Salutatory by President Georgi Parvanov to the Seventh International Meeting of University Rectors

Esteemed Prof. Biolchev,
Esteemed University Rectors and Presidents,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the first place, I wish to thank heartily the Rector of St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, the esteemed Prof. Boyan Biolchev for inviting me to the International Meeting of Rectors. For a seventh year in a row, Bulgaria, Sofia and our Alma Mater become a focal point for the academic community in various parts of the world. Even though short, the history of this forum is noteworthy. Started in the year 2000, on the initiative of Prof. Biolchev, as a meeting of rectors mainly from the Balkan countries and South East Europe, later it encompassed universities in Central Europe, and today we can say it is a world forum because we have participants from universities in the United States and China. If I remember correctly, in previous years there were participants from Australia, Israel and Thailand. So, we are witnessing an extraordinary inscribing in the “Central European meridian” of the Balkans, America, Australia, Asia, which is eloquent of the vast territory of communication that science covers, ignoring geographical and political boundaries.

Allow me, on behalf of the host country Bulgaria to welcome you all, honourable university rectors and presidents.

Ladies and gentlemen, regularly participating in the forum are universities and states which in the last 15 years have been directly engaged in the enlargement of the European Union. The involvement of their representatives in the Rectors Meetings reshapes the ideological frameworks of the “East-West” relations and sets the parameters of genuine scientific and economic cooperation. This initiative, started by Sofia University, is a significant step in the consolidation around the European values, but with preserved national cultural specificities. The rectors forum shows in a broad aspect the role the universities and scholars play in solving issues of public significance. In this connection, I must underscore that the topic of this year’s meeting, The Vigour of the Civil Society and National Universities, is extremely relevant. The dimensions of a society and its links with the universities are multifaceted....