Online Meeting "Cultural Cooperation in the Programs of Diplomatic Missions and EUNIC"
On February 24, 2022, the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs held an online meeting "Cultural Cooperation, EUNIC and the Programs of Foreign Missions", which discussed the possibility of activating the participation of Bulgarian diplomatic missions in the Association's projects.
The director of the State Institute for Culture Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova welcomed the participants in the meeting. Yavor Koynakov, chief expert at the State Institute for Culture and focal point with EUNIC, began the presentation with the following words: "It seems that this is the worst day we can talk about 'soft power' and cultural influence. And yet - amid the smell of gunpowder in Europe, this is the most important moment to talk about culture. In times of overt messages and false excuses that normal logic cannot accept, cultural and public diplomacy must offer a conversation about values and things that are important to us as a society. ”
The presentation was the continued stages of the establishment of the Association of European Cultural Institutes EUNIC and taking on the role of partner of the European Commission in the implementation of projects in the field of international cultural cooperation. Throught the years the State Institute for Culture has supported participation of the missions in joint projects of the Association, and in the month following the adoption of the Institute as a full member of the Association (June 2021) were confirmed the mandates for several embassies in Bulgaria to join the network.
The meeting was attended by over 30 employees from our foreign offices around the world, who shared experiences from their work in the field of cultural cooperation, as well as the problems encountered in this region. It was mentioned the role of EUNIC as an additional and important tool for conducting cultural diplomacy of the country.
In the course of the discussion, possible partnerships of the diplomatic services within the EUNIC framework were outlined and opportunities for activating the participation of Bulgarian foreign missions in key projects in the field of culture, especially in regions important for foreign policy, were discussed.
Meeting record: