The team of the project "Obscured Balkans" is launching a new initiative - "On the historical novel". A series of discussions are planned, which aim to direct public attention towards the historical novel and its influence on modern society. The first book to be discussed is Irina Vagalinska's MYSTERIES IN HERACLEA SYNTHICA. The event will take place on November 1, 2024 at the Finesse Gallery at 17, Hristo Belchev Street at 5:00 p.m.

The event is part of the activities of IBSCT-BAS and the "Obscured Balkans" project, realized within the framework of the “Heritage BG” Centre of Excellence”, and with special support of the Finesse Gallery.

On October 23, 2024, the international conference "Cultural diplomacy and the Balkans: Achievements and challenges in the present time" was held in the Panoramic Hall of the National Gallery - Kvadrat 500. It was organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with the support of the Ministry of Culture and in institutional partnership with the State Institute for Culture to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and the National Gallery. The event was realized under the project “Cultural diplomacy in the Balkans in the 20th and 21st centuries: Achievements, challenges, and the way forward”, led by Assist. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova and funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science, Official media partner of the event was the Bulgarian News Agency.

The Minister of Culture Nayden Todorov opened the international conference and emphasized the importance of the topic in the present times, in which diplomacy is clearly experiencing severe difficulties. He emphasized that the best way to overcome the many conflicts is by raising our own culture.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nevyana Miteva, greeted the organizers and guests of the event on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivan Kondov. In her speech, she pointed out that cultural diplomacy is among the most effective, but also underused tools of foreign policy.

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with the support of the Ministry of Culture and in institutional partnership with the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Gallery organizes an international conference “Cultural Diplomacy and the Balkans: Achievements and challenges in the present time”. The event will take place on October 23, 2024 in the Panoramic Hall of the National Gallery / Kvadrat 500 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event will be held under the project “Cultural diplomacy in the Balkans in the 20th and 21st centuries: Achievements, challenges, and the way forward”, funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science. Official media partner is the Bulgarian News Agency.

Among the distinguished speakers at the conference, experts on the topic, will be the Director of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), the Secretary General of the Global Public Diplomacy Network (GPDNet), the Director-General of the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization – CBAAC to the Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as well as representatives of academia and the cultural sector from four continents.

The official opening of the conference will take place on October 23, 2024 (Wednesday) at 10:00 in the Panoramic Hall of the National Gallery / Kvadrat 500. 

The event will be held in English and Bulgarian. A simultaneous translation will be provided.

PROGRAM

On October 9, 2024, in the central cathedral of Szeged, Hungary, the photo exhibition of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) "The heart of Bulgaria. Masterpieces from the Rila Monastery" was presented. The exposition marked the feast of St. John of Rila Miracle Worker (October 19), which is also celebrated as the day of Bulgarian-Hungarian friendship. The exhibition is part of the Bulgarian cultural week in Szeged, organized by the Bulgarian self-government in the city, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, under the leadership of Mrs. Monika Farkash Barati.

Greetings on the occasion were made by H.E. Hristo Polendakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria in Hungary and Mr. Plamen Peykov, Director of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Budapest.

The presentation of this exhibition in Hungary is a result of the fruitful partnership between IBSCT-BAS, the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Budapest in cooperation with the Society for Friendship with Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government in Szeged. The exposition highlights the importance of cultural exchange and maintaining dialogue in relations, as well as of the strong friendship and understanding between the Bulgarian and Hungarian people, reminding us of the timeless values ​​that unite us.

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to the public lecture of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eleonora Naxidou (visiting foreign scholar in Bulgarian studies under the National Scholarly Program "Development and Promotion of Bulgarian Studies Abroad", Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece) From Ohrid to Thessaloniki and Athens: Margaritis Dimitsas and the formation of national ideology.

The event is organised under the initiative Every Second Tuesday and will be held on October 15, 2024 (Tuesday) at 14:00 in the IBSCT-BAS building (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

On October 9, 2024, in the First Conference Hall of the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" an International Conference "Continuity, Unity, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Southeastern Europe" was held. The scholarly forum was organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences within the framework of the National Scholarly Programme "Development and Promotion of Bulgarian Studies Abroad" of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria.

