On November 1, 2022, on the occasion of Bulgaria’s National Awakening Day and to mark the 40th anniversary of the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Bulgaria to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, with the cooperation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Parish “Nativity of the blessed Virgin” and Espace Madeleine in Geneva, organized a concert by the pianist Nadezhda Vlaeva.

In his welcoming speech to the audience, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Bulgaria to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Yuri Sterk, stated that the decision to dedicate the concert to the celebration of two events – the Day of the People's Awakeners and the anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to the Convention on the Elimination of  all Forms of Discrimination against Women is no accident. For many years, the idea of ​​people's awakeners has traditionally been associated with the efforts of a score of prominent Bulgarian men who, during the 19th century, building on the legacy of their prominent predecessor – the Orthodox clergyman and educator, Paisiy Hilendarski, author of the first Bulgarian history book  of modern times,  revived the national self-awareness of the Bulgarian people, which at that time was under the dual domination of the Ottoman Empire and the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Today, on the Day of the People's Awakeners, we also pay tribute to dozens of Bulgarian women-patriots - teachers and educators, who participated in the cultural rise and national resurrection of the Bulgarian people during the darkest periods of our past. Such women-leaders as Raina Popgeorgieva, Baba Tonka Obretenova, Stanislava Petkova Karaivanova-Balkanova, Yordanka Filaretova, Rada Kazaliyska and many others, whose dedication, self-sacrifice and tireless efforts are an inalienable part of the Bulgarian national upsurge in the 19th century, are celebrated  in Bulgaria as People’s Awakeners alongside their male contemporaries.

Among the many guests at the concert were heads of diplomatic missions and diplomats from the missions of UN member states in Geneva, international civil servants, representatives of the Bulgarian community in Geneva.

The program of the concert included selected works by the Swiss-born great Bulgarian composer and distinguished music teacher Pancho Vladigerov, as well as original works by Nadezhda Vlaeva.

Among the many guests at the concert were heads of missions of UN member states in Geneva and other diplomatic representatives, employees of international organizations, representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Parish and the Bulgarian community in Geneva.