The 21st World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, organised by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), opened in Budapest and Esztergom on 19 October, with this year's forum held under the motto “Media and Leaders”.
The opening coincided with Bulgaria-Hungary Friendship Day, observed in Hungary, and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church's feast day of St Ivan of Rila.
Laura Gyonei, Hungary's deputy ombudsman for the rights of nationalities, sent greetings to people of Bulgarian descent, forum participants and representatives of Bulgarian authorities attending the event.
“Although the beginnings of relations between our peoples are lost in the mists of ancient history, numerous signs show that our ancestors maintained contacts even before settling in their present homelands, with their cultures influencing each other,” she said.
She added that ties between the two peoples had continued over the centuries, with Bulgarians arriving in Hungary in several waves during the Ottoman conquest, particularly in Transylvania and Banat.
Gyonei also highlighted Istvan Dunyov, also known as Stefan Dunyov, whom she described as an unjustly overlooked figure in the shared history of the two nations. Born into a family of Banat Bulgarians, he took part in the Hungarian Revolution and war of independence of 1848-1849, later served as a colonel under Giuseppe Garibaldi and subsequently worked alongside Lajos Kossuth in exile.
As part of the forum, Metropolitan Antonii of Western and Central Europe and Father Csaba, episcopal delegate for Esztergom Basilica, held a prayer service at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St Adalbert in Esztergom.
Editor: Miglena Ivanova