The first national enlighteners instilled in people’s hearts the thirst for knowledge and the urge for freedom and with their enlightening mission helped in realizing the national ideal. In today's uncertain world, we again need individuals to elevate eternal human values. But are there such modern enlighteners?

For seven years now, the Bulgarian National Radio has been looking for people with a mission who can be called modern enlighteners. These personalities inspire others, create change and do good.

According to Milen Vrabevski - the first winner of the award, selected with the votes of the audience, and chairman of the jury, modern enlighteners participate in the lives of others and add value to social development without expecting gratitude.

"Everything that moves society forward and helps it to adequately adapt to the high-tech 21st century is an awakening," Milen Vrabevski, chairman of the Bulgarian Memory Foundation said. “Our task is to improve the civilizational qualification and standard of living, so that people can get rid of fear, while their talent to be useful to others comes to the fore. We hope that positive energy can cause a chain effect of goodwill and efficiency. Then opportunities start to be given to us from above, because we are fulfilling our divine function on Earth and giving many people the opportunity to experience the satisfaction of their existence.”

Archpriest Serafim Yanev takes care of the well-being of a dozen churches, contributes to the opening of social centers and every summer opens the gates of the Kremikovtzi Monastery "St. George the Victorious”, where he serves as an abbot. Due to his many philanthropic deeds, Archpriest Serafim was nominated this year for Enlightener of the Year.

“It is no coincidence that the first enlightener is St. John of Rila - the greatest Bulgarian saint, who with his personal sacrifice and by welcoming God in himself spreads grace among the whole nation to this day, the priest says. "By their example, enlighteners can help us not only to achieve the temporary, but also to find the path to eternity, which is the meaning of human life."

Poet and journalist Marin Bodakov believes that the task of enlighteners of the spirit is simple - to make the world more complicated, not to allow it to be reduced to a bipolar world, but to take care of the nuances.

"In this world, we need to be vigilant about the truth," he says. "Because I feel that at the moment much more attention is being paid to interpretations than to facts, much more attention is being paid to the aimless survival of power itself than to truth among ourselves."

Called the "Countess of Fine Ceramics", Tsvetana Videva creates original objects from clay using technology dating back 6,000 years. She often gathers young people in her studio in the Old Town of Plovdiv to give them her faith in beauty.

"I let them listen to good music, I mention the names of great musicians and artists. I hope they become interested,” Tsvetana Videva says. “I want young people to become more spiritual and respect beauty. That's my mission - to help people."

As part of a campaign, Viktor Ivanov who is also nominated for the Enlightener of the Year Award, set himself the educational task of traveling over 10,000 km to donate copies of three modern books to libraries, priests, imams and entrepreneurs, so that they can reach more people.

“We need a new Revival and a new period of enlightenment if we want to move forward as a nation in the 21st century in opposition to the division at the moment. My ideal for Bulgaria is for people to feel more solidarity towards each other, to be more united, to have more understanding in the name of our common future - here, not abroad."

BNR will announce the results of the National Campaign "Enlightener of the Year" at a special ceremony on November 1.