Sofia Google Moderators Team Spotlight #CommunitySpotlight2025

Connections & celebrations
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A picture of Patriarchal Cathedral St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia with the title "Community Spotlight 2025" and portraits of the 4 Google Moderators members in white circles.
A picture of Patriarchal Cathedral St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia with the title "Community Spotlight 2025" and portraits of the 4 Google Moderators members in white circles.2752×1536 1.02 MB

Hello from Bulgaria! :bulgaria:

Welcome to the next chapter of the Community Spotlight 2025 series. The Sofia-based Google Moderators couldn’t wait to join in! Keeping the momentum going from the Google team, we’re taking this opportunity to share a bit about who we are and what we do —all through a fun new lens.

Let’s shine the light!

Disclaimer: The transcript of each image is available directly below it, so you can use the translation tool as needed.

A portrait of Angie, and her answers written in a colorful slide

@AngieYC, Local Guide Level 6, joined the Local Guides Google team in 2018

:rocket: MY ROLE IN THE SQUAD
I am the project manager working on the Connect forum stability and ensuring our infrastructure provides a robust, always-available stage for all our Community members to share their world!

:orange_heart: THE 2025 CONNECT TOPIC I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT
I enjoyed the return of the LetsGuide Podcast.

:tada: MY FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY
The Local Guides on Connect really went all out, creating fun challenges that showcased their creativity and celebrated our community! Kudos to all!

:world_map: IF I WERE A LOCAL GUIDES BADGE, I WOULD BE…
A Master Photographer :snowflake:

A portrait of Moni, and her answers written in a colorful slide.

@MoniDi, Local Guide Level 7, joined the Local Guides Google team in 2018

:rocket: MY ROLE IN THE SQUAD
I’m dedicated to empowering our Connect Moderators to thrive. I oversee their end-to-end experience, from helping out when they need answers, unblocking operational requests to tracking metrics that help assess our community’s health.

:orange_heart: THE 2025 CONNECT TOPIC I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT
10th Anniversary Design Challenges - And The Winners Are

:tada: MY FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Seeing how everyone around the world got excited about the celebrations. The human connection is probably the most important in our community!

:world_map: IF I WERE A LOCAL GUIDES BADGE, I WOULD BE…
An Expert Photographer :ewe:

A portrait of Tseko, and his answers written in a colorful slide.
A portrait of Tseko, and his answers written in a colorful slide.1495×839 182 KB

@TsekoV, Local Guide Level 8, joined the Local Guides Google team in 2018

:rocket: MY ROLE IN THE SQUAD
I serve as the Community Content Manager, where I shape the editorial narrative and spotlight the diverse voices that bring our platform to life.

:orange_heart: THE 2025 CONNECT TOPIC I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT
I admire the ‘She Leads’ series where female Local Guides raise key topics which motivate and inspire the whole community.

:tada: MY FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY
It is definitely the Community Spotlight series where Local Guides introduced their communities, countries and regions. Such a fun read!

:world_map: IF I WERE A LOCAL GUIDES BADGE, I WOULD BE…
A Master Photographer :llama:

A portrait of Ive, and her answers written in a colorful slide.

@Ivi_Ge, Local Guide Level 3, joined the Local Guides Google team in 2018

:rocket: MY ROLE IN THE SQUAD
As the Team Lead for Local Guides, I oversee our team’s vision and execution, working to deliver on each of our missions and goals while cultivating a team spirit as vibrant as our Connect community!

:orange_heart: THE 2025 CONNECT TOPIC I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT
I really enjoyed ‘Add accessibility where it’s not obvious but needed’.

:tada: MY FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY
I loved the excitement in the Community and all the spontaneous initiatives self-organized by some of the Local Guides. You all are so creative!

:world_map: IF I WERE A LOCAL GUIDES BADGE, I WOULD BE…
A Fact Finder :cherry_blossom:

Just like you, we love discovering new places and sharing our experiences as Local Guides. We took the same team poll regarding our own contributing behavior: Do we prefer writing detailed reviews or snapping the perfect photo? The results for the Sofia team are a resounding consensus: 100% of us admit we are definitely Team Photo :camera:.

Speaking of past contributions, we’re dreaming of future travels, too. Below is a bucket list of destinations where our teammates hope 2026 will take them.

  • Northern Europe :european_union:
  • The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru :peru:
  • The Cotswolds :united_kingdom:
  • Japan :japan:

Just like you did with the Google team, look at the bucket list above and try to guess which destination our Google Moderators dream of visiting.

Update: Destination Reveal! Click to see who picked which destination.

Congrats to the sharp-eyed who spotted the hidden emojis :woman_detective: and to everyone who guessed right!

