Wrap-up

site.btaBTA Welcomes Guests for 127th Anniversary, Showcases New Archive Hub, Renovated Newsroom

Dimitrina Solakova

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev (centre) with some of the guests for BTA's 127th anniversary in front of the renovated facade, Sofia, February 16, 2025 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

Sofia,

16.02.2025 23:04

(BTA)

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) celebrated its 127th anniversary on Sunday. On February 16, 1898, the agency released its first bulletin. As part of the celebration, the BTA welcomed a large number of guests at its building in Sofia and showed them the new BTA Archive Hub and archive storage spaces, the renovated newsroom and façade, and the agency's new custom-made typeface.

Among the guests were National Assembly Chair Natalia Kiselova, Vice President Iliana Iotova, ministers, MPs, representatives of institutions and NGOs, and many more. Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil blessed the renovations. All guests were personally welcomed by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev.

Addressing the guests at the BTA National Press Club, Valchev said: "On this date, February 16, the BTA marks 127 years since its first news bulletin by presenting the transformed face of the agency. In doing so, Bulgaria's national news agency sets several examples that we hope will inspire other institutions and Bulgarians in general," he added. BTA welcomes its 127th anniversary with a hub for its archives, its own typeface and a renovated newsroom.

Valchev pointed out that the first example BTA sets is that updates and improvements can happen in small steps, in accordance with everyone's strengths. "At the entrance of the new BTA information centre, which we named BTA Archive Hub, is the work of Prof. Georgi Yankov, Rector of the National Academy of Arts, which is called Your Audience, he explained. Valchev specified that the work presents faces whose eyes light up when the viewer moves. In Valchev's words, this is a symbol that the only way to be noticed is to keep moving, even though the eyes of one of these faces never light up - a sign that there is always at least one person who cannot be moved by anything and will always be dissatisfied with something, Valchev said. As Albert Einstein wrote to his son, "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you have to keep moving," Valchev said. And he stressed that for four years, now the BTA has not stopped moving.

"Over the past four years, the BTA has done so in several ways, he noted. With our own forces - with the appointed maintenance staff, who have been renovating for the fourth year now room by room, including those in which we arranged the archives," Valchev said.

Under the Beautiful Bulgaria Project, the BTA in 2023 first built a parking lot in the neglected backyard of the building and an external elevator to the facade, which also reaches the fourth floor, where the National Press Club in Sofia is, the BTA Director General recalled.

"Again, we are counting on Beautiful Bulgaria to approve our projects for the replacement of the old small elevator on the other side of the building and for the renovation of the common spaces that do not look good - the corridors, stairs, doors and toilets, and with our own forces we will make and maintain landscaping with a unified overall look," he said.

Under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, BTA is equipping the library and archives premises with a centre for digitisation, which will be completed in 2026, the Director General also said.

"We are counting on the Regional Development Programme 2021-2027 of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works for BTA's largest project, the World of News," Valchev announced. He explained that the aim is to continue the renovation of the BTA building in Sofia with modern air conditioning and roof panels to generate its own electricity, transform the surrounding space with a garden "in which we present symbolic places of the world, and create a Museum of News in partnership with the National Polytechnic Museum," he said. The project has already been included in the main list of prioritised project ideas for integrated urban development approved by the Sofia Municipal Council, Valchev said.

The second example BTA gives on its 127th anniversary is about preserving the memory of Bulgaria, Valchev noted. The dusty BTA bulletins, the first of which was dated February 16, 1898, which were in the attic, are now in modern air-conditioned premises, Kiril Valchev announced.

"BTA will now be able to use the library of about 90,000 books arranged in the new premises, and my ambition is to try to restore its regular replenishment with specialised literature in the areas where we make the news," Valchev also said.

The third example the BTA gives on its 127th anniversary is that Bulgaria needs a community with more continuous cooperation and communication, he announced.

"We are doing it with the renovated newsroom, which now has conditions for improved work organisation with continuous communication between all the agency's units," Valchev said. Because the wonderful large room on the top floor of the agency had been partitioned with windows over the years, and so the different newsrooms had become isolated from each other, and some had scattered into different rooms, he said.

The fourth example that the BTA is giving on its 127th anniversary is with the ever-expanding access to the knowledge of today provided by the media, he said. "Today, we present the physical dimensions of this access with the new reading room and the entrances with ramps and the elevator adapted for people with disabilities," Valchev said.

The access to knowledge of today is also reflected in the expanding correspondent network with national press clubs of BTA, which give equal presence in the news and in the general conversations of Bulgarians in the country and abroad, said Kiril Valchev. In the last four years, BTA has tripled its national press clubs and preserved and developed the 14 press clubs opened in the previous 18 years, and currently BTA has opened a total of 42 national press clubs, which are also correspondent bureaus of Bulgaria's national news agency.

BTA provides free access to the news of 50 national news agencies thanks to contracts for free exchange of information with specific clauses, concluded over the past four years, which were added to the contracts for paid news of five global news agencies, Valchev said. BTA has also become the headquarters of the Association of Balkan News Agencies - South East Europe (ABNA - SEE), which is also a hub for news from the region, he added.

