site.btaEducation Minister Calls for Support for Today's Awakeners

Addressing the nation on National Awakeners Day, Education and Science Minister Galin Tzokov said Bulgaria is probably the only country in the world which has a day dedicated to its writers, scholars, educators and freedom-fighters. He stressed that on this day it is important to support today's awakeners: teachers, academics, researchers, artists and discoverers of talent, the Education and Science Ministry said.

Tzokov recalled that 91 years ago, public education minister Stoyan Omarchevski proposed to the government to institute a National Awakeners Day on November 1, saying that on this day people would pay tribute to the great builders of modern Bulgaria. In the following decades, this day turned into a nationwide celebration of the writers, revolutionaries and teachers who led the Bulgarians yearning for education and freedom, Tzokov said.

The awakeners of the National Revival Period and the Liberation from Ottoman rule played a key role in the fight for freedom, independence, educational and cultural revival of the people. This is a day of remembrance and gratitude for their work for Bulgaria's advancement, Tzokov said.