PROGRAM

On October 2, 2024 (Wednesday) at 10:00 in the building of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Moskovska Street No. 13) a round table "The Ruler's Institute of the Medieval Balkans" will be held. The scholarly forum is organized by the Medieval Balkans Department in honour of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Prof. Vasilka Tapkova-Zaimova.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Snezhanka Rakova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kalin Yordanov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vladislav Ivanov, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgi Dimov, Dr. Angel Velinov, Dr. Mario Filipov, Dr. Boyan Beshevliev as well as PhD students of the Medieval Balkans Department Milen Petrov, Yordan Nikolov, and others will take part in the round table.

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre for Tracology "Prof. Alexander Fol" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) invites you to take part in a round table, organized by “Balkani” journal - a periodical of the IBSCT-BAS focused on the cultural-historical, political, economic and other problems of the Balkans in their European and world context (https://www.balkani-bg.com/en/).

The topic of the round table is "Our own and foreign" and our expectations are that it will present texts related to local or national practices, traditions, ideas, examined in comparison with those of others/different/foreign. Placing the subject in a broader political, economic, cultural and ideological context is an advantage.

The round table will be held on March 20-21, 2025 at IBSCT-BAS (Sofia, Moskovska Street No. 45).

More information about the participation and publication deadlines can be found here.

On September 30, 2024, at 13:00, we invite you to the second public discussion of the project "Historical Chameleons", where there will be presented the concept of MARGINALIZED SOCIAL GROUPS. The event will be held at IBSCT-BAS on 45 Moskovska St. You can find more information at https://historical-chameleons.clada-bg.com/en/discussion-patronage-eng/

The discussion is organized within the framework of the IBSCT-BAS project "Historical Chameleons", part of the e-infrastructure for Bulgarian linguistic and cultural heritage CLaDA.BG. 

On September 12, 2024 (Thursday), at 17.00, in the city of Sozopol, on Khan Krum Square - between the Summer Theater and the Alamanata - the exhibition "50 YEARS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF SYSTEMATIC UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH. THRACIA PONTICA IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA ANCIENT THRACIA AND THE THRACIES" will be opened.

The event marks 50 years since the beginning of regular annual underwater archaeological surveys in Bulgaria, which began in Sozopol, initiated by the Institute of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Club for Scientific Creativity of Youth at the Faculty of History of Sofia University "St. Kl. Ohriski" through his Youth Expedition Club, the Archaeological Museum in Sozopol and the District History Museum in Burgas, as part of the Apollonia-Strandja program (1974). These continued with the Mesambria-Hemus (1975) and Getica (1976/77) programs and led to the establishment of the Center for Underwater Archeology - Sozopol (1978) with its annual expeditions to this day.

The exhibition was realized by a team of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: Prof. Dr. D.Sc. Kalin Porozhanov, Assist. Prof. Dr. Irina Shopova, Dr. Eli Filipova and PhD student Todor Todorov, with the assistance of the National Commission for Maritime History at the Centre of Thracology, the Centre for Underwater Archeology - Sozopol and the Municipality of Sozopol.

The exhibition was created in implementation of the INFRAMAT project, part of the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructure, supported by contract D01-155/28.08.2018 of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to the public lecture of Assist. Prof. Evlogi Stanchev, PhD (IBSCT-BAS) Bosnian Muslims and their identities: A look at Balkan historiographies.

The event will be held on September 10, 2024 (Tuesday) at 15:00 at the IBSCT-BAS (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

August 7, 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Prof. Vasilka Tapkova-Zaimova, a Byzantologist, one of the doyens at the Institute of Balkan Studies and mentor of specialists in the field of medieval studies. On the occasion of the significant anniversary, a team from the National History Museum led by the curator Assist. Prof. Dr. Mariela Inkova presents the exhibition "...not to obliterate what is the merit of the past... 100 years since the birth of Prof. Vasilka Tapkova-Zaimova". The exposition can be viewed on site at the museum and virtually here.