On January 25 this year, the Bulgarian National Radio will celebrate its 90th anniversary. The celebration will be accompanied by various initiatives, culminating in the ceremony of presenting the Annual Radio Journalism Awards "Sirak Skitnik" this Saturday and a concert in the National Opera and Ballet with the participation of all six musical ensembles of the Bulgarian National Radio.

"90 years is a very serious number and a very serious responsibility. This anniversary reminds us that we are here now thanks to the work of many colleagues who have left their heart and soul in the Bulgarian National Radio,” the Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio, Milen Mitev, said in a special interview with Radio Bulgaria. “Our biggest challenge as a media outlet with such a long history is by using the lessons learned from the past to modernize ourselves and stand on a par with our newer competitors."

"History has value only when it ceases to be rancorous," one of the most prominent Bulgarian satirists Radoy Ralin wrote years ago. The history of the Bulgarian National Radio is actually priceless. "With pride and happiness, we must mention the beginning and the exceptional figure of the first director of the radio - Sirak Skitnik," says Kin Stoyanov, son of Radoy Ralin and director of the "Hristo Botev" program these days. It was the public media education and culture program that was strongly involved in the creation of the multimedia exhibition "In the Footsteps of Sirak Skitnik" two years ago.

The presentation of the new multimedia virtual exhibition-story dedicated to the 90 anniversary of the Bulgarian National Radio in Studio 2 of the BNR on January 22 marks the beginning of a series of festive initiatives. The exhibition’s author is once again Professor Boyan Dobrev in cooperation with the Archive Fund of BNR and BTA. Despite the overall development of technologies, it is impossible to fully cover such a huge database as the Bulgarian National Radio in a multimedia publication, Kin Stoyanov says and tells us more about the exhibition.

"Our goal is everyone to have the opportunity to see this history even from their mobile device. Prof. Boyan Dobrev created this multimedia not through the eyes of a radio employee, but through the eyes of a part of Bulgarian society that enjoys the public function the Bulgarian National Radio performs. Everyone will have the opportunity to take a virtual tour to the radio studios, walk around the building itself, look at the radio tape storage facility, which is located in the resort of Borovets and many other things. You will be able to listen to music, hear memories and various audio recordings. The founders of the radio are also presented there through their virtual portraits. Everyone will be able to find something interesting in the exhibition."

On behalf of the Bulgarian National Radio, Kin Stoyanov expresses his immense gratitude to the Archives State Agency and BTA that provided a large amount of visual archives and very valuable documents, making the visual story about the Bulgarian National Radio very complete and reliable.

The festive program for the Bulgarian National Radio continues with other events.

"On January 23, we will present in front of Studio 1 of the Bulgarian National Radio a very special exhibition of paintings drawn by students from art high schools in the country for this year's second consecutive contest ‘In the Footsteps of Sirak Skitnik’, in which students draw works in the style of the famous artist. At the end of February, a photographic exhibition with photos dedicated to the entire history of the Bulgarian National Radio, which we have collected from the BTA archive and the Central State Archive, will be presented in the building of the radio," the Director General of the public radio, Milen Mitev, says.

The art exhibition "In the Footsteps of Sirak Skitnik" and the photo exhibition will also travel to all cities with regional radio stations of the Bulgarian National Radio during the year. At the end of February, a special issue of BTA’s magazine LIK, dedicated to the Bulgarian National Radio, will also be presented.

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Boyan Dobrev