And this time, let’s take it a step further. What is your dream destination? Share it below! You never know—you might find a fellow Local Guide here on Connect who can help you make that dream trip come true. :airplane:

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Celebrating Local Guides from our desks #CommunitySpotlight2025
Countdown to Community Spotlight 2025! #10YearsOfLocalGuides
Recap on the Community Spotlight 2025
Join us in saying buh-BYE to 2025 as we wrap up #10YearsOfLocalGuides
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Thanks for sharing The Sofia-based Google Moderators Community Spotlite

Below is a list of who can travel where, according to my opinion:

@MoniDi : Northern Europe

@Ivi_Ge : The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru

@AngieYC : The Cotswolds

@TsekoV : Japan

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It’s great to learn more about the Sofia-based Google Moderators, thank you for sharing this, @AngieYC.

It’s truly heartening to gain such insights through @AdrianLunsong’s thoughtfully designed Community Spotlight initiative. Moments like these really highlight how interconnected our community has become; the world truly feels smaller than ever.

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Haha. I asked for your involvement a few hours ago. And you delivered promptly. Wonderful as always.

Cheers to all 4 of you.

My best bet: Angie wants to go to Japan.

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Thank you, @AngieYC for sharing the story from the Google team. This story really helps Local Guides like us get to know the community better.

Future travel plans in Northern Europe, or Japan, perhaps? Or Indonesia?:sweat_smile: Just kidding! I hope your dream destinations between Northern Europe, Peru, the Cotswolds, and Japan come true.

I also highly appreciate the Google moderator team for always helping us solve our issues with such prompt and friendly responses.

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Hello @AngieYC and the Sofia Google Moderators Team :waving_hand:

Wonderful to see the Our Google Moderators in Community Spotlight 2025. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into the people who work behind the scenes to keep Connect vibrant, stable, and inspiring. I truly enjoyed reading about each role—especially the emphasis on creativity, storytelling, accessibility, and human connection that defines our community.

The 10th anniversary memories perfectly capture what makes Local Guides special—challenges, spontaneous initiatives, and community bonding beyond borders.

Guessing the dream destinations)

  • Northern Europe :european_union: → MoniDi
  • The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru :peru: → Ivi_Ge
  • The Cotswolds :united_kingdom: → AngieYC
  • Japan :japan: → TsekoV

My Dream Destination 2026

One of my dream destinations for 2026 has truly become Sofia, Bulgaria, especially after seeing the beautiful and inspiring pictures shared in this thread by our Connect Moderators @AdrianLunsong and @JanVanHaver. The banner background of this post, featuring the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, didn’t just show a city—it sparked a dream.

For me, this dream is deeply connected with the Local Guides community. Meeting our Connect Moderators and Google Moderators and Googlrrs in person has always been close to my heart. Knowing that when I visit Sofia, I may get the opportunity to meet @AngieYC, @MoniDi, @TsekoV, and @Ivi_Ge makes this dream even more special. I truly hope that by then @DeniGu will also be part of this wonderful squad.
With its rich stories, warm community, and inspiring people, Sofia has now secured a permanent place on my dream destination list. It feels even more meaningful to know that Sofia is the largest city in Bulgaria with over 2,000 years of history, and that Sofia University itself has been shaping minds for more than 125 years. Some places touch the heart even before we arrive—and Sofia is clearly one of them.

Thank you for celebrating the community with us! :raising_hands:

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Loving this spotlight series! @AngieYC :star_struck:

Thank you all for the incredible work you do behind the scenes to keep Connect such a welcoming and organized place. It’s wonderful to get to know the people behind the moderator badges.

Cheers to the team! :clinking_glasses:

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That’s awesome @AngieYC to read about you, @MoniDi, @TsekoV and @Ivi_Ge behind the scenes of the Community and engaging with local guides.

All of you are truly inspiring Moderator champions :trophy: and special mention should goes to @DeniGu also.

Thank you @AdrianLunsong for the giving community spotlight space for the Sofia Team.

(Even though I am Team Review, I like the Name of Sofia Team. :grin:)

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Hahaha !!!
Thank you so much Sophia based Google Mods. We appreciate your involvement in the Spotlight week

Now, these head cracking guesses again !!!

I’ll say @TsekoV will like to try Japan

@AngieYC Northern Europe

@Ivi_Ge The historic sanctuary of Machu

@MoniDi The cots world

Happy spotlight week folks.
Cheers

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@AngieYC It is great to read about the team behind Connect. The spotlight series is an incredible initiative.

