For the 20th consecutive year, Novinite.com, the largest English-language news agency in Bulgaria, presents the “Personality in the News“ awards.

Bulgarian doctors have been selected as award winners in the annual competition "Personality in the News 2020".

The NoviniteGroup team was clear and unanimous in this choice.

The selection was not easy, but in the end, it was not difficult either, given that medics have been the real heroes of the past crisis year, and dozens of news items have been dedicated to them and their activities every day.

Bulgarian doctors experienced everything in 2020 - they were the first to face a completely unknown infection, they took care of patients without knowing if they themselves would get infected, they worked in inhumane conditions, in the beginning even without adequate protective clothing and masks, did not see their families and relatives for days and weeks...

Many of them got infected with COVID-19, many also lost the battle with the disease.

Bulgarian doctors and healthcare workers deservedly received the admiration and gratitude of all of us! That's why the "Personality in the News 2020" award is for them!

The award will be given to the Bulgarian Medical Union, as a collective body of all doctors and medical personnel in Bulgaria, represented by the Chairman of the Management Board Dr. Ivan Madzharov.

Traditionally, NoviniteGroup also presents a Special Award for Outstanding Global Achievement.

Explicitly, the winners in this category are Stefan and Maxim Ivanovi, who are awarded the Special Prize for Outstanding Global Achievements in 2020.

Maxim Ivanov is an 11th grade student at St. George's School in Sofia.

Stefan Ivanov is a finance professional, Managing Partner of Challenger Capital Management investment boutique, and before that - General Director of the Bulgarian unit of the global Citibank.

With no previous experience in rowing, boat building or sailing, Maxim and his father Stefan built an ocean rowing boat in their garage. They called it NEVEREST, which to them means: Never rest until you reach your Everest.

In the summer of 2020, amid the coronavirus-stricken world, they decided to cross the Atlantic Ocean during the busiest hurricane season since 1951, and managed to achieve their impossible dream!

In addition, their voyage is dedicated to the "Yes! For life!” (www.zajivot.bg) campaign of the Ministry of Health, which Maxim and Stefan actively support and which aims to encourage more people to make a decision to become posthumous organ donors and to share this decision with their close relatives.

"Honorary Ambassadors of Novinite 2020" in the "Business", "Culture" and "Sports" categories

The "Honorary Ambassador of Novinite 2020" award in the "Business" category is awarded to Mrs. Violina Marinova for overall contribution to banking.

A professional with 50 years of experience in DSK Bank, a visionary with exceptional merits for building and maintaining trust in financial institutions in our country, Mrs. Marinova is an indisputable example of farsighted leadership approach, dedication and loyalty.

Under her guidance, the largest consolidation on the Bulgarian financial market, namely the merger of DSK Bank and Expressbank, has been successfully impelemented. Thanks to her high professionalism and hard work, DSK Bank has become a leading banking institution in Bulgaria, focused on good customer service and development of innovative products and services.

Violina Marinova is a role model for the financial business in our country.

Besides the numerous professional accomplishments, her career has been accompanied by a number of awards, both in Bulgaria and abroad. Marinova has won a number of prestigious awards and distinctions. The culmination came in September 2013, when Violina Marinova became the only banker in Bulgaria who had received the highest state award - Stara Planina Order First Degree. In the following 2014, she also received the Golden Cross of Merit of Hungary. In 2019, she was awarded the Banker of the Year award for remarkable business growth and sustained customer trust. Currently, Mrs. Marinova is a member of the Supervisory Board of DSK Bank.

In the „Culture“ category, „Honorary Ambassador of Novinite 2020“ is awarded to the creator and director of ArtTheatre Berlin, Katya Kostova.

The Peshtera-born Bulgarian left for Germany almost 20 years ago together with her family. She indulged in her love of theatre almost immediately after settling there, but as a side activity, not as an activity through which she made a living. She started oprganizing productions of Bulgarian performances, concerts and literary readings of Bulgarian authors for the Bulgarian diaspora. She finances her endeavours entirely with her own funds, and earns her living with a lot of work. However, nothing can stop her from following the magic of theatre, which has captivated her since her school years.

In fact, the idea to actively promote the Bulgarian theatre in Germany was born almost 5 years ago during an exhibition at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute. Her heart beats for Bulgarian artists, theatre, movies, music, books. And so her favourite Art Theatre became more and more established, organizes tours in Germany and performs better and better one of the new goals set by Katya Kostova – helping the audience learn to distinguish between valuable art and mediocre one. Her latest endeavour is to start presenting the productions with subtitles, so that the German audience would be able to truly appreciate the Bulgarian theatre.

In the "Sports" category, the title "Honorary Ambassador of Novinite 2020" is awarded to the notorious Kubrat Pulev.

For Kubrat Pulev, the past 2020 was one of the most significant in his glorious career in professional boxing. The second battle for the world title, which he had been waiting for for 6 years, after his unfortunate match at the end of 2014 with the then-champion Vladimir Klitschko, finally took place. This happened following many obstacles, tension and backstage games.

In the end, „The Cobra“ managed to face the current world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. And although he lost, Kubrat Pulev played a very strong, valuable and certainly worthy of being entered in the textbooks match.

Despite Joshua's victory, „The Cobra“ remains one of our most glorious sports athletes and his name will always shine brightly – after all, standing twice as a contender for a world title is a success that just a few athletes from around the world could boast. Kubrat has always demonstrated that he enters the ring not only for himself, but also for the Bulgarians and Bulgaria. To them, he will always be a champion.

You can see who were the "Personality in the News 2019" here.

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