The State Institute for Culture participated in the EUNIC General Assembly in Amsterdam
On 18 and 19 June 2025, the summer regular General Assembly of EUNIC (the European Union Network of National Cultural Institutes) was held in Amsterdam. The event was organized by EUNIC and DutchCulture and took place at the H’ART Museum – a leading cultural center located on the banks of the Amstel River.
The State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs was represented by its Director Ms. Snezhana Ioveva-Dimitrova and Senior Specialist Ms. Nia Tabakova.
The assembly opened with a ceremony of handing over the presidency of EUNIC from Mr. Liviu Jicman, Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute, to Ms. Kirsten van den Hul, Director of DutchCulture. The two-day program discussed the strategic priorities of the network, including topics such as sustainability of cultural institutes, climate policies, partnerships with Ukrainian institutions, as well as opportunities for closer cooperation between EUNIC national branches in the context of the upcoming rotating EU presidencies. The main focus of the two-day program was the panel discussion on the topic "Sustainability and Diversification of Cultural Partnerships in a Changing Environment", which brought together leaders and experts from European and local cultural organizations: Mr. Araf Ahmadali - Director of Arts and Culture at the Municipality of Amsterdam, Ms. Rubiah Balsem - Social Architect and Founder of Studio Balsem and Mr. André Wilkens - Director of the European Cultural Foundation and Co-Founder of Domo
Other speakers at the General Assembly included Andrew Manning, Executive Director of EUNIC, Dewi van de Weerd, Ambassador for International Cultural Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Intergenerational Justice, Youth, Culture and Sport at the EU, Volodymyr Sheiko, Director of the Ukrainian Institute, and Annabel Burney, Director of the H’ART Museum.
An important moment of the event was the election of a new Management Board of the network. Ms. Gite Zschoch, Director of the German Institute for International Cultural Relations (ifa), whose expertise in the field of international cultural cooperation has been highly recognized in the network, was elected Vice-President of EUNIC.
Ms. Snezhana Joveva-Dimitrova took an active part in the working sessions, emphasizing the importance of international cultural cooperation, as well as the readiness of the State Institute for Culture to contribute through individual initiatives to the implementation of the new strategic framework of EUNIC. Her presence at the meeting reflects our country’s commitment to European cultural policies and values, as well as the aspiration for active inclusion in the dialogue on topics of global importance for the place and role of cultural diplomacy in foreign policy relations.
As part of the additional program, the participants had the opportunity to view the exhibition “From Rembrandt to Vermeer: Masterpieces from the Leiden Collection”, presented at the H’ART Museum. The exhibition includes remarkable works by Dutch masters from the Golden Age and highlights the cultural heritage of the Netherlands. The additional program included a special boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam, organized by the Rederij Lampedusa initiative. The tour was conducted by boat from the refugee route near the island of Lampedusa and presented personal stories of immigrants who vividly shape the cultural face of Amsterdam.