Today the BNR marks the World Radio Day under the slogan Radio & Sports, but that’s not all. The lobby hosted a display with exhibits telling about the Old House (as the BNR is also known). Head of the Archive Fund Anton Mitov is our guide through the exhibition.

“The renewed collection outlines interesting exhibits – starting with the authentic Japanese kimono, which our glory – the children’s radio choir was presented with by the authorities of the authorities of Kanzawa, where the choire had one of its hundreds of concerts during numerous tours of Japan. The gown's decoration is handmade embroidery; the kimono is very beautiful and worth seeing by everyone. One more curious detail: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently visited this country with his wife Akie Abe. Upon the latter’s visit to the BNR Mrs. Abe obviously enjoyed the magnificent piece of clothing. A separate showcase of our exhibition is devoted to Sirak Skitnik (prominent painter and emblematic figure for the Bulgarian radio in his position of first director of institution, appointed back in 1935). Then another showcase tells about the first hosts and the first story covered. We also display the radio’s personalities – mostly composers who have worked here. We have also lined up part of our sound archive – records and cassettes. Of course, there are objects, typical for the radio – a gong, a microphone… We have also spared place for the awards, received through the years, as well as the Sirak Skitnik Award created by sculptor Vezhdi Rashidov.”

The Archive of the BNR has received the Sirak Skitnik Award this year for its multimedia project. What does it consist of?

“This multimedia project is actually the webpage of the archive fund. We show it all there, everything collected through the years – photos, sound, texts, information stored. This is only the first stage of our project. The second one will allow the downloading of sound – paid, of course. This is the best way to open the archive for the public. Our archive keeps recordings from different occasions with quite contemporary sound. We present those on the occasion of different anniversaries and events.”

They say that radio has turned the world into one neighborhood and that in fact it is the most revolutionary discovery ever. How do you see the radio in the 21 century?

“Today I have listened to a radio station from the Seychelles, online. Ever since mankind has been working with the Internet, we all feel like residents of a huge village. So, the BNR can also be listened to everywhere online, including the Seychelles. I have seen statistics that actually they listen to us there – obviously Bulgarians or someone who knows the language,” Anton Mitov says in conclusion.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev