site.btaPernik's Contribution to Modern Europe Is Example of Preserving Traditions, Says BTA Director General
The contribution of Pernik to modern Europe is an example of preserving traditions, said BTA Director General Kiril Valchev at the opening of the local conference within BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project at the BTA National Press Club here on Friday.
The project aims to talk about the exchange of knowledge between people in Bulgaria and the Balkans and people from the rest of the European Union, so that they can get to know each other's contribution to life in the EU, Valchev underscored. He stressed that in Pernik there is an almost contemporary example of preserving Christianity, noting how the Saint John of Rila Church was saved from destruction during communism. The church, completed in 1920 and painted in the 1937-1939 period by famous Bulgarian artists Nikola Marinov and Dechko Uzunov, is located directly opposite the building of the National Press Club of BTA, where the National Mining Directorate has been since 1932, Valchev said.
Valchev stated that Pernik's contribution to modern Europe is an example of preserving traditions, adding that the Surva International Festival of Masquerade Games presents the ritual masking from deep antiquity and is therefore older than the carnival traditions in Western Europe. He noted that the beginning of the masquerade games in Europe was placed precisely in the Balkans, as the ancient Greeks held festive weeks dedicated to the god of wine Dionysus, while the Thracians also held masquerade games called Kukeri. Valchev emphasised that the preservation of these ancient traditions precisely in Pernik is shown through the oldest festival of masquerade games in Bulgaria, organized by Pernik Municipality since 1966.
According to Valchev, the preservation of traditions inherited from ancestors, against the backdrop of the globalization of the world in many places in Europe, is being replaced by what is brought from outside, including by many migrants. Pernik is one of the European examples of opposing the creeping uniformity in Europe and preserving diversity in unity, which is the motto of the EU, he stressed. "Saint John of Rila in his Testament advises us to try to live in unity and one-mindedness and not to allow discord, disputes, quarrels, (...) and other indecent passions to grow in our country," Valchev said, adding that these words are very important in days like the present, when the world is torn apart by wars, and Bulgaria by discord. In order to live together, however, people must know each other's lives and thoughts, with conversations such as those in BTA's local conferences aiming precisely at sharing more knowledge about each other. BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project also searches for solutions to contemporary problems such as the transformation in energy, due to which the labor of miners is being replaced by modern energy sources, said Valchev.
He recalled that he had asked the host of the weekly programme Panorama on the Bulgarian National Television, Boyko Vassilev, what the contribution of Pernik to Europe was. Vassilev, who was born in Pernik, replied that it was here that Ivan Vazov saw what Europe was through the construction of the railway. Vassilev also noted that Vazov discovered the correct Bulgarian language, which today is one of the languages of the EU, and that he had met his love in Pernik. And love between close people is what the union of European nations is actually built on, concluded Valchev.
Through the Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project, BTA aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. Until September 2025, BTA will host discussions at its press clubs in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
/DS/
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