Bulgaria has its first representative in the Global Young Academy (GYA). This is Assist. Prof. Alexandra Milanova, PhD affiliated with the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She was selected among hundreds of candidates from all over the world for her high academic achievements, international appearances and public engagement. The official inauguration ceremony will be held during the Academy’s Annual General Meeting in June 2025 in Hyderabad, India.

The Global Young Academy was established in 2010 and brings together 200 young scientists from six continents. Its main goal is to connect and encourage talented young researchers to participate in the decision-making process at the international, regional and national levels to overcome global challenges.

We are pleased to invite you to the public lecture-discussion on the topic "Slovenian Culture Through My Eyes: A Personal Perspective on Cultural Diplomacy". It will be held on April 8, 2025 (Tuesday) at 15:00 in the Ivan Geshov Hall in the central building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1, 15 November Street, 1000 Sofia). Special guest and lecturer will be H.E. Nataša Bergelj, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Bulgaria.

The event is organized in institutional partnership with the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is part of a series of public lecture-discussions dedicated to cultural diplomacy in Bulgaria and the Balkans.

We look forward to welcoming you!

This initiative is implemented as part of 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, contract No. КП-06-Н80/4 dated 07.12.2023.

A team from the Institute of Balkan Studies with Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, within the framework of the project “The Unknown Balkans: On the Historical Novel”, is organizing a discussion dedicated to “Vazvishenie” by Milen Ruskov.

The event is part of a series, the aim of which is to draw the audience's attention to the historical novel and its influence on contemporary society. The moderator of the discussion will be Milen Petrov (IBCT-BAS), and prominent historians - specialists in the field of the Bulgarian National Revival, ethnologists and writers will participate.

The event will be held on April 4, 2025 (Friday) at the “Retro Café” of the Regional History Museum - Sofia, Banski Square No. 1 at 17:30.

A continuation of the discussion regarding the film adaptation will be held on April 11, 2025 (Friday) at the “Retro Café” of the Regional History Museum - Sofia, Banski Square No. 1 at 17:30.

The event is part of the activities of the Institute of Balkan Studies with Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences under the project “Unknown Balkans”, implemented jointly with the Regional History Museum - Sofia within the framework of their partnership in the “Heritage BG” Centre of Excellence”.

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Regional History Museum - Sofia, within the framework of their partnership in the “Heritage BG” Centre of Excellence, are organizing a series of events, the aim of which is to draw the attention of the public to the historical novel and its influence on contemporary society. For this purpose, meetings will be organized at which emblematic foreign and Bulgarian historical novels will be discussed by historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, literary scholars, cultural historians and lovers of the genre. The books will be examined from the perspective of the historical time they represent, whether they succeed in immersing the reader in the atmosphere of the era, whether they are historically reliable and many other questions, to which answers will be sought by scholars and readers in a positive rather than critical discourse.

For the first months of 2025, а discussion of the novel "Vazvishenie" by Milen Ruskov is planned for April 4 and a week later, on April 11, of the film "Vazvishenie" by Viktor Bozhinov. On May 21, the audience's attention will be drawn to the novel "Ivanisha ot Severa" by Tihomir Todorov, and on June 20 - to the novel "Rana" by Zahari Karabashliev.

All events will be held in the Retro cafe of the Regional History Museum - Sofia at 1, Banski Sq. from 17:30.

The Institute for Balkan Studies and Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is pleased to invite you to the premiere of the collected volume "History and culture of the Balkans: Foreign Influences, Contextual Adaptation, Hybrid Phenomena" in memory of Sanya Velkova-Kozhuharova, PhD.

The event will take place on March 24, 2025 (Monday) at 17:30 in the Mirror Hall of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (north wing, 2nd floor).

We look forward to welcoming you!

A delegation of Confucius Institute – Sofia, led by Mrs. Aksinia Koleva, Director from the Bulgarian side and Prof. Chen Ying, Director from the Chinese side, paid an official visit to the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS). The guests were welcomed by Prof. Dr. Roumiana Il. Preshlenova, Director of the IBSCT-BAS, Corr. Member Prof. D.Sc. Alexandre Kostov, Chairman of the Scientific Council and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zorka Parvanova, Chairman of the General Assembly.

During the meeting, a memorandum of cooperation between the two institutions was signed and opportunities for joint initiatives were discussed.

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The Institute for Balkan Studies and Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is pleased to invite you to the round table “Own and Foreign”, which will take place on March 20–21, 2025, in the Grand Hall of the Institute (Sofia, 45 Moskovska Street). This academic forum will feature presentations on local and national practices, traditions, and ideas, examined in comparison with those of others - the different, the foreign. The discussion aims to frame the topic within a broad political, economic, cultural, and ideological context.

Following a double-blind peer review, selected papers will be considered for publication in the journal The Balkans, a periodic edition of the Institute focusing on cultural, historical, political, economic, and other issues related to the Balkans in their European and global context (https://www.balkani-bg.com/en/).

