Dr. Michael Biggins, Affiliate Professor in Slavic and the Librarian of Slavic, Baltic and East European Studies in the UW Libraries, has received the 2020 Trubar Award! This prestigious award is given only to the most highly regarded contributors in the preservation and promotion of Slovene written language and/or written cultural heritage, and is an honor to receive. Be sure to check out the 40-minute interview with Dr. Biggins about the Trubar Award that was broadcast over RTV-Slovenija this morning, as well as the interview on Radio Prvi and articles by the Slovenian Government, The National and University Library, RTV-Slovenija, and Primorske Novice.
Congratulations Michael!
Below is a translation by Dr. Milena Mileva Blazic of the article appearing on the National and University Library website.
2020 Trubar Award Goes to Dr. Pavel Zdovc and Dr. Michael Biggins
Ljubljana, 29 December 2020 - Each year, the National and University Library Trubar Prize awards are presented for important contributions to the protection and preservation of the national written cultural heritage. The winners of the Trubar Award for 2020 are Dr. Pavel Zdovc and Dr. Michael Biggins.
Preservation of the written cultural heritage of the Slovenian nation is one of the central tasks of the National and University Library. This will ensure the availability of materials for study and research, which will promote the scientific, cultural and artistic production of tomorrow. We are very glad that we are not alone in caring for the memory of the Slovenian nation. That is why, since 2008, we have been awarding Trubar prizes for important contributions to the preservation of the national written cultural heritage. Trubar recognition takes the form of a diploma and can only be received once. The recognitions are awarded by a special commission that collects initiatives based on a public call for proposals.
The commission for awarding the Trubar recognitions has decided that in 2020 the award will be given to Dr. Pavel Zdovc and Dr. Michael Biggins.
From the citation for Dr. Pavle Zdovec: "Dr. Pavel Zdovc, with his modesty and sacrifice, has contributed decisively to the continuous development of Slovene Studies at the University of Vienna in the 20th century, such that we can write: what Miklošič once was for Slavic Studies, Zdovc is for the modern Slovene Studies in Vienna. This scholarly work is an extremely valuable contribution to locating culturally significant documents in space and time. "
From the quote for Dr. Michael Biggins: "Professor Michael Biggins wrote: 'Slovenia is small, but its literature is not.' It is precisely because of such personalities that Slovenian culture can realize Trubar's vision of 'standing and being.' 'To Professor Biggins, who has internalized Slovenian as his intimate or artistic language, we confer the Trubar Award for exceptional merit and lifelong preservation, translation and promotion of Slovenian written cultural heritage at the highest level in the international arena.'"
We thank the recipients of the Trubar Award for 2020 for their great contribution to the preservation of the national written cultural heritage and congratulate them most sincerely!