site.btaPresident Iotova Addresses Union of Sociocultural Centres on 170th Anniversary

President Iliana Iotova extended greetings to workers of the Union of Sociocultural Centres (chitalishta) on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the Union's establishment, the President's Press Secretariat said on Friday.

“For more than a century and a half, Bulgarian chitalishta have preserved and passed on the values of our identity, maintained the memory of the past and opened horizons for the future,” the head of State said in an address to cultural activists marking the 170 years since the founding of the nationwide chitalishte movement in Bulgaria and the establishment of the Union of Sociocultural Centres.

According to the President, the milestone anniversary marks one of the brightest and most enduring traditions in the spiritual history of the Bulgarian people.

The Bulgarian chitalishte is a unique national phenomenon and a distinctive centre of education, culture, patriotism and civic engagement, Iotova said. She recalled the founding of the first national chitalishta in Svishtov, Lom and Shumen, which remain lasting symbols of the Revival spirit, and of the pursuit of knowledge and spiritual freedom.

Iotova welcomed the rich programme dedicated to observing the anniversary and the initiative to establish a national representative organizing committee with the participation of prominent figures from the fields of science, education and culture.

“This is a clear sign of the vitality and authority of the chitalishte movement in contemporary Bulgaria,” Iotova said.