On 12 December 2023, for the sixteenth time in a row, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee held the ceremony of awarding the “Person of the Year” awards to activists and representatives of organisations and institutions who have worked over the past 12 months for human rights, nature preservation, and animal protection.
At the ceremony, our colleague, ornithologist Assoc. Prof. Petar Shurulinkov was awarded posthumously with the special prize “Lone warrior”. The award is given for his active nature conservation work, which contributed to the creation of dozens of protected areas, for the protection of Bulgarian forests and for the establishment of the Durankulak Bird Ringing Camp.
The prize went to his wife, Girgina Daskalova PhD, also an ornithologist and an active follower of his nature conservation work.
“Person of the Year” is an initiative that takes place annually to promote and support organisations, people and causes that have made the previous year better and fairer for the whole society or certain vulnerable groups of it. Traditionally, the awards are presented around 10 December, International Human Rights Day.
You can watch the whole ceremony on Youtube.