Skopje, 15 August 2022 (MIA) – Joint Macedonian-Bulgarian multidisciplinary commission on historical and educational issues adopted recommendations that refer to improving history textbooks for 6th grade in North Macedonia and 5th grade in Bulgaria as well as recommendations for joint honouring of figures of the medieval period – the Saints Cyril and Methodius, St. Clement, St. Naum and Tsar Samoil. Co-chair of the joint history commission, Dragi Gjorgiev, after Monday’s press briefing regarding the adopted decisions of the commission, explained that the recommendations for the joint honouring of these historical figures are actually identical texts for joint honouring with which they recommend the two governments to celebrate certain anniversaries or jubilees together. In relation to the textbooks, as Gjorgiev said, five recommendations for Macedonian and Bulgarian textbooks equally, refer to some structural inconsistencies in the lessons, factual errors, historical geography, i.e., how certain geographical areas are presented in the textbooks, because, as he said, in those segments we noticed the most failures in both educational systems. “The recommendations do not refer to identity issues, and they are aimed at avoiding the mythologizing of that ancient period on both sides and to avoid the present-day national perspective. From that point of view, we believe that history textbooks in both countries will improve,” Gjorgiev said. Regarding the textbooks, Gjorgiev added, the recommendations refer to those areas in the history textbooks where our side considered that there should be improvement in the Bulgarian textbooks in certain subjects and vice versa. These recommendations will be forwarded to the Government, which should adopt them and continue the process of writing future history textbooks and take the recommendations into consideration. The recommendations, Gjorgiev added, are not subject to mandatory adoption, because it is a recommendation of the commission, and how it will proceed further is in the hands of the institutions. “With respect to the shared honoring of historical figures, the main criteria for the commission were the presentation of the universal values of those persons, their contribution to the development of Christian culture, tradition of these areas and of course their contribution to the development of Slavic, all-Slavic literacy. In that context, we tried to make the texts have a broader regional aspect,” Gjorgiev said. According to the bilateral protocol signed on July 17 in Sofia by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia and Bulgaria, Bujar Osmani and Teodora Genchovska respectively, within one month of signing the document, the two countries should publish adopted recommendations of the joint multidisciplinary commission on historical and educational issues on the websites of the two governments. The recommendations have been published on Monday on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.