The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences celebrated its 151st anniversary with a solemn ceremony. Scientists, public figures, politicians and journalists attended the celebration in “Prof. Marin Drinov” hall of the Academy.
The President of the General Assembly of BAS Prof. Evelina Slavcheva and the President of BAS Prof. Julian Revalski, Full Member of the Academy, greeted the scientists and recalled some of the successes of its scientific units. “In a year of trials, as it turned out to be 2020 with the outbreak of the COVID epidemic, BAS responded to the needs of society and got involved with expertise, analyses and practical solutions. We believe that this fact has not gone unnoticed by society and politicians. But, unfortunately, the anxiety and concern of the scientists of BAS for the future of the Academy are again in the foreground”, said in her speech Prof. Slavcheva. She reminded that against the background of increasing salaries of teachers and university professors, the average salary of senior assistants at BAS is still BGN 780. No additional incentives and programs of a temporary nature can attract scientists, so necessary for the sustainable future of the Academy, said also Prof. Slavcheva.
The President of BAS, Prof. Revalski, recalled the wide range of expert work of research teams from different divisions of the Academy in connection with the control of the pandemic of COVID – 19. High-level research is a guarantor for the prosperity of the country, for solving modern challenges, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the key factor in this process. The presence of scientists with high expert potential is part of the national sovereignty of the state, said also Prof. Julian Revalski.
Vice President Iliana Iotova attended the solemn assembly on the occasion of 151 years since the establishment of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. World-class science is being created in the institutes of BAS – publications, books, numerous citations of Bulgarian scientists are proof of this, said the Vice President and added that BAS was a constantly developing scientific center.
During the celebration, an academic speech on the topic “150 years of the Bulgarian Exarchate and its connection with the Bulgarian Learned Society” was delivered by the Director of the Scientific Archives of BAS Prof. Lisbeth Lyubenova.
At the solemn assembly, the Award for Journalists of BAS for 2019 was presented. The Governing Council of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences created this year a special status of the Award in four categories. In the “Print Media” category, the award was given to Yaroslava Prohaskova from “24 Chasa” (“24 Hours”) newspaper. Kiril Valchev, author and host of the show “Sedmitsata” (“The Week”) on Darik Radio, was awarded in “Electronic Media”. In the “Online Media” category, the award was given to Petar Teodosiev from the online magazine “Bulgarian Science”, while the team of “History.BG” on the Bulgarian National Television was awarded the special prize for overall long-term coverage of the activities of BAS.
On the occasion of 151 years since the establishment of BAS, an exhibition dedicated to the first Bulgarian scientific journal has been arranged in the central foyer of the Academy. The exposition “150 years Journal of BAS” has been prepared by the Central Library of BAS.
The solemn assembly was broadcast live for the first time on the website of BAS www.bas.bg. You can see a recording of the ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjUZJ800GMo&feature=youtu.be