In his speech Kiril Valchev also focused on the work of journalists. The enormous responsibility of the media, as the bearers of the knowledge of today, equates them to schools, he said. And that is why it is worth considering whether it is not right to equate the average salary of journalists in the public media and experts in the Council for Electronic Media with the average salaries of teachers, he said.

"The fifth example that the BTA is giving today is by presenting a uniform look, which our whole country needs," the Director General added. We are doing it with the new LIK font, named after the restored BTA magazine. It is based on the letters of the disciples of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, commissioned by the BTA from the National Academy of Arts, he said. Valchev explained that the BTA will make the LIK font available for free use by all public institutions of Bulgaria in the name of achieving a unified image of this country.

What the guests of Sunday's event said upon arrival

National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova said that the BTA is Bulgaria's window on the world and the world's window on Bulgaria. "I would like to wish you to be objective and to run interesting stories, pictures and illustrations," she said. Kiselova pointed out that BTA stands out among the rest of the media by its objectivity and the diversity of news. At the ceremony, the head of Parliament said she will propose that the National Assembly use the new BTA-commissioned typeface designed by the National Academy of Art. "Your efforts show us how we can change our living and working environment: by small steps, by own resources, using the available potential, being a little more insistent, so that we can see these wonderful premises where you have gathered Bulgaria's history and the way we are presented to the world," Kiselova added.

Vice President Iliana Iotova described BTA as the place where all institutions gather and from which they draw their information. According to Iotova, BTA is a label for credibility of information when dealing with other institutions. "Verified information and a sense of responsibility in the preparation of journalist articles are of great importance for the development of the media environment in our country," she added. Speaking in the National Press Club later on Sunday, Iotova described BTA as "a wide range of activities united by one thing - knowledge". "The agency bears responsibility and courage because it is meaningful for the Bulgarian communities abroad, including in Odesa, where the 19th meeting of the Bulgarian media abroad took place," she added.

Culture Minister Marian Bachev wished the BTA team good health and "to always follow the truth". He described BTA as "an extremely respectable media outlet - the founding one, the father of all media". He stressed the news agency's remarkable mission - not only as a provider of unbiased coverage of events, but as "a kind of hub, a very important one". Bachev was referring to BTA's news hubs abroad, saying they are crucial for Bulgarians there.

"To me, BTA is where all news reports in the country come from, and I perceive it as a fair and accurate source of information," Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Georgi Tahov said. On the occasion of its birthday, Tahov wished the agency resilience, objectivity and good news only.

Health Minister Silvi Kirilov said that strong traditions have been established for these 127 years. "The reflection of different points of view, the search for the truth and the experience that is passed on to young people - for me this is unique," said the Minister. He wished the BTA to preserve these traditions and pass them on to the next generation.

Yordanka Fandakova, head of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and MP of GERB-UDF, said that BTA is a reliable source of information for everyone. Fandakova added that for her, there are two very important things that BTA has done. The first is the representations all over the world and all over Bulgaria, which is an opportunity for the world to learn about Bulgaria and for Bulgarians here to get very fast and reliable information, she added. The second thing is BTA's attitude towards information related to culture and education. "This has always been very important to me and we had a very good partnership in my capacity as Sofia Mayor," Fandakova said.

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) "is an institution that has proven itself over time, one of the most impartial," National Assembly Education and Science Committee Chair Andrei Chorbanov said. Chorbanov, who belongs to the There Is Such a People (TISP) parliamentary group, joined dozens of other official guests at the celebration of the national news agency's 127th anniversary. He said BTA provides impartial coverage of all facts and events. "Every evening, I learn from the BTA website about all that has happened in Bulgaria, from cultural events to diplomatic new, and I think that BTA's role is exceedingly important. It is not a coincidence that it has existed for so many years," Chorbanov said. He wished the agency staffers to keep working with unwaning enthusiasm, integrity and impartiality.

Vazrazhdane MP Tsoncho Ganev paid compliments to the Agency's Director General Kiril Valchev. "In these times in which we find ourselves, in which artificial intelligence is replacing so many professions, the professional management of the BTA is an example and a benchmark for any state structure how to be managed professionally, profitably and to be a factor at international level in terms of information that is exchanged between different countries," Ganev noted.

There Is Such a People MP Toshko Yordanov said he is extremely glad that Kiril Valchev is BTA Director General and wished BTA to return to its former glory.

"BTA is one of the most important institutions for Bulgarian statehood," former president Rosen Plevneliev (2012-2017) said. He also said the first message on this anniversary is one of pride for this institution, which is among the most significant for Bulgarian statehood. Plevneliev expressed his great respect and strong hope that BTA will keep up the good work. "Today, we will see a new Archive Hub, renovated offices. This is truly a statement that, at least here, Bulgarian statehood remains firmly established, and the truth stands above all of us. Let's not forget the legacy of our ancestors - a legacy affirming Bulgaria's European and democratic development," he added.

