Twelve "Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture" receive recognition in BNR

Twelve prominent Bulgarian artists were awarded the title "Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture - 2024" at a solemn ceremony in the Bulgarian National Radio. The awards are part of the public media initiative, which for several years has been recognizing people of spirit whose work crosses national borders and establishes Bulgaria on the world cultural map.

The "Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture" campaign collects suggestions from the radio audience and an authoritative jury selects the people who have distinguished themselves with their international contribution in 2024. Each of the awardees received a specially made plaque, the work of artist Stefan Velev.

In his welcome address, the Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio, Milen Mitev, pointed out the importance of culture as the most sustainable and recognizable bridge between Bulgaria and the world.

The first to receive an award was Milena Selimi – a journalist, translator and playwright from Albania with Bulgarian roots and with an exceptional contribution to the popularization of contemporary Bulgarian literature in Albania. "I want to sincerely thank the listeners of the Bulgarian National Radio! The radio is my first love and I know what words are, because sometimes you have to be very careful with words," Milena Selimi told Radio Bulgaria after receiving the plaque.

Thanks to her translations, works by many contemporary Bulgarian authors reach readers in Albania. In 2024, Milena Selimi received the "Best Translator" award from the Tirana Book Fair for the Albanian translation of the novel "Time Shelter", and later the "At’ Gjergj Fishta" award – one of the most significant recognitions for translation excellence in Albania. We should not miss the fact that Milena Selimi is a representative of Bulgarians in the Committee on National Minorities in Albania.

The author of "Time Shelter", Georgi Gospodinov, presented two more plaques to artists who promote Bulgarian culture around the world - actor Samuel Finzi, who is among the stars of cinema and theater in Germany, and the musicians from the Wladigeroff Trio - Alexander, Konstantin and Ekaterina Wladigeroff.

The heirs of great Bulgarian composer Pancho Vladigerov have been working in Vienna for more than two decades and often present the musical tradition of their famous family and Bulgaria.

A special guest at the ceremony in the Bulgarian National Radio was writer Zdravka Evtimova, who presented a plaque to Prof. Kliment Naydenov - Dean of the Faculty of Geology and Geography at Sofia University, who in 2024 founded Explorers Club Bulgaria, as part of the global platform The Explorers Club with honorary chairman Jeff Bezos.

"I am very pleased with the company I found myself in," said poet and essayist Ivan Landzhev, who received the "Bulgarian Ambassador of Culture" prize – 2024.

Speaking to Radio Bulgaria, Ivan Landzhev did not hide his surprise at the award, but also his gratitude to the audience of the Bulgarian National Radio for the nomination: "I like the wording itself very much. And as Prof. Kapriev said: ‘God grant that we may be ambassadors of culture within Bulgaria as well!’"

Researcher of Bulgarian visual heritage and popularizer of Bulgarian comics - artist Anton Staykov, is also among those chosen by the audience of the Bulgarian National Radio as ambassador of Bulgarian culture. Another creator of exquisite imagery is among the names of the cultural ambassadors for 2024 - this is artist Nikolay Yanakiev.

"My Vienna" project and dozens of performances as a soloist, conductor and jury member in a number of European countries have placed violinist Prof. Evgeni Shevkenov among the "Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture" for 2024.

"This is a great responsibility, in addition to recognition. I am very happy to be here, Bulgaria is my homeland! I have been living in Vienna for more than 30 years, but in the past four years I have been travelling regularly to Bulgaria because I teach at the Music Academy in Plovdiv. I feel extremely flattered that not only the Bulgarian National Radio, but the listeners are the ones who nominated me, as these are the Bulgarians who are interested in culture and vote for culture,” Prof. Shevkenov told Radio Bulgaria immediately after the ceremony.

The title of "Bulgarian Ambassador of Culture" was posthumously awarded to beloved opera prima Mariana Tsvetkova - an exceptional artist whose voice illuminated some of the world's largest stages in Italy, Germany, the USA, Spain, Russia, South Korea and many others.

One of the iconic names of the Faculty of Philosophy of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", a lecturer with a bright presence in the cultural and public life of the country, also received an award. This is Prof. Georgi Kapriev.

Encho Kerezov, Bulgaria’s world-famous circus acrobat and equilibrist, has also become a Bulgarian Ambassador of Culture. Kerezov has been inducted into the Gallery of Legends of the World Acrobatic Society.

The doyen among the ambassadors of culture for 2024 is beloved poet, writer and playwright with a huge contribution to Bulgarian literature and theatre – Stefan Tsanev.

Musical performances by soloists from the BNR Symphony Orchestra and young folklore performers complemented the atmosphere of the evening, turning the ceremony into a true celebration of Bulgarian spirit.

The initiative of the public radio was launched in 2021 at the idea of ​​journalist Nina Tsaneva and with the ambition to pay honour to Bulgarian writers, artists, actors, singers, composers, directors and other cultural figures whose work expands the cultural borders of Bulgaria. The campaign builds a bridge between the country and Bulgarian communities abroad.