BNR's Radio Kardzhali celebrates its 10th birthday!

Besides being celebrated as Europe Day, May 9 is also a significant date for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) for another reason - it was on May 9, 2016, that our large radio family welcomed a new member. BNR’s ninth regional radio station in the town of Kardzhali - “The Voice of the Rhodopes” - went on air for the first time.

Among those attending the opening ceremony of Radio Kardzhali were our colleagues from Radio Bulgaria’s Turkish-language broadcasts. On that occasion, they prepared the first live bilingual programme in Bulgarian and Turkish, welcoming as guests the Radio Kardzhali team, representatives of local government and business, public figures, writers, and local performers of Bulgarian and Turkish folk songs.

Over the past 10 years, the Turkish-language programmes, broadcast daily at 8:00, 13:00 and 20:00, have become some of the most popular programme segments on the regional station in Kardzhali. This is confirmed not only by sociological surveys, but also by the warm reception given to the colleagues from Radio Bulgaria’s Turkish-language team during their on-location broadcasts over the years - from the Radio Kardzhali studio, the village square in Kirkovo, and the centre of Ardino.

These broadcasts by Radio Bulgaria provided a platform for representatives of local authorities, writers and poets from Bulgaria and Türkiye, emerging talents from the Bulgarian and Turkish music scenes, and listeners from the region. The meetings were welcomed with great excitement and interest, for which we are sincerely grateful.

The cooperation between the teams of Radio Bulgaria and Radio Kardzhali has also been productive in another direction - the information prepared by the Kardzhali team forms an important part of the Turkish-language broadcasts. It also frequently finds its way into publications by the other nine foreign-language services of BNR’s international platform, Radio Bulgaria.

We wish our colleagues at Radio Kardzhali continued success in upholding the public mission and authority of the national radio in Southern Bulgaria with the same brilliance and dedication. And may they continue to give resonance, meaning and strength to their motto - “The Voice of the Rhodopes”!

Edited by Shevkie Chakar
English: R. Petkova