“The Power of Civil Society” Exhibition in Letterkenny, Ireland
On 14 October 2010, the Donegal County Museum situated in the town of Letterkenny, north-western Ireland, hosted the exhibition “The Power of Civil Society: the Fate of Jews in Bulgaria during the Holocaust” organised by the State Institute for Culture. The exhibition, which has been travelling for several months now, has been successively represented by the Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland (HETI).The opening of the exhibition in the Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny was attended by the Bulgarian Ambassador Mr Emil Yalnazov, the Donegal County Mayor Mrs Cora Harvey, the Town Mayor Mr. Culbert, the custodian of the museum Mrs Judith McCarthy, municipal councillors, and visitors.
Mrs Cora Harvey and Ambassador Emil Yalnazov delivered welcome addresses. Ambassador Yalnazov emphasised that the exhibition is a donation by the State Institute for Culture with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland (HETI), as a contribution to its educational programme in Ireland. In his address, Ambassador Yalnazov highlighted the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the visit of Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Bulgaria the week before.
The guests were pleasantly surprised by the solos performed by Anna Stefanova, Bulgarian opera singer and soloist of the Stara Zagora Opera House, who is currently residing in Donegal County.
Prior to the town of Letterkenny, the exhibition was presented in the Irish towns of Dublin, Cork, and Kilkenny, where the local citizens and educational institutions took a vivid interest in it.