Programme

On March 6, 2025, a discussion of the project "Historical Chameleons" was held, dedicated to the concept of feudalism. The discussion was focused entirely on the problems of Bulgarian history, with participants paying much attention to the changing meanings of the concept in scientific literature, as well as its relevance today. First, the imposition of the term in Bulgaria after 1944 was outlined (Asst. Milen Petrov), and then its various aspects were sequentially examined, such as its use in Western Europe from the 15th to the 20th centuries. (PhD student Todor Todorov), classical notions of feudalism (Assoc. Prof. Nikola Dyulgerov, PhD), feudalism and Byzantium (Assoc. Prof. Georgi Dimov, PhD), feudalism in Ottoman history (Asst. Prof. Petar Dobrev, PhD), feudalism in Bulgarian historiography (Prof. Rumen Daskalov, DSc) and contemporary interpretations of the term, such as technofeudalism (Assoc. Prof. Zlatomira Gerdzhikova, PhD).

More information about the project and "feudalism" as a concept can be found on the "Historical Chameleons" website: https://historical-chameleons.clada-bg.com/discussion-feudalism/

The "Historical Chameleons" project is headed by a team from IBSCT-BAS, with support from the researchers of IICT-BAS and the Scientific Information Center "Bulgarian Encyclopedia"-BAS. The project is part of the national e-infrastructure KLaDa-BG.

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On March 11, 2025, a public lecture-discussion on the topic “Bridging Cultures: The Albanian View on Cultural Diplomacy” was held in the Ivan Geshov Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It is part of the series of events dedicated to cultural diplomacy in Bulgaria and the Balkans, organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) in partnership with the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria (DKI). The initiative is implemented as part of 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.

The public lecture-discussion was opened by the Deputy Minister of Culture Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Chobanov, the Vice-President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Prof. D.Sc. Emmanuel Moutafov and the Project Manager, Assist. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova, Scientific Coordinator of the IBSCT-BAS. The attendees were welcomed by the Director of DKI Ms. Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, who presented the successful cultural initiatives implemented between Bulgaria and Albania in the last years.

Special guest and lecturer was H.E. Inid Milo, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Bulgaria. In her presentation, she drew attention to the potential of the so-called small countries in the field of cultural diplomacy. She presented the most significant cultural events organized by the Albanian Embassy in Bulgaria and spoke about the upcoming initiatives in 2025. Ambassador Milo's presentation was met with great interest and sparked a lively discussion.

The event was attended by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mario Ivanov, Scientific Secretary of the Cultural and Historical Heritage and National Identity Department of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Dr. Roumiana Il. Preshlenova, Director of IBSCT-BAS, Dr. Bobi Bobev, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Albania (1998–2006) and Kosovo (2010–2014), Mr. Yavor Koynakov, Senior Expert, Coordination of International Cultural Projects at DKI, scholars, university professors and students of the Balkan Studies major at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".

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We are pleased to invite you to the public lecture-discussion on the topic "Bridging Cultures: The Albanian View on Cultural Diplomacy". It will be held on March 11, 2025 (Tuesday) at 15:00 in the Ivan Geshov Hall in the central building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1, 15 November Street, 1000 Sofia). Special guest and lecturer will be H.E. Inid Milo, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Bulgaria.

The event is organized in institutional partnership with the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is part of a series of public lecture-discussions dedicated to cultural diplomacy in Bulgaria and the Balkans.

We look forward to welcoming you!



This initiative is implemented as part of the Project “Cultural diplomacy in the Balkans in the 20thand 21stcenturies: 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, contract No. КП-06-Н80/4 dated 07.12.2023.

We are pleased to invite you to join the discussion of the concept of feudalism, which will be held on March 6, 2025, at 13:00 in the "Acad. Ivan Evstratiev Geshov" Hall in the central building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1, 15 Novembre Str.). The concept of feudalism and its contemporary interpretations will be presented by Prof. Rumen Daskalov, Assoc. Prof. Georgi Dimov, Assoc. Prof. Nikola Dyulgerov, Assist. Prof. Dr. Petar Dobrev, and PhD students Milen Petrov and Todor Todorov. Moderator of the event will be Assist. Prof. Dr. Eli Filipova.

The event is organized as part of the activities of the "Historical Chameleons" project, implemented by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the scientific infrastructure CLADA.BG. More about the event and the project can be found at https://historical-chameleons.clada-bg.com

On February 25, 2025, the second of a series of public lectures-discussions dedicated to cultural diplomacy in Bulgaria and the Balkans was held in the Ivan Geshov Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It was organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) in partnership with the State Institute for Culture to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria (DKI). The initiative is implemented as part of 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.

The event was opened by the Vice-President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Prof. D.Sc. Emmanuel Moutafov and by the Project Manager Asst. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova affiliated with the IBCTS-BAS. A greeting on behalf of the Director of the DKI Ms. Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, was delivered by Mr. Iliyan Lolugov, Head of the Cultural Policy Department. The event was also attended by H.E. Inid Milo, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Bulgaria and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mario Ivanov, Scientific Secretary of the Cultural and Historical Heritage and National Identity Department.

Special guest and lecturer was H.E. Jasna Ognjanovac, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Bulgaria. She made a presentation on the topic “The Soft Power of Cultural Diplomacy”, which was met with great interest by the audience and sparked a lively discussion.

During the event, special attention was paid to the exhibition Croats and Bulgarians through the Ages. Cultural Diplomacy and Interacademic Cooperation/Hrvati i Bugari kroz stoljeća. Kulturna diplomacija i međuakademska suradnja, prepared under the above-mentioned project. Last year, it was presented in the central foyer of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria on the occasion of the Day of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service. In May 2025, the exhibition will be inaugurated at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb and in other cities in Croatia.

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