Eighteen-year-old Martin Atanasov, creator of an interactive map tracking Bulgaria’s most accident-prone road sections, the “Black Run” (Cherna Pista) map, has been named Awakener of the Year 2025. He was handed the award at an official ceremony in Studio One of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) on Saturday. He is the youngest recipient in the history of the BNR campaign.
Atanasov won the public vote with his project, which visualizes the country’s most dangerous roads based on data from over 177,000 accidents over the past five years.
Atanasov dedicated the award to Bulgaria’s young and active citizens: “This year, they showed how it’s done: students, young doctors, athletes, and all the volunteers who fight apathy every day. Awakening is the light that guides us through the darkness, and there are many awakeners among us. Our duty as a society is to secure their path forward, especially the young people who are already proving what Bulgaria is capable of.” The award was presented by last year’s winner, Veselin Dimanov.
The BNR Special Award went to Dimitar Bakalov, a resident doctor in the emergency department of the Pazardzhik Hospital. He launched a nationwide school campaign warning students about the dangers of vapes, energy drinks, and nitrous oxide (laughing gas).
Iliyan Rusev – Skuri, from the city of Ruse, Northeastern Bulgaria, on the Danube, received the bTV Media Group Special Award. For the past ten years, he has been training children with physical and mental disabilities free of charge.
For the first time, Sofia Municipality presented its own Special Award to Todora Radeva, director of the Reading Sofia Foundation and creator of cultural projects such as Literary Routes, Literary Meetings, The Hidden Letters, and the first seven editions of the Sofia International Literary Festival.
The remaining finalists: charity initiative I Believe and Help, Blagovesta Pugyova from the Give Time Foundation, journalist and writer Ivan Landzhev, Kristina Pateva-Marinova, a philanthropist supporting numerous causes, Nikolaj Popov, father of Siyana, who died tragically in a car accident, Svetoslav Dimitrov and the volunteers who fought wildfires across Bulgaria, were also recognized at the ceremony. Creator of Road Safety Project “Black Run”, Martin Atanasov, Named Awakener of the Year THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-01 19:46:26 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
