The parliamentary Committee on Demographic Policy, Children and Family can rely on the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) to serve as a platform for its activities and messages - as well as for a much broader goal: to provide more information related to demographics for Bulgarians both in the country and abroad, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said via a video connection at a meeting of the Committee. Valchev is a member of the Public Council with the Committee on Demographic Policy, Children and Family.
"I would like to share a few points," he said. "One of them concerns the potential for communicating messages in the field of demography to Bulgarians around the world, whose number, according to various statistics, likely exceeds 2 million. BTA is a very suitable platform for this. We have permanent correspondents in regions with large Bulgarian communities — in both parts of Bessarabia, in Moldova and Ukraine — in Odesa and Taraclia, as well as in the Western Outlands in Serbia. We are planning to appoint correspondents in the new Bulgarian emigrant communities as well. That’s one project we are working on."
He added: "We also have a dedicated service, BG World, which we launched in 2021. That year, we published 243 news items related to Bulgarians abroad. In 2024, we have already published over 8,000, Valchev pointed out.
Another opportunity, he noted, lies in the press clubs of Bulgaria's national news agency located across the country. "There are 33 press clubs — not only in regional capitals, but also in several larger towns. We are expanding this network, including places such as Kazanlak, Gotse Delchev, Samokov, Petrich, Troyan, and Svishtov. Often, BTA is the only way for people in these areas to participate in national — and even pan-European — debates," said the Director General.
A third key area of focus, Valchev said, is promoting Bulgarian universities. "Currently, we have agreements with 44 out of 51 universities. By the end of the year, I hope to reach agreements with all of them. The goal is to increase awareness about what Bulgarian universities offer so that more young people choose to study here."
The fourth opportunity is in the economic sphere. "We have created a specialized economic news service, which did not exist before 2021. It includes a lot of information about business opportunities in Bulgaria," Valchev added.
He also highlighted the importance of a dedicated section BTA runs in cooperation with the I Want a Baby Foundation, titled Baby on Time.
Kiril Valchev joined the committee meeting via video link from Ankara, where he attended an exhibition of posters for Bulgarian plays in Turkiye, and the presentation of BTA’s new correspondent in the Turkish capital.
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