The Translation - a Bridge between the Cultures Is the Motto of the Fifth Edition of the University Book Week

The fifth edition of the University Book Week is dedicated to the translation and translators and it is organized jointly with the Bulgarian Translators Union which celebrates its 50th Anniversary as well as with the traditional partner - the Bulgarian Book Association. The motto of this edition is The Translation - a Bridge between the Cultures".

Special guests at the event were the Minister of Tourism Zaritza Dinkova and Angela Rodel, winner of the Booker Prize for the English translation of Georgy Gospodinov's novel Time Shelter and Executive Director of the Fulbright Bulgarian-American Commission for Educational Exchange.

Prof. Dr. Antonia Pencheva, Head of the Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics Department and President of the Bulgarian Translators Union, Mrs. Angela Rodel, the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Mrs. Zaritza Dinkova, Minister of Tourism, Dr. Krasimir Pingelov, Member of the Trustees Council and Executive Director of Electron Progress

The Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov opened the event by saying: "Welcome to the fifth edition of the University Book Week, a sustainable island of culture that we created with the idea of promoting scientific literature, which is useful for the education of our students, and literature which will help their intellectual development. The University Book Week is an occasion to boast with our lecturers' publications and to present the work of colleagues from other universities. The Rector also introduced the organizers of the event Mrs. Gergana Kirilova, Director of Rector's Office /in the picture bellow in the middle/ and Mrs. Desislava Paunska, Head of the Public Relations and Marketing Division /in the picture bellow on the right/.

Mrs. Zaritza Dinkova, Minister of Tourism and graduate of UNWE, expressed her contentment with her return to "her university" at such an event dedicated to the book. According to her, there is a correlation between the books and the tourism and such events help both the culture and tourism.

"I am happy for this energy that is boiling in our university, the spirit of education and knowledge is kept here. I would like to point out that the best professionals I meet in the  tourism are graduates of UNWE from the International Economics and Politics Faculty and from the International Relations Department and Economcis of Tourism Department. Their level is really impressive and they stand out, they stand out because we all know that the education in these specialties at the University is very good. There are traditions, capacity and weight", said the Minister of Tourism.

Mrs. Angela Rodel expressed her concern about the findings that young people do not read and that is why she expressed thankfulness to the Rector and the University for this initiative that stimulates the young people to read, to help them understand that books are something that is not only for the classroom but something that opens a window to the world. обнадеждава“, каза Анджела Родел. "I have hope and I think that reading is something very important for Bulgarians. After Georgy Gospodinov and I won the award Booker a year ago, almost every day someone on the street stops me to thank me for I deal with Bulgarian literature. Young people also stop me, which is encouraging", said Angela Rodel.

Dr. Krasimir Pingelov welcomed the initiative and said that he had attended the previous editions as a supporter of UNWE. "This initiative is important due to the fact that the XXI century, on the one hand, sets the book and its value as a source of information, and on the other hand, with digitization and new technologies, people can not focus on reading books, as it is easier for them to surf the Internet. So it turns into a challenge for the book to attract theattention, not only for the readers but also for the authors. The same goes for the lecturers. The book, especially the academic book, remains the most valuable and thorough source of information."

"The work of the translator is invisible, modest and rarely there is an opportunity to give publicity and recognition to the role of the translator", said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Antonia Pencheva. "Translated literature takes up a large percentage of the books that reach the reader and it is the fruit of the work, the effort, the passion of Bulgarian translators and their aspiration to introduce the Bulgarian reading public to the best examples of world literature." She presented the Bulgarian Translators’ Union as an organization and pointed out that the lecturers from the Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics Department are its active members and will present their translations at the University Book Week.

Mrs Petya Gospodinova from the Bulgarian Book Association welcomed the University for this wonderful initiative "because the book is a window to the world and has proven to give a lot to all who touch it, especially the children and young people. It is a guardian of spirit and time and touching it is part of those experiences that are hard to describe in words. It does an honour to UNWE for investing in a better and more literate future for young people". Mrs. Gospodinova wished the initiative to become a national one.

Fifteen publishing houses participate in the University Book Week 2024