Celebrating May 24 in Baku with the Exhibition “Light of Letters”
On May 23, 2023, the Embassy of Bulgaria in Baku celebrated the coming holiday of May 24 with the opening of the exhibition "The Light of Letters", prepared by the "Elena and Ivan Duychevi" Foundation together with the State Cultural Institute of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Under the patronage of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Baku, the event was hosted by the Baku Slavic University, where the Bulgarian language has been taught since 1996.
The event was opened with a welcome by Mr. Anar Nagiev, Rector of BSU, in which he made a brief retrospective of the relations between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria in the field of education. He indicated that Bulgarian language is currently being studied by more than 60 students of the university.
Ambassador Ruslan Stoyanov thanked the management of the university for their cooperation, both for organizing and hosting this important event, and for their support in the implementation of a number of events and visits by high-ranking Bulgarian representatives and visits by representatives of the university to Bulgaria. In his address, Ambassador Stoyanov emphasized the importance of the holiday of May 24 - Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture and of Slavic literature, with which we pay tribute to the contribution of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius and their students, to the Bulgarian enlighteners and revivalists who built our language, alphabet and culture, our Bulgarian identity. He pointed out that Bulgaria undoubtedly has reason to be proud as the homeland of the Cyrillic alphabet, which today is one of the three official alphabets in the European Union.
Ambassador Stoyanov also noted the exceptional importance of the functioning of a center for Bulgarian language and culture at the Baku Slavic University, whose activity is related to the development of bilateral cultural relations and the promotion of the history and culture of Bulgaria among young people in the country.
In conclusion, the ambassador presented the exhibition "The Light of the Letters", which collected the most valuable decorated Bulgarian medieval manuscripts from the X-XVIII centuries and which was dedicated to the Great Moravian mission of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius - an important stage in the establishment of the Slavic script. He emphasized that the survival and preservation of the Slavic alphabet is associated with Bulgaria, which plays the role of "cradle" of the spiritual culture of the Slavic peoples.
The ambassador's address was followed by a speech by Prof. Biserka Veleva-Petrusenko, professor of Bulgarian language at the Baku Slavic University. Mrs. Veleva traced the history of the creation of the Bulgarian alphabet and its spread among the Slavic peoples.
The ceremony continued with a recital by schoolchildren and students of poems dedicated to the Bulgarian alphabet, language and culture and ended with a performance of the anthem "Go, Reborn People".
The exhibition will remain at the Baku Slavic University until the end of the week.