Mission Bulgaria Popularises Bulgarian History with Diplomats, Students in Europe, Asia
24 April 2018 News
Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov, archaeologist, and Prof. Plamen Pavlov, historian, gave talks about the history of Bulgaria and the Cyrillic alphabet in five countries of Europe and Asia as part of the Mission Bulgaria initiative. The two delivered lectures before diplomats, academics and students in Moldova, Russia, Armenia, Belgium and China.
The Mission Bulgaria Project is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Communication Plan for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The idea is to raise awareness of this country’s contribution to European and world development in a total of ten countries on two continents.
The first lecture in the series took place at the Gregory Tsamblak State University of Taraclia. There, the Bulgarian professors addressed an audience of over 200, including students, faculty, scholars and representatives of Bulgarian organisations in Moldova. Mission Bulgaria proceeded with presentations in Yekaterinburg on 19 March and Yerevan on 23 March. A week later, the two historians lectured in Ghent, highlighting little known facts about the historical ties between Bulgaria and Western Europe.
On 18 April, Prof. Ovcharov’s and Prof. Pavlov’s tour took them to Beijing. The two scholars’ lecture was part of the ceremonial launch of a Centre for Bulgarian Studies at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. The professors spoke before researchers in Bulgarian studies, representatives of the local educational institutions and undergraduates. The two also made the first literary contribution to the newly established Centre, donating some of their works to Director Lin Wenshuang.
In Beijing, Prof. Ovcharov and Prof. Pavlov took part in a roundtable together with local academics. They familiarised their audience with the opportunities for cultural and sight-seeing tourism in Bulgaria and with the peculiarities of the Western Balkans and our country’s important role as holder of the Presidency of the EU Council.
The Mission Bulgaria initiative continues with talks in Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.
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