My guesses for the challenge:
@MoniDi : Machu Picchu, Peru
@Ivi_Ge : The Cotswolds
@AngieYC : Japan
@TsekoV : North Europe

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Hello , thanks for Sharing this Amazing team spotlight

Let me guess Dream Destination for each :wink:
Northern Europe - @MoniDi

The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru - @AngieYC

The Cotswolds - @Ivi_Ge

Japan - @TsekoV

Thanks

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Hello @AngieYC,

First of all, thank you very much for informing us about the Sofia-based Google Moderators in Bulgaria and their activities. I’m really glad to hear that you’re celebrating
Community Spotlights 2025 with the rest of your Google team. It’s also wonderful to know that a large part of Sofia’s team definitely Team Photo.

Here are my predictions for the dream destination:

I eagerly await seeing how my guesses compare. Thank you! I would also like to extend a special thanks to @AdrianLunsong for his excellent work!

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Vielen Dank für eure Grüße aus Bulgarien.

Nordeuropa: :european_union: @AngieYC

Das historische Heiligtum von Machu Picchu, Peru: :peru: @TsekoV

Die Cotswolds: :united_kingdom: @MoniDi

Japan: :japan: @Ivi_Ge

Wenn ich Reisefähig wäre, am liebsten einmal rund um die Welt und zuerst nach Indien.

Ich wünsche euch einen erfolgreichen Jahresabschluss und alles Gute für das neue Jahr.

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Thank you so much for sharing other Googler @AngieYC I do not believe I meet @MoniDi @TsekoV @Ivi_Ge yet and hope to shake their hand one day soon.

My best guess for who to go where, is

Northern Europe :european_union: - @Ivi_Ge
The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru :peru: - @AngieYC
The Cotswolds :united_kingdom: - @TsekoV
Japan :japan: - @MoniDi

Happy Holidays to you all! Hope we will meet in person next year 2026

Peace&Love

Erna

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Hey #TeamGoogle.. great to see the Sofia based Google Moderators joining in!

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I was very fortunate to have the chance to travel to Sofia, Bulgaria this past summer and got to meet most of the Google Moderators (including Deni when she was still part of the team, but sadly, missing Tseko). We had an excellent meal at The Little Things, which I haven’t written a review for just yet… busy, busy, busy!

I can confirm that they are real people who are kind, friendly and humorous… and not AI bots feeding off a script :robot: !

Yay, to Team Photo too!! And here are my guesses for their dream destinations for 2026! Fingers crossed that everyone gets a chance to fulfil their dreams next year!

  • Northern Europe :european_union: - Ive
  • The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru :peru: - Tseko
  • The Cotswolds :united_kingdom: - Moni
  • Japan :japan: - Angie

:blush:

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Thank you so much, @AngieYC, @MoniDi, @TsekoV, and @Ivi_Ge, for your fantastic Sofia-based Google Mods community Spotlight. I appreciate you sharing a bit about yourselves with us.

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Hurray, more puzzles to solve! And as you can see in the picture, I had the privilege to meet most of them a while ago!

Let’s see if we can find any hints here too :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

  • Northern Europe :european_union: - @AngieYC has a snowflake emoji in het last answer, so I guess she hopes to go way up north [Thx by the way for naming the return of the podcast as your favorite; I better start working on another epsiode, right? :rofl:]
  • The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru :peru: - @Ivi_Ge: in the part about her role she mentions “I oversee”, which clearly hints at crossing a big amount of water, so why not the Atlantic Ocean? (And there might actually be a need to add accessibility info at Machu Picchu)
  • The Cotswolds :united_kingdom: - @MoniDi judging from the picture, she seems to be enjoying peaceful, rural areas
  • Japan :japan: - @TsekoV seems to be in a skyscraper, and there’s loads of those in the cities of Japan
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Hi @AdrianLunsong, it’s great to hear you had a wonderful time meeting the Google Mods in Sofia. I really appreciate this Spotlight initiative, and it’s great to see the Google Mods are so excited to join in.

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Hello @AngieYC
thank you for sharing the all important roles you have maintained throughout all the years.
This is my observation who choose which dream destination

My Dream Destination is on Ultimate attaction of swiss Matterhorn mountain, swiss Alps, swiss chocolate and cheese, glacier train, swiss Watch, Lake Geneva, Rhine Falls
The Switzerland :switzerland:

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Здравейте, Googlers from Bulgaria!
Greetings from Indonesia!

Talking about Bulgaria, I hope someday I’ll be there to taste their well-known yogurt. There is a brand here that sells yogurt branded as Bulgarian Yogurt. It is tasty, but I haven’t known yet if the taste looks the same of its original or not. Recently, I watched a video on social media showing about the uniqueness of Plovdiv related to its history. It’s like a living museum, amazing! I wish I could go there, especially since I enjoy visiting museum. Northern Europe is also one of my dream destinations, especially Norway and Iceland.

And this is my guess:

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