At the end of this year, the 13 Centuries of Bulgaria National Endowment Fund is launching a new initiative aimed at supporting young Bulgarian talents. The condition is that they have earned a specialization in a higher educational institution in Europe, excluding Bulgaria. Nominees must have a master's degree and innovative achievements in science or art. The idea goes back to the old-time Revival Period tradition, when the large patriarchal family would do everything possible to send their children across Europe to study and return to take over the family craft, notes Slava Ivanova, Executive Director of 13 Centuries of Bulgaria Fund and adds:

“Today, this tradition has not been forgotten. I think there are enough Bulgarian families who do their best to help their children continue their education at prestigious universities. That is why we have decided to support this endeavor with the award which is named after the 13 Centuries of Bulgaria Fund.”

The distinction will be awarded every two years and applications will be considered by a special jury selected among the professors at prestigious Bulgarian higher educational institutions and scientific circles:

“We expect all of them to submit proposals to the jury, which will determine the six nominees. In mid-June 2020 we will announce who will be the winner of the award, which also has its monetary expression to the tune of 5,000 Bulgarian leva, a modest sum but given out sincerely! The criteria are sufficiently comprehensive and open to different fields of science and art so that more young people may wish to apply.”

The names of the six nominees will be announced in January 2020, as the Fund will organize a separate donation campaign for each of them, entitled "Support a Talent – Make a Donation". According to Slava Ivanova, there have always been contributors, so she hopes that the initiative will reach the hearts of more of our compatriots at home and abroad. On the other hand, the establishment of the 13 Centuries of Bulgaria award looks to the future, with the hope that the "investment" in young talents will contribute in some way to the development of this country:

“Once you have been supported by a donation campaign, you have a moral commitment to give back to society through the talent and accomplishments of what they have invested in you. In any case, the award of the Fund is an incentive for them to return to Bulgaria and to have the opportunity to realize here, among us, what they have learned. The award is a brand new moment in our activity and we look forward to seeing what our candidates are up to.”

In the recent past, in 1988, the 13 Centuries of Bulgaria National Endowment Fund provided a valuable violin to a talented Bulgarian 18-year-old boy. This was the virtuoso violinist Vasko Vassilev, who at only the age of eight recorded his first record, at the age of 16 won the Jacques Thibaud Violin Competition, and at 18 he won the Niccolo Paganini prize.

“We would very much like our young talents to resemble these figures, to have the opportunity for this type of professional realization. The world has become very small, whether they will make a successful career in Bulgaria or find their path in life somewhere abroad, this will hardly interfere with their connection with Bulgaria, their families, with all of us. Let’s hope that their names will become as famous and popular as those of talented Bulgarians of the past, and of those who are spreading Bulgaria’s glory in the present day.”

Photos: fund13veka.bg