From June 23 to 27, 2026, a major international academic forum was held in Varna: the 26th symposium of CIÉPO (Comité International des Études Pré-Ottomanes et Ottomanes). CIÉPO is a prestigious academic organization that, since 1974, has been organizing biennial symposia that bring together researchers from around the world working on issues related to the history of the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans, and the Black Sea region from the 15th to the early 20th century. This is the second time Bulgaria has hosted such a forum (following Sofia in 2018), and the first time BAS has been a co-organizer. The chair of the Organizing Committee was Corresponding Member Prof. Ivan Roussev. The symposium’s co-organizers included the University of Economics - Varna, the Institute for [...]

A meeting of the National Academic Network of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was held in Varna to mark the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising On June 19, an expanded meeting of the National Academic Network (NAN) was held at the BAS Creative House in Varna, attended by Corresponding Member Evelina Slavcheva, President of BAS; Prof. Shtelian Shterionov, DSc, Vice-President; regional coordinators; and members of the Advisory Council. The meeting was opened by Corr. Memb. Alexandre Kostov, chief coordinator of the NAN. In his opening remarks, he outlined the successes and challenges in the regional centers’ work to date, as well as their short-term prospects. In the presentations by the coordinators and during the discussion, the key priorities in the planned activities of the [...]

A lecture titled “Biogenic Volatile Isoprenoids - Climate Change and Plant Protection. Interrelationships and Consequences” was delivered by Corr. Memb. Violeta Velikova from the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics of BAS. The lecture took place as part of the academic seminar “Current Issues in Science” on June 18 in the “Prof. Marin Drinov” Hall at BAS. What biogenic volatile isoprenoids are, why we should be interested in them, and how our knowledge of them could be used for the benefit of society were just some of the questions addressed in the lecture. On a global scale, plants release enormous amounts of volatile organic compounds equivalent to about 1,300 Tg of carbon per year, and these emissions are about 10 times greater than total anthropogenic [...]

The President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Corresponding Member Evelina Slavcheva, took part in the 2026 mid-term meeting of the European Science Advisers Forum (ESAF) which was held on June 10–11 in Vienna, Austria. The event was hosted by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The meeting addressed key topics related to providing scientific expertise to political bodies and institutions on issues of public importance (“science-for-policy”), with a focus on collaboration in the areas of security and science policy. The idea of creating a European code of ethics for scientific advisory bodies on policy and society was presented, intended to serve as a common European standard. The European Science Advisers Forum (ESAF) is an informal network of scientists and experts who advise their governments or [...]

Cooperation in the field of archaeology between Bulgarian and Italian scholars was discussed at a meeting today at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences by the President of BAS, Corresponding Member Evelina Slavcheva, the Italian Ambassador, H.E. Marcello Apicella, and Prof. Massimo Osanna from the “Federico II” University of Naples. Prof. Osanna is visiting Sofia at the invitation of the Director of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at BAS, Assoc. Prof. Hristo Popov, PhD. During the conversation, the possibility of expanding cooperation in the exchange of doctoral students was also discussed. Also participating in the meeting were the Vice-President of BAS Prof. Emmanuel Moutafov, and the Director of NAIM, Assoc. Prof. Hristo Popov. Prof. Moutafov highlighted Prof. Massimo Osanna’s experience as the head of all [...]