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.

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We are pleased to invite you to participate in the Second Round Table of "The Obscured Balkans" project – "THE ALLURE OF RADICALISM", which will be held on November 28-29, 2024 in hybrid form at the building of IBSCT-BAS at 45, Moskovska Street and via Zoom.

Until September 15, 2024, you can send participation requests. The round tables are inextricably linked to the electronic series "The Obscured Balkans", in which the extended papers of the participants are published. The deadline for submitting articles is March 2025.

The round tables and the electronic series are part of "The Obscured Balkans", a project of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) under the “Creation and development of “Heritage BG” Centre of Excellence”.

More information about the participation and thematic circles here.

A delegation of the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), headed by the Rector, paid an official visit to the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS). It was attended by Ke Jing, Director of the Balkan Studies Centre and Dean of the School of European Languages and Cultures, who presented the teaching of Balkan languages and cultures, Chen Ying, Director of the Confucius Institute in Bulgaria and a long-time Bulgarian language lecturer at BFSU, and other representatives of the university's management.

The guests congratulated the IBSCT-BAS on its 60th anniversary and on the 155th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. They discussed opportunities for scholarly exchanges between the two institutions and signed a memorandum of cooperation.

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On July 9, 2024 (Tuesday) at 18h00 in the Serdika Ancient Complex (Largoto) there will be a presentation of the collective volume Egyptian Cults on the Black Sea, followed by opening of the poster exhibition Egyptian Cults on the Black Sea / Cultes égyptiens en Mer Noire / Egyptian Cults Around the Black Sea. Special guest will be Prof. Laurent Bricot, affiliated with the French University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, who is a specialist in the field of Egyptian cults in the Mediterranean. The event is organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology "Prof. Alexander Fol" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences together with the Regional History Museum - Sofia, New Bulgarian University, École française d'Athènes and with the support of the Francophone University Agency (Agence universitaire de la francophonie), which celebrates its 30-year presence in Southeast Europe.

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On June 25, 2024, a scholarly conference "Bulgarian Northwest in scholarly research and fiction" was held in the Exhibition Hall of the Regional Historical Museum in the city of Montana (RHM - Montana). The forum was organized by the Branch of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS). Co-organizers were the Municipality of Montana and RHM - Montana. Scholarly Coordinator of the event was Prof. D.Sc. Alexandre Kostov, Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Head of the Branch in Montana. A day earlier, at a solemn session of the Municipal Council, Prof. Kostov was awarded the Badge of Honor of the city of Montana.

A total of 15 people took part in the conference, including well-known scholars and experts: Acad. Yachko Ivanov, Acad. Ivan Zagorchev, Acad. Vladimir Zarev, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vanya Ivanova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lyudmila Mindova, together with museum specialists and local historians from the city of Montana.

The event was attended by prominent personalities such as Prof. Dr. Borislav Velikov, Mayor of the city of Montana, Mr. Zlatko Zhivkov, and Mr. Ivo Ivanov, Chairman of the Municipal Council in Montana.

The scholarly forum was opened by Prof. Alexandre Kostov with a presentation of the collection "The Bulgarian Northwest - Education and Culture", which is the result of last year's conference, organized by the Branch of the IBSCT-BAS in the city of Montana.

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On June 25 and 26, 2024 in Sofia an international interdisciplinary scholarly conference "Bulgarian-Croatian Dialogues. Times, Events, Individuals" was held, organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS). The event was realized within the framework of the National Scholarly Programme "Development and Promotion of Bulgarian Studies Abroad". Partners of the scholarly forum were the Department of Historical Sciences, the Institute for the History of Croatian Literature, Theatre and Music at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Bulgaria. The aim of the conference was to shed more light on the nature, typology and development of the Bulgarian-Croatian relations with an emphasis on the time of the modernization processes, the formation of civil society, existing local traditions and external influences, individuals and places of memory.

Greetings to the participants and guests of the conference were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elka Traykova, Scientific Secretary of the "Cultural-Historical Heritage and National Identity" Division of the BAS, Prof. Dr. Roumiana Preshlenova, Director of the IBSC-BAS, H.E. Jasna Ognyanovac, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Croatia in the Republic of Bulgaria, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irina Ognyanova, coordinator of the project "Society, State and Church of Bulgarians and Croats through the Ages" and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Antoaneta Balcheva, coordinator of the project "Bulgarian and Croatian cultural routes in Southeast Europe. Intersections and Interactions'.

The exhibition "Croats and Bulgarians over the centuries. Cultural diplomacy and inter-academic cooperation/Hrvati i Bugari kroz stoljeća. Kulturna diplomacija i međuakademska suradnja" was opened during the academic forum. The exhibition was prepared by a team of IBSTC-BAS 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 of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is presented in partnership with the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in the Republic of Bulgaria and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The exhibition will be shown in other places in Bulgaria and abroad in the coming months.

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The president of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences acad. Julian Revalski presented the Director of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre for Tracology (IBSCT-BAS) Prof. Dr. Roumiana Preshlenova with an honorary golden plaque for his significant contribution in fundamental and applied scholarly research. The honor was awarded during the solemn celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Institute of Balkan Studies. It was founded by a decision of the Council of Ministers on January 15, 1964 under the auspices of UNESCO as a scientific research and educational centre for the languages, history, culture and modern development of the Balkans. In 2010, it was joined by the Center for Tracology "Prof. Alexander Fol".

Greetings were presented on behalf of the Minister of Education and Science, the Chairperson of the Archives State Agency, the Rector and Dean of the Faculty of History of the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the Rector of the Southwest University "Neofit Rilski", the Bulgarian National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), Directors of the Institute of Literature, the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with an Ethnographic Museum and the Institute for Art Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Director of the Regional History Museum in Silistra.

Congratulatory addresses were sent by the Minister of Culture, Directors of the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Diplomatic Institute, the Rector of the University of Library Science and Information Technologies, Directors of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum, the Institute of the Bulgarian Language "Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin" and the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Directors of the Regional Historical Museum in Montana and the Regional Ethnographic Open Air Museum "Eter".

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