The organizers of the 16^th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media have chosen an unusual time and place for it. Instead of in the spring, this year it is taking place from the 16^th to the 19^th of October, on the eve of the day of St. Ivan of Rila Miracle Worker – a saint who lived in the Middle Ages and who is the patron saint of the entire Bulgarian people. The choice of venue and content of the media forum is no coincidence. It is to take place in Rila Monastery, which houses the saint’s relics.

This year the meeting, in which representatives of Bulgarian media from all over the world take part, will focus on “Media and truth”. The venue of this year’s forum offers the participants a diverse cultural programme, connected with the museums of Rila Monastery, St. Ivan of Rila’s grave, as well as an exposition - “Miracle-working icons and sacred relics in the Balkans” – which is to open in the nearby town of Kyustendil. The audio-visual project is by the Foreign Ministry’s State Cultural Institute and presents the churches and monasteries on the territory of Bulgaria where miracle-working icons and relics of saints are preserved.

Editor: Gergana Mancheva