bulgaria’s National Statistics Institute, the number of expatri- ate Bulgarians choosing to return home is soaring. In 2016, more than 9,250 Bulgarians repatriated; in 2018, almost twice as many returned, 16,169. Unfortunately, the number of departing Bulgar- ians has not slackened, but rather continues to edge up. Accord- ing to a Tuk-Tam representative interviewed on Dec. 12, 2019, by BTA, the Bulgarian news agency, Bulgaria needs more highly qualified recruits, and unemployment has reached historically low levels. She also cited an increasing number of Bulgarians who see opportunities for a career and personal development in their own country. Important and Rewarding Work Could a bunch of college kids have played a role in this apparent demographic shift? Well, Tuk-Tam is no longer the clubby dozen youths of my era in Bulgaria. It has expanded to 10 full-time employees, opened an office in downtown Sofia and launched major projects of its own, in addition to disseminat- ing positive information about Bulgaria via social media to an estimated 200,000 Bulgarians, now the largest online community of Bulgarians around the world. Tuk-Tam’s projects include awarding 22 scholarships to date, based on fundraising totaling 210,000 Bulgarian Lev (about $130,400) frommore than 700 donors. It also continues to orga- nize job fairs, helping 14,000 returnees and young people launch their careers. And branches of Tuk-Tam have opened in both the United States, with 650 members, and Great Britain with 350. Tuk-Tam’s latest project is an online portal, Guide to Bulgaria, launched last year partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a section of job offerings, recently from 30 companies. Its Community section, intended as the centerpiece of the portal, helps members stay informed and engaged with others, and make professional contacts. A true “brain gain” organization, it also encourages mentoring and volunteer service to the Bulgarian community. I hope that Bulgaria has turned a corner. To the extent that it has, Tuk-Tam deserves great credit. At a time when the NGO could not get even the most meager support from the government of Bulgaria, our assistance to the leaders of this inspired and prac- tical initiative proved invaluable. And those we worked with have gone on to positions of leadership in business and in their society. A decade later, in 2020, the Tuk-TamHive forum attracted close to 3,200 people—with support from the Ministry of Labor and the patronage of Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev. In retrospect, I consider my engagement with Tuk-Tam to be the most rewarding and important work of my career for two reasons. I have already stated one: This NGO attacks the brain drain eating away at poor countries’ skilled worker base. Second, I feel American diplomats should help fight brain drain because, ironically, we are partly to blame for it. Though little discussed, significant numbers of the Fulbright alumni we have spon- sored—in addition to the private-scholarship grantees we advise via our Education.usa centers—do not return to their home countries if they are from the relatively poor countries of Eastern Europe or the developing world. Lessons Learned My experience with Tuk-Tammore than a decade ago holds several lessons for today. One is for public affairs officers to wel- come overall thematic direction fromWashington, but for State to leave wide discretion to PAOs to create their own unique priorities and programs. More specifically, PAOs should search for programs and ideas that have roots in native soil, rather than just nominating local contacts to lead branches of worldwide programs created in Washington, D.C., however successful or durable. Second, given the perennial shortage of resources, PAOs should choose mission-specific grantees carefully, and with an eye on the priority goals shared by Washington and the post. I have learned that the only programs with substantial results and staying power are those based on goals that Washington approves of and that local partners or grantees are passionate about and fully committed to. Finally, Americans are often accused of preaching or lecturing about “American exceptionalism,” our superior values or the bet- ter ways we have of doing things. That charge will never stick if we listen first, and take our programming cues from promising local leaders, of whatever age, rank or experience. n A true “brain gain” organization, Tuk-Tam also encourages mentoring and volunteer service to the Bulgarian community.