Anita Ekenova Recognized for Preserving Bulgarian Identity Abroad with St Zlata of Meglen 2024 Award

Diana Dukovska

Anita Ekenova, winner of the Bulgarian Woman of the Year - St Zlata of Meglen 2024 Award, Sofia, October 15, 2025 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

Sofia,

15.10.2025 21:25

(BTA)

Anita Ekenova who lives in Lyon, France, won the Bulgarian Woman of the Year - St Zlata of Meglen 2024 Award. She received a statuette crafted by Atanas Karadichev and an icon of St Zlata of Meglen at a ceremony at the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Sofia on Wednesday. She also received the Audience Award for Most Beloved Bulgarian Woman.

The Bulgarian Woman of the Year - St Zlata of Meglen Award is presented by the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad (EABA) annually to honour women who preserve Bulgarian identity around the world. The award was established in 2009.

Interviewed by BTA after the ceremony, Ekenova, who leads the Ot izvora (From the Source) ensemble, said that first the nomination, and then the award, made her feel not just appreciated but connected to all Bulgarians who preserve their identity through dance and song. "Identity should not be just a memory of the past, but a way of life." She told BTA: "Recognition is like wings - it gives you the strength to fly, but it also makes you responsible. It's not a final destination, but the beginning of a new journey."

Twenty Bulgarian women living in eleven different countries were nominated for this year's award.

Plaques recognizing contributions to the promotion of Bulgarian language, folklore, culture and spirituality abroad were presented to: Kina Bagovska (USA), Iliana Ilieva-Dabova (Spain), Zhivka Bubalova-Petrova (USA), Nina Wasilewa-Zanechev (Austria), Anita Ekenova (France), Lilyana Zafirova (Hungary), and Nadezhda Ivanova (Germany).

EABA Executive Director Raina Mandzhukova said the award is a heartfelt expression of gratitude not only to this year's laureate, but to all twenty nominees and, symbolically, to every Bulgarian woman around the world. She recalled that the award was established by herself and Prof. Plamen Pavlov to honour the courage and sacrifice of two women - Spaska Mitrova and Kostadinka Kuneva. She stressed that nearly 90% of Bulgarian organizations worldwide are founded and led by women.

Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev, who presented the award to Anita Ekenova, recalled first meeting her at the 2022 Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance festival in Copenhagen and attending this year's edition in Lyon at her invitation. In just four years, BTA has become a platform for news about Bulgarian communities abroad. In BTA's BG World section, stories about Bulgarians abroad have increased from 243 in 2021 to over 8,000 in 2024. Through BTA, Bulgarians abroad can see better how their homeland is changing, yet the country needs the return of those who, thanks to Anita Ekenova, have kept alive what they carried from the source - Bulgaria itself, said Valchev.

Bulgaria's Vice President Iliana Iotova said in an address to EABA that Bulgarian women continue to promote the strength of the nation's spirit, language, folklore and wisdom worldwide. The message read by Milena Dimitrova sent Iotova's best wishes to the award winners, urging them to stay healthy, inspired, proud and committed to promoting Bulgaria's heritage abroad. "Keep persevering through challenges, and may we always remain united despite the distances," the Vice President said.

UNWE Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov said the nominees for the award prove that patriotism knows no bounds and that the Bulgarian spirit can shine wherever it lives. He noted that UNWE actively cooperates with Bulgarian communities. He called the ceremony "a celebration of Bulgarian identity, culture, education and spirituality, and a symbol of gratitude to all the women who, through their talent and love for Bulgaria, keep our language, traditions and identity alive around the world".

Special guests at the event included Elena Shekerletova, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ashot Kazaryan, Deputy Minister of Culture; Miklos Boros, Ambassador of Hungary to Bulgaria; Irene Maria Plank, Ambassador of Germany to Bulgaria; Anne-Charlotte Montin, Deputy Ambassador of France to Bulgaria; Luis Gonzalez Vaya, Counsellor at the Embassy of Spain in Bulgaria; Nevena Stoyanova, representative of the Cultural and Media Relations Department of the Embassy of Austria; Milena Dimitrova, representative of the Vice President of Bulgaria; Biserka Yosifova, Executive Director of the 13 Centuries of Bulgaria National Endowment Fund; and Radoslava Nedyalkova, Chair of the Association of Bulgarian Folklore Ensembles Abroad.

Members of the jury included Prof. Plamen Pavlov, Prof. Ana Kocheva of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, Director of the State Cultural Institute with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Bulgarian National Radio Director General Milen Mitev, and EABA Executive Director Raina Mandzhukova.

/DS/