site.btaCandlelight Initiative Launches Sixth Edition, Inviting Schools to Create Their Own Anthems

The sixth edition of the Svetilnik (Candlelight) initiative began on Thursday, October 1, International Music Day. This is an initiative organized by the Musicautor group, with which the Bulgarian authors community donates anthems to Bulgarian schools. The cause brings together composers, authors, students, teachers and partners around a common goal - to encourage creativity and build a sense of belonging in children and adults through the power of music, the organizers explained.

The team behind the initiative announced the conditions and deadlines for applying for the competition, as well as the opportunities for schools to become part of the initiative. The organizers stressed that they are looking for school communities that have something to tell - about their history, their patron, their values ​​and the dreams they want to pass on to future generations.

Svetilnik is one of the ways to revive the feeling of a school community, said the Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Georgi Valchev, at the opening of the sixth edition of the initiative. He spoke about his meeting with students at the Bolhrad High School when he heard them perform the anthem donated to them. "They have some difficulty pronouncing the Bulgarian words, but when they sang, you could feel the connection with the language," said Valchev. The Minister also spoke about two events at Sunday schools in Paris, which were attended by children from all over Europe. According to him, when reading poems by young children who live in a foreign language environment, one could feel "through their genes, through family upbringing" their sense of the rhythm of the Bulgarian language.

"As the national information institute of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) has the mission to cover events, to preserve the spirit, identity and cultural heritage of our country", said the Agency's Secretary General Julia Sokolova at the opening of the sixth edition of the initiative. "It was completely natural for us to be the first institution to unconditionally support the Svetilnik campaign from its very beginning. Over the years, we have seen how this wonderful initiative has grown into a large-scale movement - today, over 33,000 Bulgarian children already have their own anthems, which inspire them with pride and a sense of community," said Sokolova.

"Music has always been at the heart of radio, music is the heart and soul of radio, but there is more to 'Svetilnik' than just music" said the Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) Milen Mitev at the opening of the initiative.

In his words, the initiative intends to strengthen the students' connection with the school, which gives them the foundations they need to then "conquer the peaks of life." This, in his words, happens through music as a universal language, "because music does not need translation. It directly connects the soul of the creator with the soul of the listener." 

The Svetilnik initiative is significant, noble and inspiring, said the Chair of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM), Gabriela Naplatanova. According to her, music acts through emotion, emotion is remembered, and memory is part of building identity. Naplatanova expressed her gratitude to all the artists who have participated in the initiative over the years.

The CEM Chair noted that at the beginning of the sixth edition of the initiative, over 33,000 children already have their own school anthem, which she described as extremely important, both for the children in Bulgaria and for children whose hearts also beat for Bulgaria.

The Svetilnik initiative of Musicautor has reached 40 schools in 20 settlements in Bulgaria and the Bolhrad High School in Ukraine in five years, announced the organization's executive director Ivan Dimitrov at the opening of its sixth edition. This year, the invitation to participate will be extended to schools in Asenovgrad, Gabrovo, Lovech, Pleven, Sevlievo, Sofia, Troyan, as well as to Shumen and Razgrad, which will be considered jointly. In his words, Svetilnik is part of the DNA of Musicautor. "We have managed to stimulate the use of the Bulgarian language and address it to those who have the greatest need in their own development to reach it - these are the children in Bulgarian schools," he said.  

Since its launch in 2021, the Svetilnik initiative has brought together more than 31,000 students and nearly 2,300 teachers from 20 settlements through music, creativity and shared values. It has also involved more than 190 authors and five graduating classes from the Faculty of Screen Arts of the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), which participated in producing the videos accompanying the hymns.

BTA has been a media partner of the initiative since its inception in 2021. The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Bulgarian National Television, the Bulgarian National Radio, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre and Sofia Municipality.