News - United Kingdom, London, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria

On May 18th, the Bulgarian Embassy in London and the APPG on Bulgaria organised ​​an event in Westminster on the theme “Discover Bulgaria through Language and Flavours”.

The event was dedicated to the Day of the Holy Brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture and Slavic literature and aimed to present the history of the Bulgarian language and alphabet, to promote the Friendship Group on Bulgaria and to attract support for the introduction of A-level and GCSE exams in Bulgarian in British schools. Ambassador Tihomir Stoytchev and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Bulgaria, James Asser, addressed the participants.

As part of the programme, Dr Yordanka Velkova, Lecturer in Bulgarian Language, Literature and Culture at University College London (UCL), gave a presentation on the importance of the Cyrillic alphabet and the Bulgarian language. Dr Velkova, together with two of her British students, read in Bulgarian the anthem of the Bulgarian education “Forward, People Reborn”. A video greeting was also presented by the British Ambassador to Bulgaria, H.E. Nathaniel Copsey.

The event was attended by the Chairman of the Group James Asser, the Deputy Chairman Lord Philip Smith, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Caroline Hawkes, Lord John Randall, Mr. Martin Vickers and Mr. Richard Baker from the House of Commons, as well as representatives of the Bulgarian community.