The President Rumen Radev Highlighted the Rector of UNWE among the Significant Personalities of Our Time, Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov Celebrated His 60th Anniversary with a Noble Cause

The Rector of UNWE Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov celebrated his 60^th Anniversary with a noble cause that joined the numerous guests attending the jubilee. More than 150 guests, including the Rector's management team, lecturers, employees, representatives of the Trustees Council, Rectors of universities, representatives of economic and financial institutions, prominent UNWE alumni and journalists came to greet the Rector of UNWE in the shared area of the University Corpus K.

On the ocassion of his jubilee the Rector invited the guests to take part in a charitable cause and donate the amount provided for birthday gifts to St. Sofia Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital for Children with Cerebral Palsy.

"Thank you very much for honouring my Anniversary. I am glad to be among you and to share this moment together”, addressed to the guests Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and added: "My wish was to do something good and meaningful on this day, so I invited you to join a noble cause. Among us is Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Chavdarov, Director of St. Sofia Specialized Rehabilitation Hospital for Children with Cerebral Palsy who will tell us more about the initiative and how we could make ourselves useful by donating these funds to the hospital.

Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Chavdarov greeted Prof. Dimitrov for his jubilee and outlined: "I was very pleasantly surprised by the idea that you and your team have developed. Instead of collecting objects that are valuable for the moment, it would be much more valuable in the future if you purchased a device that could serve children who have limited opportunities for socialization. St. Sofia Hospital is the first specialized hospital for children with cerebral palsy and cares for children from birth, i.e. from 0 to 24 years old. In the last ten years we have also introduced high-tech rehabilitation, robotic rehabilitation, which has opened a new window of opportunity for our children. With the funds collected, which we will be accurately accounted and documented, we will enter into a contract with your team specifying exactly what the funds are to be used for. We intend to purchase a special robot for upper limb immobilization. Thank you all for your donations. Your help, support and compassion are invaluable. We always feature our donors on the hospital's website so that people know that there are also people with a heart who donate money for the children".

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Chavdarov and Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov

The President and Supreme Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev also greeted the Rector. "Your significant presence in the Bulgarian education and science, your contribution to the development and consolidation of the University of National and World Economy and your attitude to the social processes in our country make you one of the most significant personalities of our time", says the President in his greeting address.

Prof. Dr. Petko Todorov who is one of the doyens of the Media and Public Communication Department, greeted Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and emphasized: "I would like to say three things: First, that 60 years is a young age in an academic environment and for a university professor. There is a worldwide study that was recently published, involving Western European and American universities, which shows that the most fulfilling age for research and teaching is firstly between 60 and 70 years old, secondly between 70 and 80 years old and thirdly between 50 and 60 years old. Secondly, Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, in his academic speech to the Faculty Council when he became a professor, said something that I have remembered. He used a metaphor about the fact that when you see a house or a block of flats with a broken window, you can expect the next ones to be broken, to be left behind, to be abandoned. I would like to greet him that there is not a single broken window in the UNWE, that the University looks the way a modern higher education institution should look, and since he has both the spirit and the strength, I wish him good health in the coming years to finish what he has started".

Dr. Eng. Hasan Azis, UNWE graduate and longtime mayor of Kardzhaly, also addressed a greeting to Prof. Dimitrov: "When you start talking about the years on a birthday or on an anniversary, it already seems serious. We often try to minimize them, but these years are actually a reason for pride and joy, and I am sure that these 60 years, Prof. Dimitrov, are a good foundation for the next successful 60".

"Dear Prof. Dimitrov, allow me to say "Happy Birthday" on behalf of all 82 thousand members of the Syndicate of Bulgarian Teachers, to welcome your guests, because I am deeply convinced that these are your friends, and to greet the academic leadership of your university. I know that this is the best university in Bulgaria. And I would like to thank you personally, Prof. Dimitrov, because you have not only opened the doors, but also the windows and entered the secondary level of education. Thank you also for the good partnership!", greeted the Rector of UNWE the President of the Syndicate of Bulgarian Teachers D.Sc./Econ./ Yanka Takeva.

One of the surprises for Prof. Dimitrov was the performance of the talented young singer Stefan Ilchev.

Earlier that day, the Minister of Defence Todor Tagarev awarded to Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov a plaque of honour from the Ministry of Defence for his high level of professionalism and his contribution to the development of the military education system.

Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov received Greeting addresses from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Slavov, Minister of Justice, Prof. Galin Tsokov, Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Todor Tagarev, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria, Major-General Todor Dochev, Commandant of G. S. Rakovsky Military Academy, Prof. Dr. Nikolay Izov, Rector of Vasil levsky National Sports Academy, Acad. Hristo Beloev, DHC, MULT., Rector of University of Rousse, Prof. Dr. Krasimir Gigov, Director General of the Bulgarian Red Cross, Acad. Hristo Grigorov, President of the Bulgarian Red Cross, Prof. Dr. Dobromir Dimitrov, D.Sc./Med./, Rector of the Medical University - Pleven, Prof. Dr. Dobry Yarkov, Rector of the Thracian University - Stara Zagora, Prof. D.Sc./Econ./ Petar Stefanov, Chairman of the Central Cooperative Union, Mr. Boyko Atanasov, Chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission, etc.

Video greetings to Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov were addressed by Krasimir Valchev, Chairman of the Education and Science Committee in the National Assembly and Minister of Education and Science, May 2017, Minister of Education and Science in Borisov III Cabinet /2017 – 2021/, Georgy Todorov, Minister of E-Government /2022-2023/, Dr. Ilin Dimitrov, Minister of Tourism in the 8^th and 9^th  Interim Government and Secretary to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria for Education, Culture and Tourism from July 2023, Silvia Georgieva, Executive Director of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, Dimitar Nikolov, Mayor of Burgas, Venelina Gocheva, Publisher - Media Group Bulgaria, Prof. Dr. Eng. Lilyana Valcheva, Chairwoman of the UNWE Trustees Council and Chairwoman of the National Branch Syndicate Higher Education and Science to the Independent Syndicates Confederation, Maxim Behar, Member of the UNWE Trustees Council and CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of M3 Communications Group, Inc., Yovko Atanasov, Member of the UNWE Trustees Council and Regional Manager of Lenovo for Bulgaria; Prof. Dr. Hristo Bozov, D.Sc./Med./, Rector of Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov University, Burgas, Prof. D.Sc. Galya Hristozova, Rector of Burgas Free University in the period 2014-2022, Prof. Dr. Milen Baltov, Rector of Burgas Free University, Chief Assist. Dr. Konstantin Bobchev, lecturer of the UNWE Real Estate Property Department and relative of the founder of our university Prof. Stefan Bobchev, Krassimir Balakov, football player, Ivaylo Yordanov, football player, Silvia Peneva, Managing Partner and founder of Deloitte Bulgaria, Partner in Deloitte Central Europe and member of the Board of Directors of Deloitte Central Europe, Tsvetanka Mincheva, CEO of UniCredit Bulbank, Nicky Kanchev - no need to introduce, Slavka Bozukova, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper “Standard”, the historian Prof. Dr. Petar Stoyanovich, etc.