site.btaVice President Iotova Meets Bulgarian Community in Venice

Venice, September 11 (BTA) - "It is high time that the numerous documents and strategies about Bulgarians abroad were translated into tangible policies," Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova said at a meeting with the Bulgarian community in Venice, the Presidential Press Secretariat said in a press release on Sunday.

The Bulgarians shared part of the problems they encounter: the lack of a voting section in Venice and the impossibility to vote, the impeded communication among Bulgarians living in that part of Italy and the lack of a place for regular meetings.

The possibilities for establishing an association of Bulgarians in the Veneto Region was considered in this connection. Iotova raised the question about the opening of a Saturday-Sunday Bulgarian school.

She also sets a priority on popularizing Bulgarian culture and education at areas with large Bulgarian communities. According to Iotova, the insufficient number of cultural institutions abroad is clearly felt at a time when Bulgaria is preparing for the Presidency of the EU Council.

During her visit to Venice, Iotova delivered scientific and contemporary Bulgarian literature to the Bulgarian lectureship at the University, provided by the Zaharii Stoyanov Publishing House and the Institute for Bulgarian Language with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The Ca' Foscari University of Venice offers a one-year Bulgarian language course. The Vice President would like to see the course better advertised and popularized through special presentations at schools and among first-year students at the University. "The Bulgarian State must spare no effort for the restoration of the Bulgarian lectureships and for regaining the positions achieved," Iotova said during the meeting.