site.btaPresident Iotova: May 24 Is the Future, Not Nostalgia

May 24 is about the future, not nostalgia, President Iliana Iotova said at a reception at the National Museum of History on Sunday.

Letters hold special significance for Bulgarians, their culture and literature, Iotova told guests at the traditional reception marking the Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture, and Slav Letters. It is an exceptional joy to host the most Bulgarian of days, the head of State said.

The event was attended by National Assembly Chair Michaela Dotsova, Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil, representatives of diplomatic missions in Bulgaria, the judiciary, ministers, MPs, representatives of registered religious communities, public figures and cultural figures. Radev was accompanied by his wife, Desislava Radeva.

The reception opened with performances of the national anthem of the Republic of Bulgaria and Varvi, Narode Vazrodeni by the Bulgarian National Radio Children’s Choir.

Iotova said people live in a turbulent time, when they will be told that school as they know it is no longer needed and that teachers will be replaced by artificial intelligence and high technology. They will be told that children are different now and want much more than books and textbooks. Addressing teachers, she said she was certain they would guide children through this technological century and teach them to use technology rather than be displaced by it.

Children cannot move forward in the technological century without someone to guide and care for them, Iotova said. That role belongs to teachers and lecturers, she added.

Iotova called for remembering the country’s forebears, who built community centres, schools and churches. They built them on the highest point of a village or town so they could be seen from everywhere, because they were the starting point for development and the future. When they wrote Bulgarian National School on the facade, they sent a message to future generations that when people form a community and stand together, development follows, Iotova said.

She greeted students from the Association of Olympic Teams in Natural Sciences, who also attended the reception. “Dear children, you are not only our pride. You are the face of Bulgaria as we want it to be, prosperous, intelligent and developing. We will always stand behind you so that your victories and medals multiply further,” Iotova said.

Iotova told guests that Bulgarian society now needs teachers, community centre workers, university lecturers and scientists more than ever. It needs their voice, she said, adding that they should be involved when the State makes its most important decisions, contributing their wisdom and knowledge, because education and culture are not luxury policies but a guarantee of development.