The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to a conversation with Dr. Aziz Shakir-Tash about his translations of the books by Petar Mutafchiev and Vera Mutafchieva and their reception in the Republic of Turkey. The event will take place on June 4, 2024 (Tuesday) at 15:00 in the IBSCT-BAS building (Moskovska Street No. 45).

Petar Mutafchiev (04.07.1883 – 02.05.1943) and Vera Mutafchieva (28.03.1929 – 09.06.2009) are prominent names in Bulgarian culture. With its significant research in the field of Byzantine studies and medieval studies, Petar Mutafchiev received well-deserved recognition not only in Bulgaria, but also abroad. Full professor at the University of Sofia, member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, corresponding member of the Slavic Institute in Prague, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Doctor honoris causa of the University of Vienna from 20.03.1943, Petar Mutafchiev is also the recipient of several orders for his participation in the Balkan and Inter-Allied War.

Vera Mutafchieva is equally known as an Ottomanist, but also as a brilliant novelist and essayist. Her scholarly activity began at the Institute of History, afterwards she worked at the Institute of Balkan Studies in the period 1964-1979. She is the author of more than 35 fiction books, including "The Case of Jem" (1967), "The Book of Sophronius" (1978), "Foretold by Pagane" (1980). In 1997, the memoir about her father, “Unraveling Your Father. An attempt at a biography of Petar Mutafchiev" was published.

Aziz Shakir-Tash is a poet, translator and Arabist. He is a second-level (R2) researcher at the Department of Arabic Studies and Semitology of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". He is author of the books "Reason for the Sky" (1993); At 22 & Rain Apocrypha (2004, 2007); "Adrianopol'dan Edirne'ye" / "From Adrianople to Edirne" (2007). Among his artistic translations stand out the books of Kemal Yozer, of anthologies of contemporary Palestinian and Kuwaiti poetry, his translations into Turkish of "Life and suffering of the sinful Sophronius" & "Book of Sophronius" by Vera Mutafchieva and "Book of Bulgarians" by Peter Mutafchiev (IC Zhanet 45, 2006).

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to an academic seminar with international participation "Spiritual and Cultural Heritage and Ethnic Identity in the Balkans".

Speakers
Miloš Rastović
Scholar-in-Residence at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, the United States of America, and Founder and President of the American Council for Eastern Europe
Topic: Spiritual and Cultural Heritage Sites of Serbia After WWII

Verzhin Hugasyan, PhD
Vice-Chairman of the Young Professionals (YP) of AGBU Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Topic: Preservation of the Material and Spiritual Heritage of the Armenian People and the Role of Armenian General Benevolent Union YP (Young Professionals) Plovdiv

Commentator
Prof. Golfo Alexopoulos, PhD
Director of the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of South Florida, U.S.A.

Moderator
Prof. Dr. Nadia Boyadjieva, Doctor of Sciences in International Law and International Relations
Institute for Balkan Studies with a Center for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

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The fifth interdisciplinary PhD student forum with international participation, organized by the Training Center of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and its Career Center, was held from April 16 to 19, 2024 in the city of Kyustendil. The event was realized with partial support from the National Scholarly Program "Development and Promotion of Bulgarian Studies Abroad", funded by the Ministry of Education and Science.

Over 70 PhD students from Bulgaria, Germany, Moldova, Greece, Albania and Kazakhstan presented their research in the form of oral presentations and posters.

Kaloyan Konstantinov, PhD student of the IBSCT-BAS, was awarded for his paper entitled "Iran's Influence in the Western Balkans".

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to "CHRISTIANITY AND POETRY. A conversation with Kalin Mihaylov, Tony Nikolov and Rumen Stoyanov". The event will be held on May 21, 2024 (Tuesday) at 15:00 in the building of IBSCT-BAS (Moskovska Street No. 45).

The focus will be on the books "Untimely Christianity: Hearing the Bible in a Secular Age" by Sir Michael Edwards (translated by Tony Nikolov. Sofia, 2023), the poetry books "Two Years - Two Days" (2023) and "Photographer of Clouds" (2022) by Kalin Mihaylov as well as "Zlak" (2012) ) and "Zrak" (2015) by Rumen Stoyanov.

Sir Michael Edwards (born 1938) is an Anglo-French poet and literary critic. He has a PhD from Cambridge. His dissertation was about the work of Jean Racine. Sir Michael Edwards is considered one of the most important contemporary English Christian poets, for which he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014. The main topics in his bilingual work are the connections between language, music, literature and the Bible.

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to the public lecture of Assoc. Prof. Kalin Yordanov, PhD (IBSCT-BAS), entitled “Memory, Relics and Trophies: Notes on the Commemorative 'Cults' of Some of the Leaders of the Fourth Crusade”.

The event will be held on May 13, 2024 (Monday) at 18:00 in the building of IBSCT-BAS (Moskovska Street No. 45) and online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86513444853

We look forward to your attendance!

This lecture is organized by the project "Going Through War: The Medieval Military Experience in the Balkans and Its Social Implications", funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund, contract No. KП-06-М70-3/15.12.2022

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to the public lecture of Assoc. Prof. Dobriela Kotova, PhD (IBSCT-BAS) Introductions and Conclusions in the Constantine of Preslav's Uchitel'noe evangelie ('Didactic Gospel'): Sources and Inspirations.

