THE STATE INSTITUTE FOR CULTURE UNDER THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS BECAME A FULL MEMBER OF EUNIC
On June 10, 2021, the State Institute for Culture (SIC) under the Minister of Foreign Affairs was accepted as a full member of the European network of cultural institutes EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture), and thus now it stands next to the Ministry of Culture as a Bulgarian representative in the association. With unanimous votes, the General Assembly, which was held in a hybrid form – both online and in person in Toledo, welcomed the Institute.
According to the standard procedures, the candidacy of the Institute was officially proposed to the managing authorities of EUNIC by the Ministry of Culture of R Bulgaria – an already full member and representative of Bulgaria in the European network. During the online meeting, representatives of the Ministry of Culture announced the proposal for membership of the Institute in the Network, after which the management and the team of the SIC made a detailed presentation. EUNIC members had the opportunity to get acquainted with the activities, structure, and priorities of SIC, as well as with the main reasons for expanding the participation of Bulgaria in the Network.
The SIC's membership in EUNIC will expand the opportunities for better coordination of the participation of Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions in joint projects with partners from the European Union and third countries. This will also increase the opportunities for inclusion of the Bulgarian cultural sector in the international cultural exchange. For the Institute, this is a new, important step in its work in the field of cultural diplomacy.
During the General Assembly another candidacy for membership was accepted – that of the Polish Adam Mickiewicz Institute – a state institution within the Polish Ministry of Culture. Thus Bulgaria and Poland both have two state full representatives in EUNIC in the face of their ministries of culture and ministries of foreign affairs.
About EUNIC
EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture – is the European network of organisations engaging in cultural relations. Together with its partners, the network brings to life European cultural collaboration in more than 100 countries worldwide with a network of 132 clusters, drawing on the broad experience of its members from all EU Member States and associate countries. It was established in 2006.
EUNIC advocates a prominent role of culture in international relations and is a strategic partner of the EU, actively involved in the further definition of European cultural policy. EUNIC is in constantly growing cooperation with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the EU Delegations in countries outside the Union. EUNIC is a platform for knowledge sharing and for capacity building amongst its members and partners.