On November 8, 2024, the date on which the Western Bulgarian Outlands Day is celebrated, the Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences organized the scientific conference “Western Bulgarian Outlands – History and Prospects”. The forum was held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of Refugees from the Western Outlands, an event that united the Bulgarians who had left their homelands after the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty of Neuilly.
The conference held its four sessions in the building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The participants in the conference received a congratulatory address from the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Rumen Radev. The Minister of Defence Mr. Atanas Zapryanov also sent a congratulatory address. The Bulgarian representative in the European Parliament Dr. Andrey Kovachev also sent his congratulations to the organizers. Mr Ivan Kondov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, took part in the work of the forum. The Director of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, Ms. Raina Mandzhukova, delivered an address which highlighted the importance of the scientific event and the place of the Western Bulgarian Outlands in the activities of the institution she headed. The Director of the Institute for Historical Studies at BAS, Prof. Dr. Daniel Vachkov, also addressed the participants in the conference.
The anniversary scientific event was attended by scholars from several institutes of BAS – the Institute for Historical Studies, the Institute for Population and Human Studies, the Institute for Literature, the Institute for Balkan Studies, as well as from Sofia University, the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies, the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, the Bulgarian News Agency, museums in the country, and a number of researchers, intellectuals and public figures. The chairman of the Culture and Information Centre in the town of Bosilegrad, Mr. Ivan Nikolov, actively participated in the work of the conference. A wide range of topics related to the past, present and future of the Western Bulgarian Outlands were discussed. The organizers undertook to publish the presented reports and also to inform the Bulgarian and European institutions about the problems of the Bulgarian minority in Serbia.
