site.btaNew York City Consulate Recaps 2025 Work In Mission Review

The Consulate General of Bulgaria in New York City posted an overview of its 2025 work on its Facebook page under the heading State of the Consulate! 2025.

“Following an established tradition in our host country, for a fourth year in a row we are sharing with our community in the north-eastern states of the United States a short overview of what the Consulate General in New York achieved over the past year across the main areas of our work,” Consul General Angel Angelov wrote on the mission’s social media page.

In the post, he also listed what the mission’s team worked on in 2025.

The first priority was to strengthen the Consulate General in New York City as a cultural centre where the Bulgarian community feels welcome, and which promotes Bulgarian culture among residents of the metropolis.

“Thousands of guests attended the varied and authentic cultural events of our community at the Consulate General and beyond,” Angelov wrote, giving the following examples: concerts of classical music (including Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York, Off the Beaten Path: Chamber Music, Veneta Neynska, and an annual children’s piano recital organized by Lora Al-Ahmad), traditional folklore (Gorana Dance, Yasna Voices, the Paisius of Hilendar ensemble at the Bulgaria–Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center (BMNECC) in Pittsburgh, and the Ludo Mlado ensemble from Boston), jazz (Wladigeroff Brothers, Peter Slavov, and The Shrinks), and rock (B.T.R.); films (Wingless, Debris of an Afternoon, Breath, Devil’s Play); theatre and musicals (including productions by the Bulgarian Children's Chorus and School Gergana in New York); book presentations (including works by Angel Kolev, Vladimir Levchev, Kiril Kristoff, Zdravka Evtimova, and Onnik Karanfilyan); and exhibitions (by Houben Tcherkelov, Hana Ivanov, Svetlozar Parmakov, Radoslav Maglov, Veselin Kurtev, Bilyana Velkova, and Iliyan Ivanov).

According to Angelov, the mission put a special focus on educational initiatives, in particular Sunday schools, which he described as a mainstay of the Bulgarian community.

“We marked the 20th anniversary of the Hristo Botev Bulgarian School in New York and the 10th anniversary of the Bulgarian Educational Center in Nantucket. We also partnered with visiting representatives of the National Trade and Banking High School in Sofia,” Angelov wrote.

The Consul General also wrote that Bulgarian-American academic links were growing, including through hosting events by the American University in Bulgaria, the American College of Sofia and Teach for Bulgaria.

In 2025, Bulgaria’s diplomatic mission in New York City also ran joint initiatives with leading universities, including Columbia University in the City of New York. The Consulate General also hosted an event with psychologist and counsellor Vanessa Pojarlieva on emotional support for teenagers and parents when applying to secondary schools and universities.

Over the past year, the mission’s team took part in hundreds of cultural and educational events organised by the Bulgarian community, including gatherings such as those held by the Bulgarian Cultural Center of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and the Traditsiya festival in Boston, as well as celebrations, concerts and fairs.

In cooperation with the community, the Consulate General of Bulgaria in New York City also presented Bulgarian culture through a range of events organised by the city’s consular corps.

The mission also put an emphasis on digital diplomacy through social media, positioning itself as a hub for promoting cultural events with Bulgarian participation and building direct, rapid communication with the community in its consular district, Angelov wrote.

Initiatives by the Consulate General and the community to promote Bulgarian culture and education were reflected in nearly 300 media pieces, most of them by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), as well as by Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Eurochicago.com and others, along with thousands of social media posts, Angelov wrote.

The mission’s team also shared information about the rescue of Bulgaria’s Jews during the Second World War and the Bulgarian government’s efforts to combat antisemitism. It also worked closely with influential American Jewish organisations.

For a third year in a row, Bulgaria’s national day was marked by raising the Bulgarian flag at Bowling Green, by the Charging Bull on Wall Street, with the Mayor of New York City again greeting the Bulgarian community, the overview added.

The Consulate General also worked to improve consular services, including through using and optimizing an electronic system for booking and changing appointments, with the aim of providing the fastest possible and highest-quality services to the community while working with a limited staff, the overview said.

“We were repeatedly in contact with Bulgarians who needed urgent assistance, including in prisons or hospitals, and with their families,” Angelov wrote.

His team kept regular contacts with local institutions such as the Office of Foreign Missions, the New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs and politicians, and communicated with other consulates general to exchange views on consular services and jointly organise cultural events.

Angelov was re-elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York and as vice-president of the regional group Europe 1.

The mission’s team in New York City expanded its contacts with the business community in the consular region, including representatives of companies with Bulgarian participation, and took part in business fairs. The Consulate General also repeatedly hosted meetings focused on developing Bulgaria’s start-up ecosystem and entrepreneurial spirit. A special guest at an event at the Consulate General for Bulgarian entrepreneurs was Ivan Mihaylov, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham).

Bulgaria’s diplomatic mission in New York City also partnered with the Bulgarian Orthodox Cathedral in New York, with Metropolitan Joseph as a special participant in the national day celebrations, while the Consulate General’s team attended services at Sts. Cyril & Methody Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Cathedral.

The Consulate General also continued to expand its Take a Book, Share a Book library, with the hundreds of books that were taken more than replaced by donations from members of the community.

“The main challenge in our work is the severely limited staff and budget we have to cover a consular district with a territory four times larger than Bulgaria’s. A particular problem is the lack of a mobile biometric station, needed for holding travelling consular days,” Angelov wrote, adding: “We try to make up for it with energy, a desire to be useful and, above all, with the tremendous support of the wonderful Bulgarian community in the American north-east.”

“Thank you to everyone we were able to work with in support of Bulgarian culture and education across the ocean. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!” Angelov wrote.