The Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa received an official certificate for the entry in the UNESCO Register of the Best Safeguarding Practices in the field of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at a ceremony in Paris
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22/02/2017
Successful conducting of the workshop on the topic “Preparing nomminations “ in Cetinje, Montenegro, 7-11 of March 2017
14/03/2017
The Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa received an official certificate for the entry in the UNESCO Register of the Best Safeguarding Practices in the field of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at a ceremony in Paris
On February 21-st 2017 at a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the Director General Ms. Irina Bokova handed to the mayor of Koprivshtica Gencho Gerdanov the official certificate for the entry of the Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa in the Register of the Best Safeguarding Practices in the field of the intangible Cultural Heritage.
The ceremony was attended by H.E. Mr. Angel Cholakov, Ambassador
of Bulgaria to France and Permanent Representative to UNESCO, and other officials.
“The Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa” is the fifth Bulgarian element inscribed in UNESCO Representative list for safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage after the Bistritsa Babi diaphony from the Shoplouk region, Nestinarstvo fire dancing from the village of Bulgari, the tradition of carpet-making in Chiprovtsi and the Surova ritual in Pernik region.
The inscription of “The Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa” is the first Bulgarian element in this specific category – the UNESCO list of Best Safeguarding Practices for promotion of the world Intangible Cultural Heritage. This inscription is a great recognition for our country and the richness of the Bulgarian culture.
“The Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa has established itself as a unique practice that today Bulgaria shares with the world. “said
Ms. Irina Bokova, adding that „The Intangible Cultural Heritage is the soul of every nation. Created for centuries the customs, the crafts, the songs and dances are building tolerance and mutual respect. Sharing these traditions is the foundation to build a better world. As a link between the past, the present and the future of the humanity we have to preserve and transmit those traditions.”
The past 50 years the Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa is representing the extraordinary diversity of the Bulgarian folklore heritage, combined with the unique atmosphere of this beautiful Bulgarian city. It has established itself as a movement for preservation and promotion of the Bulgarian traditional culture known today as Iintangible Cultural Heritage.
In it’s history the Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa has raised its participants to up to 20,000 performers. Nowadays the Festival of Folklore in Koprivshtitsa is organized for about 10 000 participants coming from different parts of the country, including many bulgarians living abroad and foreigners practicing and performing Bulgarian folklore.