‘The living heritage of traditional Bulgarian cuisine’ in the village of Kalipetrovo
The Executive Director of the Regional Centre Irena Todorova met with the Mayor of the village of Kalipetrovo Nikola Uzunov /pictured/ during the opening of the photographic exhibition “The living heritage of traditional Bulgarian cuisine” on Thursday, 23 May. They discussed the rich cultural calendar of Kalipetrovo, as well as funding opportunities for programs and projects for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage. Todorova and Uzunov also focused on the steps towards expanding access to culture in small towns in Bulgaria. “The international recognition we are receiving from institutions such as UNESCO Regional Centre gives us reason to believe that we are on the right track in our efforts to safeguard our cultural heritage and keep communities awake and united. I am proud that Kalipetrovo is part of this rich and interesting exhibition and hope for many more joint projects in the future”, said Nikola Uzunov, Mayor of the village of Kalipetrovo. The opening of the exhibition was also attended by Alexander Sabanov, Mayor of the Municipality of Silistra, and Dimitar Trendafilov, Chairman of the Municipal Council of Silistra. “This is a clear sign of the local government’s aspiration to develop cultural policies at the local level and to seek successful cooperation in order to pass on the wealth of living heritage to the next generations,” said Irena Todorova. The exhibition, presented in the village of Kalipetrovo, contains pictures of more than 40 Bulgarian dishes from different regions of the country and readings of the masters who prepared them. Residents and guests of Kalipetrovo will be able to see brine from Antimovo, rice with crabs from Gabrene, “trienitsa” from Gumoshtnik, “dried snake sorrel” from Zheravna, lamb with bulgur from Kalipetrovo, “parenik” from Kutela and many other traditional Bulgarian dishes. The pictures can be viewed until the end of May.
‘Youth and intangible cultural heritage’ in Plovdiv
The second Youth exchange on the topic ‘Youth and intangible cultural heritage’ will take place in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in the period 24 June – 1st July 2024. The Regional Centre Sofia invites 25 people between the age of 18 – 30 from the countries Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Croatia, Turkey to take part in it. The programme of the seminar will be filled with interesting activities based on non-formal and informal educational methods aimed at learning and exchanging knowledge about intangible cultural heritage in the region of South-East Europe. Interactive workshops, discussions and debates, ice-breakers and team building games, fieldwork, presentations of intangible cultural heritage and intercultural evenings are part of the programme. The seminar will take place in the city of Plovdiv, European Capital of Culture in 2019, where the Traditional Crafts Week, organised by the Regional Ethnographic Museum – Plovdiv, will be held and young participants will have the opportunity to learn and experience traditional crafts as cutlery, jewellery making, candle making, pastoral carving, musical instrument making, basketry, pottery, weaving and more. Artisans from all over Bulgaria will show their secrets and techniques to the public. Application form for Youth exchange in Plovdiv / Deadline – June 10 General information #youthlivingheritage #Erasmus #youthexchange#livingheritage
️‘Intangible cultural heritage is a testament to cultural diversity and human creativity’
️‘Intangible cultural heritage is a testament to cultural diversity and human creativity’ – with these words Ms Irena Todorova concluded the successfully held training seminar, which gathered a group of 25 youth representatives from the countries Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Republic of North Macedonia and Romania. During the one-week exchange, they had the opportunity to dive into the living heritage of the Balkans. ️The team of the Regional Centre Sofia – UNESCO express sincere gratitude to Bansko Municipality, Cultural community centre “Nikola Vaptsarov” – Bansko, as well as to Yakoruda Municipality and Cultural community centre “Svetlina – 1907” – Yakoruda.
Memorandum of Cooperation between the Regional Centre Sofia-UNESCO and Yakoruda Municipality
The Executive Director of the Regional Centre Irena Todorova and the Mayor of Yakoruda Mehmed Vaklyov signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the common goal of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. “The safeguarding of cultural heritage is a particularly important part of my work, the traditions here have been continuously transmitted, and together with the UNESCO Regional Centre, with joint effort, I hope to promote the richness of our region. There is a special spirit of tolerance between different religions and communities in the town of Yakoruda, where people share their culture, they preserve it together, they celebrate together, they are connected. This environment must be safeguarded by all means, and our work with UNESCO, without doubt, will contribute. I will do my best to progress the municipality also through the development of cultural tourism, where local customs and traditional cuisine will attract tourists in the town,” said Mayor Vaklyov. “I would like to thank the Municipality of Yakoruda and Mr. Vaklyov for their hospitality, as well as for their efforts to keep the identity of the town, namely through the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage,” said Todorova, Executive Director of the Regional Centre Sofia – UNESCO. She added that the youth is the key link between the power of customs and the modern world, between traditions and their contemporary interpretation. The meeting took place during an international youth exchange under the Erasmus programme, attended by 25 people from Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Serbia and North Macedonia. The Municipality of Yakoruda gave the participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in the living traditions of the town, and watch a traditional Yakoruda custom, a performance by the folklore ensemble of the Community Centre “Svetlina – 1907”, and taste the traditional cuisine of the region.