Vice President Iliana Iotova visits the Bulgarians in Moldova

Vice President Iliana Iotova is visiting Taraclia, Moldova, on September 19-20. Today, she is an official guest at a ceremony to award the winners of the essay contest organized by the Bulgarian National Radio for schoolchildren and students from the Bulgarian diaspora in Ukraine and Moldova. The initiative is held under the auspices of the Vice President with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science and aims to strengthen ties with Bulgarian communities around the world. The participants in the contest - schoolchildren and young people aged 11 to 19, wrote about a Bulgarian historical figure they would like to meet, and about a Bulgarian poem that inspires them with hope and strength.

The event will be accompanied by a special program with the participation of a folklore group from the Bulgarian National Radio Folk Music Orchestra, the Svetoglas Quartet and folk singer Julia Gatderova.

Among the highlights of Iliana Yotova's visit is a meeting with the leadership of the Ruse University "Angel Kanchev" and its newly opened branch in the city of Taraclia. The branch is the successor to the Taraclia State University "Gregory Tsamblak". The idea for the branch dates back to Iliana Iotova's first visit to Moldova as Vice President in 2017.

On September 20, at the invitation of the Chair of the Taraclia Region, Iotova will open the 24th International Ethnocultural Festival "Diversity in Unity". The festival presents the traditions, lifestyle and culture of the different ethnic groups living in the Republic of Moldova. In the Taraclia region, over 70% of the population is of Bulgarian origin, as the Bulgarian community has over 200 years of history.