Rila Monastery, October 17 (BTA) - On Sunday, opening the 16th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media organized by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said: "After missing a year due to COVID-19, which killed [BTA director general] Maxim Minchev, we are coming home to Rila monastery where, in the heart of Mt Rila, 'the world's evils, troubles are far away'." The topic of the 16th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, which is opening at Rila monastery (Southwestern Bulgaria), is Media and the Truth.
Valchev was quoting the great Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov whose 100th death anniversary was marked in 2021.
Valchev also said: "We will talk about the truth which stands for words matching the facts and reality as opposed to the lies in fake news. We will also talk about the invisible absolute truth of which we Christians often think during the pandemic - God in our soul, because Christ himself is the truth expressed in his words: 'I am the way and the truth and the life'."
Valchev said the meeting was taking place on the eve of the feast day of St John of Rila, the patron saint of the Bulgarian people. In light of the saint's behests, BTA's Director General said the discussions would focus on how the media can stay away from hiding the truth out of avarice, from distorting the facts in order to receive the powerholders' favour, from hiding the truth while competing among themselves, and how the media should show what unites the Bulgarians.
The forum is taking place in four panels: Faith in the Media, Hope in the Media, Lies in the Media and Choice in the Media.
The formal opening was attended by King Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev, Education Minister Nikolay Denkov, Seraphim, Metropolitan of Nevrokop, Bishop Evlogii, Hegumenos of Rila monastery, and Peter Paunov, Mayor of the town of Kyustendil, where the meeting will continue on Monday.
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is a guest at the forum. The grave of his father, King Boris III (1894-1943), is at Rila monastery. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was prime minister between 2001 and 2005 when Bulgaria joined NATO and signed its EU Accession Treaty. While he was in office, BTA organized the First World Meeting of Bulgarian Media in Sofia on May 23-25, 2005. In 2004, he attended the signing of the Code of Ethics of the Bulgarian Media which is still in force.
The World Meeting of Bulgarian Media is held in partnership with Rila monastery, Kyustendil Municipality, the 13 Centuries of Bulgaria National Endowment Fund, the State Institute for Culture with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the St Kliment Ohridski Students Chitalishte, GLAS Association of Bosilegrad (Serbia), Bulgaria Air, the Association for Modern Trade, Post Bank and EasyPay. DD//