Bulgaria and Greece need to build a long-term friendship based on mutual respect and a shared understanding of history, said Prof. Yura Konstantinova from the Institute of Balkan Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, speaking in Athens on Sunday.
As an established researcher of the historical and cultural ties between Bulgaria and Greece, Prof. Konstantinova delivered a public lecture at the BTA National Press Club in the Greek capital, discussing relations between the two countries in history and today. The event was part of the project “Bulgaria and Greece: From the Ancient Civilizations to Contemporary Relations.” The project is implemented by the Ivan Seliminski Cultural Centre, a Greek-Bulgarian association in Athens, under the National Programme “Untold Stories of the Bulgarians” of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science.
Konstantinova said: “As part of the project, I was invited to give two lectures to children from Bulgarian schools. One was on the island of Crete, and today was the second in Athens. My presentation was titled ‘Bridges between Worlds’, because I decided I should present my work on Bulgarian-Greek relations in a way that is understandable and accessible, especially for children. So they can know that the Bulgarian state cares about them. Their stories – as children studying in Greece, of their parents, and of Bulgarians working in Greece – are important not only to them, but also to Bulgarian history.”
She added that, before coming to Athens, she asked the teachers of the Bulgarian schools to collect stories from children and their parents, which she then connected with the histories of other Bulgarians whose lives were also linked to Greece.
“I talk about historical figures such as Grigor Parlichev, Georgi Rakovski, and Petar Neikov. I tried to create a link between past, present, and future. I am trying to convince the children and their parents that it is important to work for Bulgarian-Greek understanding. They should be a bridge between the two countries, the two nations, and the two cultures. We are very similar as people, despite the complex relations we have had over the centuries,” she emphasized.
The meeting at BTA’s newly opened and fully equipped National Press Club in Athens concluded with a discussion on cultural dialogue between the two peoples.
/VE/