On April 24, 2023, at the UNESCO House in Paris the photo documentary exhibition Le cœur de la Bulgarie. Exposition du monastère de Rila pour l'UNESCO / The Heart of Bulgaria. Rila Monastery Exhibition for UNESCO was opened. The exhibition is prepared by a team of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) and is supported by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science under the National Scientific Programme "Bulgarian Studies". The occasion was the 40th anniversary of the inscription of the Rila Monastery in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The official opening of the exhibition was attended by Mrs. Zornitza Grekova, Deputy Permanent Delegate of Bulgaria to UNESCO, Prof. Dr. Roumiana Il. Preshlenova, Director of the IBSCT-BAS and Assist. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova, academic coordinator of the IBSCT-BAS. With the blessing of Bishop Evlogius of Adrianople, Abbot of the Rila Monastery, the Monastery was represented by Archpriest Ivan Karageorgiev - a priest from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Municipality "Saint Patriarch Euthymius of Tarnovo" in Paris. The guest of honor at the event was Mr. Ernesto Ottone, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, who welcomed the initiative and congratulated Bulgaria for its effective contribution to the overall work of UNESCO. Guests at the opening were representatives of the diplomatic corps in Paris, employees of the UNESCO Secretariat and the World Heritage Center, citizens and guests of the French capital.

The exhibition is organized under the patronage of the National Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria for UNESCO with the courtesy of the Rila Monastery, the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Bulgaria to UNESCO, and the State Cultural Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.