site.btaPresident Plevneliev Opens 10th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media

113 POLITICS - WORLD MEETING OF BULGARIAN MEDIA

President Plevneliev Opens
10th World Meeting
of Bulgarian Media


Sofia, October 20 (BTA) - Opening the 10th World Meeting of
Bulgarian Media on Monday, President Rosen Plevneliev said the
media should not tolerate the language of hatred, but should
promote the mutual understanding between cultures and nations
and help them develop by sharing knowledge.

The World Meetings of Bulgarian Media are annual events
organized by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and the Association
of Bulgarian Media Worldwide. The current meeting has brought
together journalists from Bulgaria and abroad between October 19
and 23 in three different locations: the Bulgarian capital
Sofia and the Serbian towns of Bosilegrad and Tsaribrod
(Dimitrovgrad), which are home to sizeable Bulgarian
communities.

Speaking in Sofia, Plevneliev also said he has always stood for
self-regulation of the media and has called for additional
legislative mechanisms. "Works of journalism need effective
copyright protection, a requirement on which BTA insists and
which I fully support," the President said. He expressed hope
that the current meeting will consider various proposals to
enhance the freedom and independence of journalism.

Discussing the theme of "Patriotism in a Global World," chosen
for the 10th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, Plevneliev said
that patriotism in today's global world is not synonymous with
hostility towards other nations, it goes hand in hand with
tolerance.

"We should not capitalize on sensationalism at the expense of
what is positive around us," he said, adding that it is
important for the media to highlight human kindness and the
small victories of man. The President urged public institutions,
politicians and the media to foster a sense of unity in
society.

BTA Director General Maxim Minchev said that when the national
news agency hosted the First World Meeting of Bulgarian Media
ten years ago, hardly anyone could be so optimistic as to expect
that there would be a tenth meeting. "We did not expect that
this project would develop with time and would get to a point
where it is a necessity for all of us," Minchev said.

Over 150 media outside Bulgaria are champions of the Bulgarian
language and culture, he noted.

At the start of the meeting, actor Hristo Moutafchiev performed
a monologue of Stefan Stambolov, an eminent statesman of the
late 19th century. The audience was also greeted by 11-year-old
violin talent Lora Markova. The opening session in the Bulgarian
capital was attended by Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, Council
on Electronic Media Chairman Georgi Lozanov, novelist Anton
Donchev, writers and painters, among others.

The 10th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media has been organized in
association with CEZ, Raiffeisen Bank, Sopharma, and Trace Group
Hold.