What was 2023 like for the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad?

2023 has been a year that has been interesting and challenging in all kinds of ways for the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad (EABA), says its CEO Rayna Mandjoukova. She says the Agency has overcome one more obstacle to its more active involvement with the Bulgarians living around the world:

“We were able to restore a great many of the contacts with the Bulgarian communities abroad that had been neglected…”

One of the trips abroad that has left a lasting imprint on Rayna Mandjoukova this year is her first trip to Albania:

“The Bulgarian communities there are in places that are very difficult of access – from a purely infrastructural point of view. There are schools high up, on top of the mountains, and the children can only reach them on foot. The internet connection is poor – things that may seem like a minor inconvenience, but which are a big problem when you are actually there. So, to understand and help them we need to know what is happening in our communities abroad in detail.”

Milena Selimi loves Bulgaria and translates Georgi Gospodinov’s books

For the first time a representative of the Agency paid a visit to faraway Argentina. The Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad held meetings with Bulgarians in different European towns, and the question they ask most often is: What can I do to be of help to the Agency?

“I recently returned from Munich where the Bulgarians are mostly “new immigrants”. They work there, whether we know about them or not, but they need Bulgaria. They don’t need help so much as to give us information about what they do,” says Mrs. Mandjoukova and goes on that besides trust, that means Bulgarians have started regarding the Agency as the connection between them and the Bulgarian institutions.

The Stefan Gechev literature competition, the Bulgaria in My Dreams contest for children’s drawings and the Lyubka Rondova singing contest are traditional initiatives for the Agency, in which children, some of whom born outside the country, take part, and with much pleasure.

“This year, with the assistance of the Spiritual Mirror centre, we were able to invite these children to Bulgaria. They got to know one another, and in the space of ten days took part in all sorts of activities – sporting, musical, drama. This year we shall announce the competitions and the winners in them earlier.”

Peace as seen in the works of children from Bulgarian communities abroad

The pandemic stopped the awarding of another distinction – Bulgarian Woman of the Year, but in 2023 it was resumed. Its holder this year is Zhanna Suslina, who has headed the Bolhrad secondary school Georgi Rakovski for many years, and is founder of the centre of Bessarabian Bulgarians.

“The very fact a Bulgarian woman living abroad was nominated for this prize means that the community she is living in has already recognized her contribution. The nominations campaign starts on 20 January, so that Bulgarians around the world still have time to think about their nominations,” Rayna Mandjoukova says.

One of the highlights during the year that abounded in all kinds of Agency events was the festival of Bessarabian Bulgarians that has become something of a tradition. By way of exception, this year, because of the local elections, it took place a week earlier than the usual date – 29 October.

In 2023, the Agency joined an initiative by Topolovgrad municipality and the Saints Cyril and Methodius 1894 chitalishte (community culture club) - “Fun summer”. Its aim is to bring together the children who are staying with their grandparents for the summer. Rayna Mandjoukova suggested that the initiative include the children from the historical Bulgarian communities outside the country, and so in June this year five girls and five boys from Bolhrad visited Topolovgrad.

“It has already been decided that next year Topolovgrad is going to welcome children from Serbia, Alfatar – from Moldova, and the Haskovo mineral baths – children from Albania.”

The CEO of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad urges the mayors of the smaller municipalities to join the project more actively, as in many of them people know one another and that makes for better, less formal, more warm-hearted communication in which lifetime friendships are forged.

During the year the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad organized a number of events dedicated to the 120^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the US. The first of them was the screening, in Sofia, of the film Kaval Park by the film director from Seattle Bogdan Darev.

Kaval Park – a declaration of love for Bulgaria all the way from the US

“I would like to say it has been a pleasure working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and more particularly the diplomatic missions abroad. The agency has worked with embassies, consulate generals etc. before, but now that it operates under the authority of the foreign minister I stepped up this direction in our work. I wrote a number of letters to Bulgarian diplomats and received an answer from many of them in which they welcome the opportunity of furthering our cooperation.”