Bridge Makers rountable three: Culture as a catalyst for local and regional development
Hosted by our member the Narodni Chitalishta Foundation, the third gathering in the Bridge Makers cycle will shine a light on the Bulgarian cultural ecosystem.
As Bulgarian cities prepare new bids for the 2032 European Capital of Culture, the real test is whether rural and peripheral communities are part of that story - and Chitalishta are where that culture is built bottom-up, every day.
This roundtable will bring together MEPs, mayors, Chitalishta representatives, national and local authorities, and ECoC experts to put rural territories back at the centre of Europe's cultural policy agenda.
This is the third in a series of six roundtables under the Bridge Makers programme, following gatherings in the Czech Republic and Italy.
Discover more about Bridge Makers here
The Narodni Chitalishta Foundation was established in October 2023 with the mission to support the potential of chitalishta in Bulgaria, and to offer everyone - regardless of age, gender, education, or financial status - has a place to create, to be informed, and to learn, and so that every rural and neighbourhood community has a home of its own.
The event is co-funded by the European Union and the Sofia Municipality. It is realised with the hosting and support of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Bulgaria.
Friday, September 18th
09:00 Registration and welcome coffee
09:30 Official opening with welcome words by: Ivo Hristov, Deputy Prime Minister for Education, Culture, Tourism and Sport (tbc); Vasil Terziev, Mayor of Sofia (tbc); Teodor Stoychev, European Parliament Liaison Office in Bulgaria (tbc); Piet Forger, ENCC Board of Directors; and Yuriy Vulkovsky, Executive Director, Narodni Chitalishta Foundation
PANEL 1: Dialogue between local authorities and Chitalishta
09:50 Opening remarks by: Katarzyna Pągowska (tbc), Deputy Director for Programme Affairs, Regional Centre for Culture Animation (WOAK), Poland
10:05 Presentation of the "Active Chitalishta" programme, with: Irina Dakova, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Tourism, Sofia Municipality (tbc)
10:15 Round table discussion (part 1): The relationship between chitalishta / cultural centres and municipalities - Good practices and challenges. With: Silvana Suleiman, Director of the Vidin Fund "Chitalishta" (tbc); Neli Roydeva, Chairperson, Association "Chitalishta with a Future – 2012", Tundzha Municipality (tbc); Donka Mihaylova, Mayor of Troyan Municipality (tbc); and Teodora Dacheva, Deputy Executive Director of NAMRB (tbc) - followed by a Q&A with the audience
11:15 Coffee break
11:30 Round table discussion (part 2): The relationship between chitalishta / cultural centres and municipalities - Good practices and challenges. With: Albena Nedeva, Chairperson of the Targovishte Municipal Chitalishte Council (tbc); Stefan Radev, Mayor of Sliven Municipality (tbc); and Liliana Barganska, Chairperson of Narodno Chitalishte "Vasil Levski – 1945", Varna (tbc) - followed by a Q&A with the audience
12:15 – 13:00 Lunch
PANEL 2: The role of Chitalishta in the European Capital of Culture programme
13:00 Keynote by Hannes Heide, Austrian Member of the European Parliament, former Mayor of Bad Ischl (tbc): the Bad Ischl–Salzkammergut experience as 2024 European Capital of Culture
13:45 Presentations of European Capital of Culture ambitions by the cities of Burgas (tbc), Gabrovo (tbc), and Stara Zagora (tbc)
14:30 Reflections on the presentations heard, and expectations for the future. With: Else Christensen-Redžepović, member of the European Capital of Culture Selection and Monitoring Panel; Piet Forger, ENCC Board member and Director of Culture for the City of Leuven, currently leading Leuven's designation as European Capital of Culture 2030; Orlin Denkov, Chairman of Narodno Chitalishte "Ivan Vazov – 2014," Sofia (tbc); and Hristo Petrov, Vice-Chair, Committee on Culture and Education, European Parliament (tbc) - followed by a Q&A with the audience
15:30 Coffee break
Panel 3: Culture as a factor for local and regional development
15:45 Introductory remarks by Piotr Michałowski, ENCC Board member, coordinator of ENCC's Community Group on Culture and Creativity in Rural Areas, expert on territorial development and urban-rural cooperation (tbc)
16:00 A new model of investment in local cultural ecosystems: the "Chitalishte Dream" Fund. With Svetla Tsachevska, Programme Director, Culture, Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation (tbc)
16:10 Panel discussion with Deputy Minister Grekova (Ministry of Culture), Deputy Minister Chakarov (tbc) (Ministry of Agriculture and Food); Andrey Novakov, Member of the European Parliament, member of the Committee on Regional Development (REGI); and Ilia Godev, Secretary of Narodno Chitalishte "Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov – 1927", village of Smilyan, Smolyan Region (tbc)
17:00 Comment by Anton Kutev, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Media, National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria (tbc)
17:15 Discussion with the audience
17:45 Conclusion and recommendations
Saturday, September 19th
Morning Visits to two chitalishta in and around Sofia
13:00 Lunch and departures