site.btaForum on Past and Future of Western Bulgarian Outlands Held in Sofia and Bosilegrad

A two-day scientific conference titled “Western Bulgarian Outlands – History and Prospects” was held on November 6 and 7 at the National Student House in Sofia and at the Cultural Information Center in Bosilegrad. The forum addressed topics related to historical events, legal and territorial aspects, demographic and economic developments in the region, as well as the present and future of the Western outlands (an area now in Southeastern Serbia which Bulgaria, defeated in World War I, lost to Yugoslavia under the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly, and which is inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians). 

The conference was organized by the Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), the Scientific Institute of the Western Outlands, the Cultural and Information Center "Bosilegrad". 

During the opening ceremony, Director of the Institute for Historical Studies at BAS, Prof. Daniel Vachkov, said that the conference aims not only to outline new research fields but also to fill significant gaps in historiography. 

Rayna Mandzhukova, Executive Director of the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, emphasized that schools and cultural centers are key institutions in preserving Bulgarian identity. “We must continue to maintain these connections. They are vital for our compatriots in the Western Outlands to know that Bulgaria has not forgotten them,” Mandzhukova said.

Dimitar Tsanev, Consul of Bulgaria in Nis, presented the challenges faced in working with the Bulgarian community abroad and in protecting its interests. He wished success to the conference and expressed hope that it would address more of the issues concerning Bulgarians in the region.

A greeting address on behalf of Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev was also read during the opening.

Over the course of the two days, five sessions were held, featuring around 30 academic papers, which will be published in a conference proceedings volume.