site.btaUPDATED BTA Director General: Svetilnik Initiative Honors Individuals Who Continue Traditions of Bulgaria’s Awakeners

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) has consistently covered all editions of the Svetilnik (Candlelight) initiative, which honors individuals who continue the traditions of Bulgaria’s national awakeners through their creative and public work, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said during the opening of the fifth edition of Svetilnik on Monday.

“BTA has been together with Musicautor in the Svetilnik initiative since its very first edition. Even before that, we encouraged our partners to join,” he added.

The fifth edition was launched on Monday at Sofia’s Central Market Hall stage. Among those present were Ivan Dimitrov, Executive Director of Musicautor, Milen Mitev, Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio, composers Haigashod Agasyan and Minko Lambov; representatives of schools that participated in previous editions of Svetilnik, and members of creative teams from past years.

Kiril Valchev expressed support for expanding Svetilnik to include Bulgarian communities abroad. According to him, Bulgarian schools abroad funded by the state have reached around 400, which creates the opportunity for the initiative to grow into an international one. The BTA Director General committed to assisting through the agency’s national press clubs in Taraclia, Odesa, Belgrade, Ankara, Skopje, and other cities, in order to help organize logistics and enable artists to visit the schools for which they will compose anthems.

"BTA will invite the artists who are committing to participate in the sixth edition, as the process has already begun. Starting from the sixth edition, we will also handle the logistics so that the authors can visit the schools for which they will be composing anthems,” added Kiril Valchev. He expressed special thanks to the Bulgarian artists who have been participating free of charge for a second consecutive year in concerts in Bessarabia — in 2024, this was folk singer Desislava Dobreva, and in 2025, folk singer Iliya Lukov. “You cannot imagine how hundreds of people dressed in traditional folk costumes from all the surrounding villages — from children to elderly men and women — dance Bulgarian horo to the songs, praying that there will be no air raid alert forcing the concert to be interrupted. So, these artists deserve special gratitude for the commitment they have shown. And in conclusion, let me say that here we often fail to realize how precious it is to live in peace and to sing school anthems instead of listening to air raid sirens. I hope that soon all our compatriots around the world will have this opportunity, and together with Musicautor, starting from the next edition, BTA will help to bring them closer,” Valchev said.

The Svetilnik initiative is a national partnership programme that promotes creativity, collaboration, education, respect, culture, and love for the Bulgarian language. Within the framework of the initiative, members of the Bulgarian creative community compose original school anthems, which are donated to schools across the country through a competitive process.

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) has been a media partner of Svetilnik since its launch in 2021. Other institutional and media partners include the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Culture, the Bulgarian National Radio, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, and the Ivan Vazov National Theatre.

The fifth edition of Svetilnik is held under the motto “For What Is the World Without Song?”, a message inspired by the poetry of Damyan Damyanov.