Meeting of the Historical Commission in Sofia – discussed joint celebrations and textbooks for grade, Napredok has not been achieved
In Sofia, today and yesterday, a meeting of the joint multidisciplinary expert committee on historical and educational issues was held – said the President of the Macedonian team prof. Dr. Vanco Gjorgjiev.
During the opening of the meeting, the Macedonian team expressed gratitude to the Republic of Bulgaria and its institutions for the assistance provided for fostering and treating the victims of the tragedy in Kocani, as well as to Bulgarian society and citizens for the empathy and solidarity.
The meeting was in a working and constructive atmosphere, on issues of the scope of the Commission’s work.
-During the 35th meeting, a draft recommendations for Macedonian textbooks for Grade VII was discussed, as well as possible joint celebrations. Regarding these topics, both sides faced their views through a dynamic discussion, with no progress. At the same time, the views on the draft of the 29th meeting were harmonized-the statement said.
The previous meeting for the Joint Historical Commission was held in February this year in Skopje. And the next meeting of Macedonian and Bulgarian historians is scheduled to be held in June.
The new composition of the Macedonian team from the Joint Commission was elected by the Government on September 10 last year. The new president of the Macedonian team in the joint commission is Vanco Gjorgjiev, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, and besides Mitko Panov, the members of the Commission are Aleksandar Litovski, Nikola Minov, Saso Dodevski, Besnik Emini and Dimitar Gjorovski. President Vanco Gjorgjiev was formerly a member of the commission, but left in 2021. The decision to withdraw from the commission, as she said then, was because she faced political pressures in its work.
The Joint Macedonian-Bulgarian Commission on Historical and Educational Affairs was established as a result of the Agreement on Good Neighborhood between Macedonia and Bulgaria signed on August 1, 2017.
So far, the Commission has adopted recommendations for the common celebration of five historical characters – the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, St. Naum Ohridski, St. Kliment Ohridski and Tsar Samuel and five recommendations for changes to the sixth -class history textbooks in Macedonia and for Patty Class in Bulgaria.
