On March 29, 2023, the Department of History and Ethnology of the Faculty of Classical Studies and Humanities of the Democritus University of Thrace in Komotini honored Prof. Dr. Roumiana Ilieva Preshlenova, Director of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, with the distinction doctor honoris causa for her contribution to the development of the Balkan Studies and Bulgarian-Greek scholarly cooperation. The ceremony was preceded by a scholarly meeting on the topic "Balkan culture in the age of modernity" with participation of Bulgarian and Greek scholars. The event was attended by teachers and students, as well as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Mr. Valentin Pavlov, counsellor at the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Thessaloniki.