Minister Velislava Petrova Attends the Official Award Ceremony for the 2025 Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture
17 June 2026 News
Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova attended the award ceremony honouring internationally recognised artists and cultural figures who have contributed to promoting Bulgarian culture through the Bulgarian National Radio's 2025 Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture initiative.
Minister Petrova presented the prestigious award to Dr Nadezhda Dzhakova, Commissioner of Bulgaria's participation in the 2024 Venice Biennale. “Where diplomacy opens doors, culture wins hearts. I believe that the connections culture creates are the ones that endure over time,” Minister Petrova said in her address during the ceremony.
She congratulated the recipients and emphasised that their achievements are significant not only for Bulgarian culture but also for Bulgaria’s international standing.
“People are our country's greatest asset, and those with talent and an appreciation for the arts are something we can truly be proud of and must preserve," Bulgaria's top diplomat added.
The initiative recognises individuals from a wide range of cultural fields – including literature, music, theatre, cinema, the visual arts, dance and literary translation – whose work contributes to promoting a positive image of Bulgaria abroad. The 2025 recipients also included the pop singer DARA, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026; conductor and music educator Lieutenant Colonel Radi Radev, Chief Conductor of the Bulgarian Armed Forces and Head of the Guards Representative Brass Band; sculptor and artist Ivan Kanchev; choreographer Professor Anton Andonov; Professor Mimoza Hasani-Pllana, cultural figure and lecturer at the University of Pristina; and Tsvetina Gramova, who received a special award for her contribution to preserving and promoting Bulgarian folklore around the world.
The 2025 edition of the Bulgarian Ambassadors of Culture initiative was held under the patronage of President Iliana Iotova.
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