The event is organised under the initiative Every Second Tuesday and will be held on May 14, 2024 (Tuesday) at 15:30 at the IBSCT-BAS (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to the public lecture of Nevyan Mitev, PhD (RHM-Dobrich), entitled “Arms and Equipment of the Crusading Army of King Vladislav Varnenchik (Finds from Bulgaria, Problems and Interpretations)”.

The event will be held on April 15, 2024 (Monday) at 17:30 via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86513444853

We look forward to your attendance!

This lecture is organized by the project "Going Through War: The Medieval Military Experience in the Balkans and Its Social Implications", funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund, contract No. KП-06-М70-3/15.12.2022

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to the public lecture of Ekaterina Dikova, PhD (IBSCT-BAS) Antiquity in the calendar couplets of Christopher of Mytilene and their translations in the Balkans.

The event is organised under the initiative Every Second Tuesday and will be held on April 9, 2024 (Tuesday) at 15:30 in the IBSCT-BAS building (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

На 5 април 2024 г. (петък) от 11.00 ч. в сградата на Института за балканистика с Център по тракология при Българската академия на науките (ул. „Московска“ № 45) ще се проведе разговор с Андрея Расучану и Лора Ненковска на тема „Литература и памет“.

Андрея Расучану е писателка, авторка на книги с литературна критика и редакторка. „Непозната форма на живот“ (2018), е дебютният ѝ роман, удостоен с наградата за най-добра прозаична книга на списание Атенеу (2019), наградата за писател на месец януари на Съюза на румънските писатели (2019) и редица престижни номинации. Вторият ѝ роман, „Вятърът, духът, дъхът“ (2020), също е преведен на български. Расучану публикува разкази в различни сборници, както и няколко монографии в областта на литературната география и геокритиката, като във фокуса на интересите ѝ нерядко е Букурещ и неговата литературна история.

Родена разказвачка, надарена с онази сетивност, която ѝ позволява да улавя невидимите нишки, изграждащи света, който обитаваме, Андрея Расучано опитомява историята, стихийността на природата и географските пространства, като ги подрежда в разкази – карти на човешките съдби. Силата ѝ да работи пластично с образите, богатият ѝ език и бароковият ѝ стил на писане я превръщат един от най-интересните съвременни гласове в румънската литература. 

Лора Ненковска е филолог с докторска степен от Софийския университет „Св. Климент Охридски“. Преводачка на художествена литература и преподавателка по румънски език, средновековна и съвременна румънска литература в СУ „Св. Климент Охридски“. Изключително любопитна читателка, която се опитва да не изпусне пулса на случващото се в румънската литература. Чувствителен преводач с фин усет за езика. Сред авторите, които е превела на български език, са Андрея Расучану, Алина Нелега, Макс Блехер, Мирча Елиаде, Дан Лунгу, Петру Чимпоешу, Йоан Ес. Поп, Богдан-Александру Станеску, Симона Попеску.

Kaloyan Konstantinov, a PhD student at the Institute of Balkan Studies and Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS), researching the relations between the Balkans and the Islamic Republic of Iran, received a journalism award at the Jour-You international competition. The ceremony was held in Athens, where finalists from Italy, Albania, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan were present.

Kaloyan received the award for his series of reports on Iran's democratic protests, culture and politics, which are also part of his research at BAS. A little earlier, his materials were also awarded in the "Valya Krushkina" journalism contest, as well as "Agent of Change" for philanthropy and contribution to society.

In 2023, Kaloyan was awarded the King's College London Emerging Leader Award for his work as an international lecturer on media literacy, disinformation and international relations, as well as for his journalistic work directly linked to his research at IBSCT-BAS.

At the end of last week, Prof. D. Sc. Alexandre Kostov, Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, was awarded the Badge of Honor of the Municipality of Montana. The highest award of the municipality will be presented to him on the city's feast - Holy Spirit, by virtue of the decision of the Municipal Council - Montana. Prof. Kostov's nomination received the unanimous support of all 33 councilors. This is eloquent proof that his contribution is highly appreciated by the local community.

With the honors of the Municipality of Montana, individuals and institutions with outstanding services to the city are recognized. In addition to the impressive academic achievements of Prof. Kostov, the reason for the award is also the cooperation initiated by him between the local government and cultural institutions with the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS), of which he was the director in the period 2010-2018. As a result of the partnership numerous events were held in Montana: conferences, seminars, lectures. A number of collections and scholarly publications have been published.

In 2018, on the proposition of Prof. D.Sc. Kostov, a branch of the IBSCT-BAS was established in Montana. This deepened the cooperation with the municipality, the Regional History Museum and the State Archives in Montana. Under his scientific guidance, 4 collections dedicated to the past and present of the Bulgarian northwest were published. Among them is the special edition dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the announcement of the city of Montana. The fifth edition of the series is in print. A scholarly conference under the leadership of Prof. D.Sc. Alexandre Kostov is included in the program for the city's feast.

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On March 26, 2024 (Tuesday), at 15:00, the documentary "Direct Target - Bulgaria" (2023, directed by Radoslav Iliev) will be screened at the IBSCT-BAS. The film explores the battles in the Bulgarian skies during the Balkan and the First World Wars. Major highlights are the large-scale punitive actions of Anglo-American aviation during the Second World War, and more specifically in the period 1943–1944.

After the screening at 16.00, there will be a discussion with representatives of the team. The event is part of the seminar Documentary Cinema and History: Paradoxes of an Inevitable Cooperation, which is realized under the project Conversations on Literature and the Peninsula, led by Assoc. Prof. Lyudmila Mindova, PhD.