Born in Plovdiv at the dawn of the transition to democracy in Bulgaria, 1994, Alexander Detev grew up in Sofia, where, in 2013 he graduated from the German language school, and then left for Vienna. There, he graduated “Journalism and communications”, worked for several Bulgarian-language media outlets founded by another Bulgarian – Ivan Karchev, who passed away at an early age in 2021.

Alex’s career has also been shaped by an internship at the Bulgarian National Radio, his own slot at the Bulgarian National Television, he was the host of a he also spent about four years working for Deutsche Welle’s Bulgarian-language service in Germany. And throughout his career he has never ceased investing efforts in the Bulgarian community in Vienna – taking an active part in its initiatives and media outlets like the magazine Vienna, our city, a radio show on Orange radio, the web platforms BGMEDIA.AT and BGKONTAKTI.

“Even though our community in Vienna is not large – around 30,000 people, Ivan Karchev started a radio show, every few weeks we had a TV show, also a magazine that came out twice a year in a circulation of 5,000, the website BGMEDIA.AT and the application BGKONTAKTI connecting new arrivals from Bulgaria with successful Bulgarians living in Austria – doctors, accountants, lawyers etc. On the other hand, these media outlets mould a solid community, communicating with one another, exchanging ideas and developing projects. Bulgarian media abroad have two functions – to assist the diaspora and to present the successes of Bulgarians to the public in the respective country.”

There are many community events organized in Vienna. One of the biggest among them is Together! Day of Bulgarians in Austria.  

“It is an information day for Bulgarians, bringing together experts in various spheres who introduce themselves to the community and offer free consultations, so that any newcomer in need of help can obtain information from a compatriot.”

• Useful information and charity causes gather Bulgarians at BGInfotag in Vienna

Most of the projects targeted at the Bulgarian diaspora are organized on a voluntary basis, though Alex and his coworkers find flexible forms of financing. For example, the magazine Vienna, our city is free because it is financed by the ads it publishes. The Days of Bulgarians in Austria initiative is financed by the exhibitors themselves, Bulgarians presenting their own businesses. The municipality of Vienna also uses various instruments to provide support to ethnic communities. Yet the question of the role of the Bulgarian state has been raised for a long time. 

“Many of the newspapers and magazines of Bulgarians abroad are financed by the local authorities, and the Bulgarian state does nothing to support them. That’s food for thought. We are grateful to the countries that have welcomed us and are helping us, but shouldn’t Bulgaria invest in its own communities so that the people living abroad can bring their children up with our own culture?” Alexander Detev asks.

Otherwise, Alex sees a potential in the country and in Bulgarians. He has spent the best part of the past ten years in Germany and in Austria, but he says he sees the change every time he comes home.

To be continued…

* The interview was made in Israel during the 17^th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media organized by the Bulgarian news agency BTA.

Photos courtesy of Alexander Detev