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ODESA/BOLGRAD/IZMAIL – Holding the meeting of Bulgarian media in Ukraine is a strong act of solidarity and a strong act of friendship. We value it and will never forget it, said Serhiy Cherevatyi, General Director of the Ukrainian National Information Agency Ukrinform, who sent a video message to the participants of the Nineteenth World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, which was opened at the National Press Club of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) in Odesa, Ukraine. The event was hybrid – in-person and online, and took place in Odesa, Bolgrad, and Izmail, cities with large Bulgarian communities.
Cherevatyi pointed out that the desire of the Ukrainian people is to become part of the EU and NATO. Russia has long propagated the myth that NATO is an anti-Orthodox and anti-Slavic bloc. Bulgaria’s example is wonderful because it has long been a strong and full-fledged member of NATO and the EU, thus paving the way for us as well, he noted and thanked for the assistance that Bulgaria and the Bulgarian government are providing to Ukraine.
Alarms, booming power generators and discussions in three cities – this is how this year’s forum went from June 18 to June 21. The topic of the meeting was “Media and Community”.
The place of journalists is where the events are, even under the mortal threat of a raging war, said BTA General Director Kiril Valchev, who opened the meeting at the Agency’s National Press Club in Odesa.
Holding the meeting against the backdrop of air raid alerts in Odesa, Bolgrad, Izmail, and the village of Kamchik (now called Zorya) is an expression of support from Bulgarian media around the world, including Bulgaria, for the 150,000 Bulgarians who, according to official census data, live in the Odesa region, and about 50,000 – 60,000 Bulgarians in Odesa itself and thousands more Bulgarians in other regions of Ukraine, noted Valchev to the participants.
Twenty-three journalists from 18 Bulgarian-language media worldwide and representatives of 13 media from Bulgaria from a total of 14 countries joined the meeting. Seven journalists from five Bulgarian media from the USA, Cyprus, and Ukraine were present in person at the National Press Club of BTA in Odesa, and another 16 journalists from six media in Bulgaria – the three national televisions BNT, BTV, and Nova, BNR, Radio “Focus” and BTA. Guests also included the Chairman of the Council for Electronic Media Gabriela Naplatanova, BNR General Director Milen Mitev, Executive Director of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Rayna Mandjukova, and members of the technical teams.
No matter where we are, we are connected by the strong thread of kin, identity, and language, said Vice President Iliana Yotova, who greeted the participants in the discussion online from Sofia.
The Bulgarian community in Odesa plays an important role, said Pavel Vuggelman, First Deputy Mayor of Odesa. Bombing Odesa is like bombing a Bulgarian city. This is because a large Bulgarian community lives here, he added.
The Bulgarian delegation witnessed six air raid alerts in the three days from June 18 onwards. The wail of sirens interrupted the second panel of the forum in Bolgrad, and later in the day, the mayor of Izmail met with the Bulgarian delegation, minutes after the third air raid alert of the day in Odesa region was lifted.
On the day the World Meeting was opened, the delegation spent about 30 minutes in the bomb shelter at the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater after an air raid alert sounded, said Kiril Valchev and added that 2/3 of the meeting was conducted on generators due to the severe power supply regime in the Odesa region. (June 18-21)