"Volunteers in support of Ukraine" welcome those passing by the Russian embassy with a billboard
Starting today, the unique design of the "Person of the Year" awards for 2022 will be displayed on a billboard located on "Dragan Tsankov" Boulevard across from the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Sofia. This installation is a special gesture from the jury of the "Person of the Year" human rights awards to all volunteers, donors, activists, and organizations who worked in support of Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria during the ten months of Russia's war against Ukraine. The author of the design is the Ukrainian illustrator Viki Knish.
The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) reminds that the awards were presented at a special ceremony on the eve of International Human Rights Day. The jury decided to make the main award a collective one, honoring everyone who contributed to helping Ukraine throughout the year. "Russia's aggression, along with the killings, injuries, and destruction it caused, led to an unprecedented refugee wave in post-war European history. To our credit and unlike previous similar refugee waves, Ukrainian refugees were met with understanding, sympathy, and support from the majority of Bulgarians," emphasized Krasimir Kanev, the chairman of the jury, during the awards ceremony. He emphasized that the jury's recognition is for the thousands of people who collectively filled the gaps in state care, mobilized public resources in support of Ukraine, explained the effects of the war, organized protest actions, and fought against disinformation.
In order to extend recognition to the volunteers supporting Ukraine to as many people as possible, the organizers invite everyone who has the opportunity to take a photo with the billboard and share it on social media with the hashtag #BGBelievesInUkraine.
The billboard will remain with this design until January 8, 2023.
Plaques for the prestigious "Person of the Year" award for 2022 were presented to 12 activists and organizations during the ceremony, all of whom were nominated during the campaign. "The true Person of the Year is the donor," said Olena Kotseva, Chairperson of the "Mother Ukraine" association, which was among the awardees. "As a person whose father is currently on the front lines, I want to thank everyone who believes in us, who believes in Ukraine, and in our fight for our existence," added Anna Velikova, born in Odessa, on behalf of the "Access to Rights" foundation, also among this year's recipients. "In the last eight days, we've raised over 600,000 leva for generators," emphasized publisher Manol Peykov. He was a member of the jury and, as such, couldn't be among the awardees, so he received a special certificate for his work in support of Ukraine. "These are thousands of people, thousands who donate literally every minute. All of you are the ones receiving this award," Peykov further shared.
|
|
Gallery
