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In Bulgaria, social cohesion is a priority, in which cultural components have multiple inputs at central and local levels, through various actions and projects implemented by institutions, local authorities and NGOs. There is no consolidated information about the development and implementation of public policies to promote social cohesion at national and regional levels, although multiple actions are taking place. In general, the non-governmental sector is most committed to using cultural practices to create an environment for social change in Bulgaria. The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate, for example, has its own social program, focused at the most vulnerable... read more →

Bulgaria has state- and private-owned radio stations and television networks providing national coverage, as well as numerous private radio and television stations providing local news coverage. Cultural events and issues of international, national and local relevance are covered extensively in their programmes. Both the state-owned and private electronic media have numerous, mainly weekly, programmes for minority cultural groups. For example, the daily Turkish news programme broadcast by the Bulgarian National Television. According to the regulations of Article 71 of the Radio and Television Act, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and Bulgarian National Television (BNT) should provide assistance to the creation and... read more →

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the official language is Bulgarian. The issue of "mother tongues" (the term "minority language" is not used in the Bulgarian Constitution, which regards "mother tongue" as the more relevant term) is addressed in two specific laws. The first concerns radio and television broadcasting, regulated by the Radio and Television Act [Article 12 (2)], which lists the cases in which programmes may be broadcast in a language other than the official one: 1) when they are aired for educational purposes and 2) when they are designed for Bulgarian citizens whose mother tongue... read more →

The Parliament ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (Council of Europe) in 1999. Bulgaria has also ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ot the United Nations. At the national level, a National Strategy for Poverty Reduction and Encouraging of Social Inclusion 2020 has been adopted, which identifies equal access to culture and sport as an important factor for social inclusion. For its part, the Ministry of Culture is also committed to the practical implementation of the principles for... read more →

Data about cultural and creative industries (CCI) are based on the annual empirical survey on the mapping of CCI conducted by the Observatory of Cultural Economics - Sofia. The survey covers the period 2008-2015, which allows the emergence of major trends in the development of the CCI in Bulgaria. The aim is not only to assess the economic contribution, but also the characteristics of CCI in Bulgaria as market sectors by analysing economic growth, employment and investment. In this respect, the research also addresses the different stages of creating the value of the product from idea to consuming, the analysis reflecting... read more →

The present Culture Heritage Act (2009), which replaced the former Cultural Monuments and Museums Act (1969), introduced a new integrative concept for cultural heritage and sets up a new national system for protection, management and sustainable use. The law was adopted after years of debate and its main achievement is to recognise the responsibility of the state and society to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of Bulgaria for the benefit of its citizens and for international visitors. The law states two main groups of monuments that are described as movable and immovable. This regulatory differentiation is due to the... read more →

Bulgaria's national cultural policy priorities include: • preserving the cultural memory and historical heritage; • creating conditions for the development and enrichment of all spheres of culture as factors for sustainable development; • designing and adopting an effective mechanism of financing cultural institutions and finding alternative funding forms and sources; • improving the statutory framework in the sphere of culture; and • preservation of cultural heritage and digitalisation of cultural content. As an EU member, Bulgaria's cultural policy must strengthen the place of Bulgarian culture in Europe by preserving its national identity and values. Cultural policy aims to support the... read more →

The authorities responsible for realising intercultural dialogue activities are: the Ministry of Culture, the NCCEDI and non-governmental organisations. Intercultural dialogue is the topic of the Draft Strategy for the Development of Bulgarian Culture 2019-2029. Dialogue between external and internal communities is the focus of priorities in the fields of cultural heritage, visual and performing arts, intercultural cooperation and others. The document emphasises that cultural differences are a factor for sustainable development and an example of cultural maturity. In this regard, it is a priority to stimulate communication with EU countries but also with other European countries, with an emphasis on... read more →

Initiatives of the private sector in the arts are ongoing within the existing international networks. Although not a part of the official national policy instruments, these exchanges contribute in a great extent to the image of Bulgarian contemporary arts abroad. Festivals, workshops, international exchanges in performing arts, media, film, visual arts and more are run mainly by NGOs and are supported by international funding. The association for independent theatre – ACT Association - is a member of IETM, but the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs do not support this network directly. Sofia Meetings is an annual co-production market in... read more →

Bulgaria became the 26th member of Council of Europe (CoE) in 1992. Bulgaria's membership fee is 0,28% of its budget. In the field of culture, Bulgaria participates in the two Steering Committees of the CoE - the Steering Committee on Culture and the Steering Committee on Cultural Heritage. In 2019, Bulgaria signed the Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production (revised). The contribution of Bulgaria to the Council of Europe's budget for 2019 is EUR 1 215 152. In 2018, Bulgaria hosted the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and, within its framework, organised the Eighth ACEM Meeting... read more →