“The amazing Vietnam” — an official unveiling of the temporary exhibit

On December 12th, 2024, from 17:00 in the foyer of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, the museum’s deputy director Prof. Stoyan Beshkov unveiled the temporary exhibition “The amazing Vietnam,” dedicated to the joint Bulgarian-Vietnamese scientific research on Vietnamese biodiversity starting from 1975.

Official guests of the event included Prof. Vu Quang Manh of the Hoa Binh University in Hanoi and Assoc. Prof. Ina Aneva, Scientific Secretary of the Biodiversity, Bioresources, and Ecology department in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Simov (NMNHS) read an official address on behalf of His Excellency Do Hoang Long, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam in Bulgaria, and was followed by Assoc. Prof. Ina Aneva who offered a greeting on behalf of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She noted the contribution of Bulgarian scientists in support of their Vietnamese colleagues for the development of zoological studies, research, and biodiversity conservation in this fascinating country and thanked the organisers.

“Today, with this exhibit, Vietnam comes to life with its unique ecosystem, diversity of animal and plant species, and incredible landscapes. It reminds us of the power of nature and the necessity to work together to preserve it,” said Assoc. Prof. Aneva.

Prof. Vu Quang Manh greeted the audience in Bulgarian and shared his excitement not only at the event, but at meeting his past teachers and present scientists in Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. Vassil Golemansky and D.Sc. Petar Beron, as well as his fellow students Prof. Boyko Georgiev and Prof. Zdravko Hubenov.

Afterwards, Professor Emeritus of NMNHS, D.Sc. Petar Beron, doyen of Bulgarian bio-speleology, spoke about the first expeditions with Vietnamese colleagues, many of whom had finished their higher education in Bulgaria. He noted the contributions of the first Bulgarian scientists to visit Vietnam, Acad. Vassil Golemansky, Prof. Michail Josifov, Prof. Zdravko Hubenov, Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, and Prof. Vasil Popov, who collected extremely interesting zoological samples and laid the groundwork for many scientific publications.

After him, Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Simov, participant in two expeditions in Vietnam, presented the highlights of the exhibition — the results of the joint zoological expeditions of scientists from the Museum and the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research that took place in 2018 and 2023.

“These expeditions have been remarkably successful, not only because they enrich our scientific knowledge about the region, but also because they contribute towards increasing the awareness about the need to protect biodiversity. “The amazing Vietnam” presents our findings, but is also a symbol of international cooperation and the efforts to preserve the unique nature of this part of the world,” pointed Assoc. Prof. Simov.

The official event concluded with a group photo of the participants in the Vietnam expeditions.

Concept authors for the exhibit are Assoc. Prof. Rostislav Bekchiev, Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Simov, and Assoc. Prof. Mario Langourov, and the design is by Zlatka Yaramova, PhD.

— This event in Facebook.