"BTA is not simply an institution, BTA is an epoch," Council for Electronic Media (CEM) acting Chair Simona Veleva said. "We wish you to be a leader of the Bulgarian information society and not just a part of it," Veleva said. She noted that the media regulator highly appreciates the professionalism and efforts that BTA staffers invest in ensuring and asserting the fair and objective coverage of current domestic and international development. "You are making impressive efforts for the exchange of news between Bulgaria and distant corners of the globe and to assert the agency's role as a news leader. Keep up the good work," the CEM acting Chair pointed out. In her words, BTA is a "guarantee of truthfulness, of checked facts, of pluralism and diversity of everything that is happing in the capital, in all parts of the Bulgaria and everywhere where Bulgarians live. Really impressive efforts are being made to cover breaking news from all parts of the world where there are Bulgarian communities and to make them feel integrated. BTA therefore performs prominently precisely as a cultural hub. Not just a centre for sharing news but a source of news about all expatriates who live for Bulgaria and are interested in Bulgaria," Veleva added.

CEM member Gabriela Naplatanova, who also attended the ceremony, wished BTA to stay at the forefront of the modernization of journalism in Bulgaria. She wished the BTA staffers "to be, as always, exceptional professionals and irreproachable in the true, accurate, timely and comprehensive coverage of the news feed which they present to use in today's fast-developing world of technologies," she added. In her words, "when there is a war of the narratives on certain events, it is precisely BTA that is the role model for the rest of the media to cover events and keep the public informed of all international and domestic developments."

For her part, CEM member Kadrinka Kadrinova wished BTA to remain, as always so far, a bulwark of true information about everything happening in Bulgaria. "If journalists don't check BTA, they can never be certain that something has really happened," she pointed out, adding that she herself was doing so as a practising journalist.

Bulgarian National Radio Director General Milen Mitev wished BTA courage, love for journalism and news, and much strength to continue doing what it does well.

Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) President Dobri Mitrev said that the BIA uses BTA's economic information and never questions the numbers in it because BIA knows that it can rely on the professionalism of the BTA staff. "It is a success for Bulgaria that as a young third Bulgarian state, it created back in 1898 such an authoritative institution, because BTA is not just a media, it is institutionalized in the Bulgarian legal life and all kinds of life, and has proven throughout these 127 years that it is a symbol of objectivity, a symbol of speed, of accuracy, of absolutely accurate presentation of data and the opportunity for everyone to be informed about what is happening in Bulgaria and what is happening in the world," Mitrev said. "I personally am particularly happy about the opening of correspondent offices in other countries, especially in which there is a Bulgarian diaspora, because this way their involvement in life in Bulgaria, as well as our involvement in their lives will be greater," said the BIA President.

Podkrepa Confederation of Labour President Dimitar Manolov said: "The role of BTA is fundamental because, unfortunately, it remains the only media institution that cares about truthfulness, accuracy, literacy and whatever else we can think of in the dissemination of information. Long live the BTA."

"In my opinion, the agency is undergoing a visionary development and is looking back and forward in the long and short term," Prof. Dr Veselina Valkanova, Dean of Sofia University's Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, told BTA. "Now that you unveil your renovated visual identity and modernized infrastructure, you assert your positions as leading professionalism and innovators," reads a congratulatory address that Prof. Valkanova handed BTA Director General Kiril Valchev. "I congratulate you on the design of the new typeface inspired by the script invested by Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius. By this unique handwriting BTA will continue to safeguard the Bulgarian historical heritage and intertwine it in the future of journalism," the congratulatory address says further.

Kalina Ivanova, Director of the St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library, commented on the renovations at BTA, more specifically the creation of an Archive Hub,by saying that various types of research can be conducted at the news agency and dissertations can be defended. In her words, BTA helps preserve culture by providing information. The National Library Director wished BTA success in fully digitizing its archives so that the nation can benefit from the memory preserved in the building. Ivanova also sent greetings on behalf of the institution. "At the dawn of liberated Bulgaria, the bright minds of the nation laid the foundations of two key institutions for education and culture. The first two decades after the Liberation were significant - in 1878 the first public library opened its doors and in 1898 BTA was founded. Since its establishment, BTA has consistently followed the principles of independence, objectivity and integrity, and is a benchmark for professionalism in modern journalism," she said.

National Academy of Art Rector Georgi Yankov wished good luck to the BTA. "We see an institution that has preserved itself over the years, has preserved all the information it has processed over the years, provides it to the public, as well as providing a typeface made according Cyrillic rules to all institutions in Bulgaria that are willing to use the correct Bulgarian typeface," Prof. Yankov said.

Sofia Theatre Director Iriney Konstantinov said that so many years, BTA interferes ever more actively in the public and information life of Bulgaria and not only Bulgaria. "I am happy that you have this anniversary, I am happy to see everything new that has been done. Good luck," he said about BTA's 127th anniversary.

/DS/