Prof. Minko Balkanski and his young followers in science and philanthropy

Prof. Minko Balkanski is a world-renowned scientist in the field of physics. He was born in Bulgaria, but while still a student he left to study in France. Today the professor is 97 years old, yet he continues to support young Bulgarians who have the potential and desire to develop further in the exact sciences.

In Bulgaria, Prof. Balkanski is best known for the activities of the Minu Balkanski Foundation, named after his father. Over the past 31 years, Prof. Balkanski has supported the development of dozens of talented young Bulgarians with a strong interest in the exact sciences.

Even today, the professor’s home in the French village of Fourges is open to young people from Bulgaria who have come to study at various universities in France as scholarship recipients of the foundation. All of them say that Professor Balkanski is like a second father to them, someone with whom they share their dreams and to whom they turn for help and advice in difficult times.

The dozens of successfully established young scientists who, 20-30 years ago, were scholarship recipients of Prof. Minko Balkanski best embody his idea of altruism and selfless dedication. “He belongs to world science, to world civilization, and to humanity’s universal striving for moral values, public duty, and high ideals.”

This is how the authors describe the professor in the documentary film about him titled “The Capital of Prof. Minko Balkanski.” The premiere of the film took place on May 27 at the Vlaykova cinema in Sofia. Representatives of the Bulgarian Sunday School “John Atanasoff” in Chicago and the program “The Untold Stories of Bulgarians” under the Ministry of Education and Science attended the event. With their support, the filming and realization of the documentary became possible.

“This is a film created by emigrants for emigrants. But above all, it is a film about dignity. About the Bulgarians who, no matter where they live, remain connected to their homeland through knowledge, memory, and spirituality,” said Boyanka Ivanova, director of the Sunday school in Chicago.

Today, laureates of Prof. Balkanski’s foundation are among the successful Bulgarian scientists and specialists around the world in fields such as physics, mathematics, high technologies, cryptography, and medicine. One of the strongest impressions left by the one-hour film is the conclusion Prof. Balkanski himself has reached over the years. He says: “The source of talented young people in Bulgaria is inexhaustible”.

A large portion of those who completed their education in France with the support of the Minu Balkanski Foundation have chosen to build careers abroad. Some scholarship recipients, however, have returned to Bulgaria to contribute to the country’s development. This is what Teodor Parvanov, one of the participants in the documentary, says. After graduating from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, he spent several years working in Belgium and France before returning to Bulgaria in 2014:

“I know all the other scholarship recipients. The long-term goal is to give additional energy to Bulgaria, each through his own contribution, whether in Bulgaria or abroad, so that we can be ambassadors of our culture - I would say of Bulgarian-European culture. I think a person first has to see something good, to have a point of reference, and then apply it. One can develop very well in Bulgaria and learn many things after returning here. I think going abroad to study gives you the opportunity to bring something back to Bulgaria. That’s how I see it - not as a one-way ticket.

During the Bulgarian National Revival, which is also mentioned in the film, every family that had the opportunity sent one of their children abroad to study, and afterward they applied what they had learned in Bulgaria. Such people became teachers; they brought technologies and new knowledge with them. I would like us to recreate something similar in the modern era through the transfer of knowledge.

Besides technical and scientific knowledge, I also developed as a person there - I became independent and overcame many difficulties, just like the other scholarship laureates. I came into contact with brilliant people and gained a very positive outlook on the world. I would say that I was not overwhelmed by the hardships and everyday struggles that our parents and people in Bulgaria generally had to face. That built great optimism in me. Living in France helped me greatly, and today I stop at nothing to achieve my goals. A person may become discouraged one day, but the next day begins with renewed energy, and I think that is the most valuable thing I learned - never to give up under any circumstances.”

“But for every scholarship recipient, a path to the world opened up, and Prof. Balkanski extended a helping hand to us -organizationally, with accommodation, and with support. In some situations, he even helped financially. He has always been there for us,” Teodor Parvanov further recounts. He adds that there is now an entire network of highly educated people who are successful in their respective fields. What they all have in common is that they have been influenced by the personality of Prof. Minko Balkanski.

“We want to spread the professor’s work in the best possible way. He set us the example - to help others like ourselves.”

Teodor Parvanov continues:

“I decided to return to Bulgaria in 2014 after completing my education and gaining professional experience in France and Belgium. That’s where my corporate culture was formed, but I decided that my long-term investment would be a life in Bulgaria. I am developing here now, and I already have a family here. I now have a small child, and I want to teach her love for Bulgaria as well. She must first learn Bulgarian, and then go out and explore the world.

At our company we create components for AI agents. We support them with components, and this is a new stage in the development of humanity. Some people perceive AI as a threat, but I see it as an amplifier of our intelligence - the lever that will elevate humanity to a higher level. Artificial intelligence is an intellectual lever that will allow us to go further and make sense of more things in the world. From this point of view, for me it is a great enhancer of human knowledge”, says Teodor Parvanov, one of the participants in the documentary.

Edited by D. Semkovska

English: R. Petkova