The winners of the "Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture 2023" campaign were awarded at an official ceremony at the Sofia City Art Gallery this evening.

A total of 12 cultural figures were honoured at the event, organised by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). These are the Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, Acad. Plamen Kartaloff, thee opera singer Alexandrina Pendatchanska, the writer Zahari Karabashliev, the artist Dili Bozadzhieva, the writer Teodora Dimova, the conductor Desislava Stefanova, the musician Teodosii Spasov, the actor Rusi Chanev, the film director Stefan Komandarev, the violinist Vasko Vasilev, the artist Kina Bagovska and the director Yavor Gardev.

Tonight we celebrate culture, said BNR Director General Milen Mitev. "When two years ago Nina Tsaneva proposed this initiative "Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture", we immediately embraced it, because we see in it the potential for something big, something to unite us," he said. In his words, it is the achievements of Bulgarian cultural activists that put us on the world map and give us the strongest diplomatic argument.  "I think that years from now, when people look back at today, many of the disputes and petty issues that divide us will be forgotten. But the achievements of people of culture, of people of art will be remembered in eternity," Milen Mitev added.

The event was held under the patronage of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Gabriel. "Culture is that unique thing that makes each one of us unique. It is our DNA. It is wealth, it is a vast horizon, it is talent, it is inspiration. It is that bridge between past, present and future that makes us better, that makes us seek solutions together, not just see the challenges and problems," said Maria Gabriel during the ceremony.

In her words, this award is a recognition and a mission. "This is perhaps the noblest mission, which is also the mission of diplomacy. Because diplomacy seeks to have peace, to have dialogue, to be more open to each other and to understand each other. To reinvent cultures together, to create solutions. And I believe that this is the unique and unique power of culture," the Deputy Prime Minister said. She added that culture is for the first time a priority in Bulgaria's foreign policy.

The artists are nominated by the listeners of the Bulgarian National Radio, and the choice of which of them to be ambassadors of culture is made by a jury chaired by the Minister of Culture Krastyu Krastev. "Tonight we give credit to the people who do good things for Bulgaria. Who spread its glory, who carry its genes, its talents," he said.

Among the official guests at the ceremony were the Minister of Labour and Social Policy Ivanka Shalapatova and the Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoycheva. Besides Krastev, the event was attended by some of the other members of the jury, including the Director General of the BTA Kiril Valchev, the Executive Director of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Rayna Mandzhukova, the Director of the State Cultural Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, Nina Tsaneva.

"For me as Minister of Labour and Social Policy it is extremely important to promote the values and all that we can find in Bulgarian culture and traditions. To pass them on, to revive them in everyday life and in the lives of our children," Ivanka Shalapatova said. She wished the initiative to become a long-lasting tradition for the Bulgarian National Radio.

According to the Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoycheva Bulgaria should rely on culture and the creative industries as key to develop its economy. In her words, this year, with the new targets of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, "for the first time, serious funding will be allocated to support this sector". "127 million BGN has been earmarked for the development and support of the creative industries, the crafts, the people who develop the human capital of the country through their creative talents," Milena Stoycheva said.

The campaign "Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture" aims to highlight the achievements of prominent writers, poets, playwrights, artists, actors, singers, composers, filmmakers, representatives of the art of dance and others, who with their creativity have crossed the borders of the country and have made it recognizable in the world cultural space.

https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/bulgaria/590612-pobeditelite-v-kampaniyata-balgarskite-poslanitsi-na-kulturata-2023-byaha-nagr