site.btaUPDATED BTA Presents English-Language Special Issue of Its LIK Magazine Dedicated to Bulgaria's Antarctic Research

The newly published English version of the May issue of BTA's LIK magazine, dedicated to Bulgarian science in Antarctica, was presented in Aheloy by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and Prof. Christo Pimpirev , the head of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, in the closing part of an international conference on the collaboration of Balkan countries in polar regions under the EU-backed programmes EUPolarNet-2 and POLARIN.

The two-day forum brought together members of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, of the German Alfred Wegener Institute of Arctic and Antarctic research, the Spanish Polar Committee, the Center for Polar Studies of Poland, as well as representatives from Balkan countries Turkiye, Romania, Greece and Cyprus. 

Valchev and Prof. Pimpirev told them about the cooperation between BTA and the Antarctic Institute in keeping people informed about the work of Bulgarian researchers in Antarctica.

The BTA Director General briefed the audience on LIK's history since its founding as far back as 1965. LIK put out a special issue on the first voyage to the Antarctic by Bulgarian naval and research ship Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii, and now this issue covers the second voyage in 2023-24. "To make it happen, BTA sent a correspondent, who spent 127 days on board, all the time publishing articles, photos and videos. This year it was difficult to find someone who would agree to go to Antarctica again for several months. So we had a reporter for about a month and a half," Valchev added. 

This LIK issue covers the second voyage of the Bulgarian naval research ship Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) to Antarctica and back, focusing on the projects of Bulgarian researchers during the expedition, such as the impact of climate change, marine life, metals, and human impact on nature. There are some of the highlights of the coverage of the RSV 421 voyage by BTA's special correspondent Emil Granicharov. Granicharov was on board the ship for a big part of the voyage.

During the 32nd Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica, BTA published video interviews with Bulgarian Antarctic explorers every Tuesday and Thursday. It presented all scientific projects with video, photos and text prepared together with the scientists before their departure. BTA's special correspondent Emil Granicharov was also able to interview some of the researchers during the expedition. BTA journalists then talked to some of them after their return to follow up on the results of their work.

The protagonists in the new issue of LIK are microbiologist Dr. Snezhana Rusinova, biologist Kiril Kandilarov, geologist Dr. Ralitsa Sabeva, physicist Tsvetan Parov, biologist Tihomir Stefanov, marine geologist Dr. Raina Hristova, hydrobiologist Lyubomir Kenderov, ichthyologist and hydrobiologist Eliza Uzunova, musicologist Marina Velikova, electronics specialist Peter Sapundzhiev, biochemist Dr. Albena Alexandrova and physician Atanas Peltekov. It also carries interviews with Prof. Christo Pimpirev, with RSV 421 commanding officer Nikolay Danailov and with Flotilla Admiral Boyan Mednikarov, Head of the Varna Naval Academy.

Valchev announced that there are plans to publish the issue in Spanish as well. "One of the most interesting articles is dedicated to the collaboration of Bulgarian scientists with their colleagues from other countries, especially from Spain," explained Valchev.

He said that he had personally visited Antarctica three times and one of the most important things he learned there is that cooperation between countries is really very important. In his words, Bulgaria, which is among the first ten countries on the continent to have its own laboratory and polar ship, can help countries such as Turkiye, Montenegro and Romania in implementing their Antarctic projects.

According to Valchev, it is of utmost importance that the achievements of scientists working in Antarctica are promoted among ordinary people in a language accessible to them. People need to know why state funds are spent on research there, he believes. "Fundamental science is difficult to explain to the general public. One of the main goals of this magazine is to show that this research is important for the future of humanity," Valchev added.

Prof. Christo Pimpirev, for his part, thanked the BTA Director General for his long-standing cooperation. "Twenty years ago, he visited Antarctica for the first time as a journalist and began to help promote the idea that our presence there is not a sporting competition in which we climb peaks like Everest, but is a very serious foreign policy. Science is important for all people, especially in recent decades, given the climate changes that are particularly evident in Antarctica. This is the largest outdoor laboratory," the Bulgarian polar explorer added. Prof. Pimpirev explained that the LIK magazine is not scientific and the articles in it are not written for this type of audience, but is aimed at the general reader. 

"I am delighted that here, at the first seminar of its kind in Europe, the Balkan countries are coming together to start studying and working together in Antarctica. We have had many wars and enemies in the Balkans, but it is important that now we want to be friends and help each other for our common future as people and for our presence in Antarctic science," said the Bulgarian scientist. 

Prof. Pimpirev also announced that the next Bulgarian expedition will include for the first time a representative from Montenegro, while Greece will make its first serious steps in scientific projects on the continent.

Valchev said that a BTA correspondent will also be part of Bulgaria's upcoming polar expedition. He also stressed that earlier this year, the agency opened the first and only press club in Antarctica so far.