25 years to the accession of Bulgaria as a full member of the Francophonie
20 March 2018 News
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yuriy Shterk took part in the first ceremony for awarding symbolic prizes to Bulgarian Francophones, held at the National Assembly under the patronage of its President.
The ceremony was dedicated to the International Francophonie Day on March 20 and was organised with the assistance of the Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe of the International Organisation of the Francophonie (IOF), the Group of Ambassadors of IOF member states in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The awards, an honorary sign and a diploma, were presented by Academician Yulian Revalski, President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
"25 years ago, in 1993, Bulgaria and Romania became the first Central European countries to obtain full membership in the Francophonie, an organisation now comprising 58 members and 26 observers," Deputy Minister Shterk reminded the audience.
Mr Shterk congratulated the award winners for "their actions and professional success, which are the expression of Bulgarian Francophonie’s vitality".
The 2018 Francophonie Prize winners in Bulgaria are Angel Petrov from the 133rd Pushkin High School in Sofia, Kiril Angelov from the Technical University in Sofia, Zhaklin Wagenstein from Colibri Publishing House, Vessela Todorova from the Bulgarian-French Chamber of Commerce, Svetoslav Terziev from Sega daily and volleyball player Vladimir Nikolov, formerly playing for Lyon.
The ceremony was also attended by six students from the IX French Language School, ‘Alfons de Lamartine’, in Sofia, winners of the last International Olympiad in French language held in Yerevan in 2017. This contributed to the warm and festive atmosphere of this first-ever celebration of the Francophonie Day in Bulgaria.