site.btaVice President Iotova Attends 190th Anniversary of Armenian School in Plovdiv

The shortest path to prosperity is education, and when you have educated people, success is bound to come, Vice President Iliana Iotova said at the gala concert-performance on the occasion of the 190th anniversary of the establishment of the Victoria and Krikor Tyutyundzhiyan Armenian School in Plovdiv at the Ancient Theatre.

It is no coincidence that this school was born here in Plovdiv - the European capital of culture, the cradle of civilizations.,Iotova said, adding that it is also the only Armenian school in the Balkans. The school was established almost half a century before the liberation of Bulgaria because wise people, sincere patriots knew that one day freedom would come and the shortest path to prosperity is education, and when there are educated people, success will surely come, the Vice President added.

She added that the fame of the Armenian School is carried far because it was created with much love and this is the most enduring tradition in its development. There are no ex-teachers because they all gave and left their heart and soul in the school and have passed on this love to those who came after them, Iotova said. "For me, teachers, you deserve more than a bow, because every day you open the big book of knowledge to our children, but you also do something even more important - you teach children virtues, that the most important thing in this life is to understand the person next to you, and together you can build the world and achieve dreams. You teach children something else very important - to have self-confidence that our country has created the best model for tolerance between different ethnic groups. Everyone in Bulgaria can speak their own language, have their own religion, have their own values, and it is a very colourful palette. A nation is always richer when it has this richness of the variety that makes it up. There is room for all the colours of the rainbow in this palette, but one thing I am sure of is that there is no room for hatred and there is no room for division. So take a bow, teachers, for educating your students in such a way that there is tolerance, that there is love and that there is no division," Iliana Iotova concluded.

Iotova presented a plaque to the school's principal Simon Tyutelyan for the high achievements of the the Armenian school in its mission to build knowledgeable and thoughtful young people and to educate them in common human virtues and on the occasion of the anniversary of its establishment.