Elka Rоuskov is the newest among “Bulgarian Woman of the Year” laureates

For the 15th time, the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad has presented its “Bulgarian Woman of the Year” award to one of the many Bulgarian women who devote their energy, knowledge, emotion and a significant part of their personal time to causes aimed at preserving and strengthening the ties between Bulgarian communities around the world and their homeland. This year, 29 Bulgarian women from 11 countries were nominated.

At a special ceremony in the Maxima Hall of the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, the jury presented the St Zlata Meglenska Award to Elka Rouskov from the United States. She received a bronze statuette and an icon of the saint, the heavenly patroness of Bulgarians abroad.

“I am absolutely delighted to be the newest little bird in the flock of women honoured with this prestigious award,” Ms Rouskov said, dedicating the distinction to Bulgarian schools, folk organisations, libraries, community centres and cultural clubs in the United States and Canada.

“For me, ‘Bulgarian Woman of the Year’ means connection, communication, a bridge and a bond with Bulgaria, as well as great responsibility and love. I cannot sum up this moment or my work for my country in a single word, but it is about connection, a bridge and love for Bulgaria,” she said emotionally in an interview with Radio Bulgaria immediately after the award ceremony.

With Elka Rouskov’s support, a number of ongoing cultural programmes and groups have flourished. They include the Bulgarian Voices women’s choir in Seattle, the Seattle Cheta folk ensemble, the Medena Pitka children’s folk group and the Glagolnitsa literary circle. Through their work, Bulgarian culture is not merely a memory of the past, but a living experience passed down from one generation to the next.

The concerts, theatre performances and cultural events she organises in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, Las Vegas and Seattle build bridges between Bulgarians in different parts of America and showcase the richness of the Bulgarian spirit to a wider audience.

Elka Rouskov also makes a point of engaging young people. At her initiative, the Little Bulgarian School in Chicago organises the Bulgarian poetry recitation competition How Beautiful You Are, My Homeland.

“What matters to me is that we continue our work in support of Bulgarian organisations abroad,” Elka Ruskova said. “They need this support enormously because they are involved in educating Bulgarian children abroad every day. I can say this because I have witnessed their work for years. I believe that, particularly in the United States, we should strive to work together with Bulgarian organisations, community centres, libraries, folk ensembles, festivals and schools. This will be my next mission to bring people together, and I am glad and hopeful that I will have the strength and support to pursue it, as I have had until now.”

Ms Ruskova added that she would be happy to support initiatives that could unite members of the newly established Club of Bulgarian Woman of the Year - St Zlata of Meglen laureates around shared causes.

Plaques recognising contributions to the promotion of the Bulgarian language, folklore, culture and spirituality abroad were presented to Elisaveta Yordanova, founder and choreographer of the Gorana ensemble in New York; Teodora Mileva, representing the management of the Sts Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Cultural and Educational Organisation in Vienna; Elka Rouskov, one of the co-founders of the Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Seattle; and Yana Belichka, head and choreographer of the Zornitsa ensemble in Montreal.

To mark the 15th presentation of the Bulgarian Woman of the Year - St Zlata Meglenska 2025 award, special lifetime achievement distinctions for promoting Bulgarian culture and spirituality around the world were presented to Diana Glasnova of Zagreb, Croatia, editor-in-chief of the Rodna Rech magazine, and Violeta Zhelyazkova of Boston, United States, who helped establish a Bulgarian cultural centre in the city 25 years ago.

Special recognition was also given posthumously to Kamelia Ilieva, editor-in-chief of the Bulgarian magazine Roden Glas, published in the Czech Republic. Her husband, Sasho Iliev, accepted the plaque on her behalf.

Once again, the “Audience Favourite Bulgarian Woman” award was also presented. This year’s recipient was Lyutvie Gencheva of Freiburg, Germany, founder and driving force behind the folk dance ensemble Mladost na Megdana (“Youth on the Village Square").

On 7 November, the group will take part in a concert marking the tenth anniversary of the Association of Bulgarian Folk Ensembles Abroad.

“The award means a great deal to me because the Audience Favourite is a woman people have voted for, and people vote only when they know someone and are familiar with what she does. I am grateful to everyone who voted for me, especially as there were 29 Bulgarian women nominated this year.

“Metaphorically speaking, each one of them is a storm wherever she lives, striving in her own way and drawing on her own strengths to preserve the Bulgarian community or guide it in a particular direction. I would very much like these women to have the opportunity to unite around common goals in the future, so that they can move things forward together and 29 storms can become a hurricane.”

The Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad established the Bulgarian Woman of the Year - St Zlata of Meglen award in 2009. According to tradition, Zlata was a young Bulgarian woman who, during Ottoman rule, refused to renounce her Christian faith despite the cruelty inflicted upon her. She died a martyr and is now revered as the patron saint of Bulgarians living abroad.

English version: R. Petkova