site.btaPresident Radev Participates in Forum on Education, Culture and Sport

The only way out of a crisis is a clear direction and national unity based on clearly formulated spiritual values, President Rumen Radev said in Silistra during a forum on education, culture and sport.

"Such forums show that there is a need for dialogue between the capital and the more remote municipalities, because there cannot be a strong centre if it does not support its borders. Today the most frequently used word in the country is 'crisis': political, economic, and social. In my opinion, the deeper these crises are, the more we need to talk about culture, education and sport. Only with them can we have a strong economy and security, and the rule of law, because values are the basis of everything," Radev said.

He stressed the importance of those working in the field of education because in his words, they have an increasing role in the education of children. Radev pointed to the fact that more and more children from abroad are returning to Silistra as a positive thing, because it means that they can find a career in Bulgaria.

The big problem of demography is not just fertility, mortality and migration. The big problem is regional imbalances and how the state can overcome them. Quality of education and living conditions need to be the same here as in the major regional centres. Then Bulgaria can start developing as a normal European state, Radev further said.

Reports were presented during the forum by Gabriela Mitkova - Head of the Regional Department of Education, Rumyana Lebedova - director of the branch of the University of Ruse in Silistra, Zlatina Staneva - director of the Drama-puppet theatre in the city, and basketball coach Lachezar Todorov.

They pointed out that great economic growth cannot be achieved without proper management in the field of education and culture. They are the basis for the formation of each individual's personality. Data were presented that in 2023 76% of Bulgarians had not visited a library, 63% had not been to the theatre and 82% had not attended a ballet, opera or classical music concert. And people aged 18 to 29 lack habits of attending cultural events. It was summarized that the development of taste at a very early age has been the missing policy over the last 35 years.