site.bta12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media to Be Held in Prague

12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media to Be Held in Prague

Sofia, March 14 (BTA) - The 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media will be held in the Czech capital Prague between May 17 and 21. The theme of this year's event will be "The Media and Civic Causes," Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Maxim Minchev told a news conference on Monday.

The annual World Meetings of Bulgarian Media, organized by BTA and the Association of Bulgarian Media Worldwide, bring together journalists from Bulgaria and around the world.

After being held in the autumn over the last three years, the event was rescheduled back to the usual time in the spring ahead of the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slav Letters (May 24), Minchev said. Commenting on the choice of this year's venue, he said there is a traditional closeness between the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Moreover, the Bulgarian minority in the Czech Republic has been recognized officially and there are strong Bulgarian media and a Bulgarian cultural institute in that country.

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova will be a special guest at the forum. She and Prague Mayor Adriana Krnacova will open the meeting. Veselin Vackov, one of the most distinguished Czech journalists of Bulgarian descent, will attend the meeting.

The agenda of the 12th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media includes discussions on matters concerning the Bulgarian media abroad and cultural and business topics of national importance. A special discussion panel will be dedicated to the development of Bulgarian regions. Bulgaria's relations with the Czech Republic will be among the highlights.

The event will be attended by over 150 Bulgarian journalists from Bulgaria and abroad, including some 40 professionals working for newspapers, magazines, news websites, radio stations and television channels in more than 20 foreign countries as well as journalists from Bulgaria.

The World Meetings of Bulgarian Media provide a professional forum to promote communication, build networks and establish cooperation between Bulgarian journalists worldwide.

Traditionally, the events bring together owners, editors, general and executive directors and journalists from the most important Bulgarian media at home and abroad. They are also attended by statesmen, politicians, diplomats, business people, intellectuals, media experts and major public figures. The annual meetings held since 2005 in Sofia, Chicago, Rome, Madrid, Varna and Bourgas, Vienna, Amsterdam, Bucharest, Plovdiv and Veliko Turnovo, Bosilegrad and Caribrod, and Athens, have been national events of major public impact receiving broad publicity in and outside Bulgaria.