The Institute for Balkan Studies and Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT–BAS) is pleased to invite you to the NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THRACOLOGY. The event will be held on the 14th–15th of May 2025 in Hall 19 of Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IEFSEM–BAS) Prof. Roumiana Preshlenova, PhD, Director of IBSCT–BAS and Assoc. Prof. Mila Maeva, PhD, Director of IEFSEM–BAS will officially open the event on the 14th of May 2025 (Wednesday) at 9:15.

The conference will be attended by both established and young scholars, as well as doctoral students from various scientific institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Universities and Museums in the country and abroad.The event will be held in hybrid format - live at Hall No. 19 of IEFSEM–BAS (6A, Moskovska Str., Sofia), and remotely via ZOOM (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/ 89688254113, password: 906453).

Programme

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the Third Round Table of "The Obscured Balkans" project – "IN THE BEGINNING WAS WATER", which will be held on November 27-28, 2025 in hybrid form at the building of IBSCT-BAS at 45 Moskovska Street and via Zoom.

Until September 15, 2025, 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 2026.

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 is available here.

We are pleased to invite you to the public lecture at the University of Groningen, Kingdom of the Netherlands by PhD student Stella Nikolova, member of the project team of the Institute of Balkan Studies with the Center for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences "Corpus Animalium Thracicorum: a digital corpus of the Thracian land’s fauna (1000 BC - AD 500)", funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria under contract No. KП-06-M90/2 of 10.12.2024.

The scientific event is dedicated to the “Animal Economy in Late Iron Age Bulgaria: New Data from the Thracian Site of Pistiros” and will be held on May 6, 2025 (Tuesday) at 16:00 at the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA), University of Groningen.

The talk will present the latest data on faunal remains from Iron Age sites in Bulgaria. It will start with a recap on the period, introducing some historical data on the ancient Thracian tribes, who inhabited these lands and their interaction with the Ancient Greek merchants and colonies of the Black Sea and Aegean coast. The main case study of the presentation will be the site of Pistiros. Located in the Thracian valley of central Bulgaria, Pistiros is a unique site which was established by ancient Greek merchants from several places (including  island of Thasos, the polis of Apolonia and Maronia all in modern-day Northern Greece). It served as a trading port (or emporium) for exchanging goods with the local Thracian population and was active in the course of the 5th – 3rd centuries BC. The site’s excavations started in 1989 and have since uncovered over 50 000 fragments of faunal remains of mammals, birds, fish and molluscs, making it the largest deposit for this time period. This enormous deposit allows us to tackle human-animal interactions from several aspects: animal husbandry, importing new species, hunting, fishing, butchery practices, and a contextual analysis of deposit formation.

We are pleased to invite you to join a discussion about the concept of marriage, which will be held on June 9, 2025, at 13:00.

The event will be hosted live in the "Acad. Ivan Evstratiev Geshov" Hall at the central building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1, 15 Novembre Str.), and remotely via ZOOM (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81339988213).

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/marriage-discussion/

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to the presentation of the monograph of Assist. Prof. Dr. Elmira Vasileva (IBSCT-BAS) "Protestant missions in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The activities of the American Board of Commissioners of Missions Abroad (19th century - until the First World War)". The event will be held on May 13, 2025 (Tuesday) at 15:30 in the IBSCTC-BAS (45 Moskovska Street, 1000 Sofia).

The monograph presents Protestant missions in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire in the period from the 1820s to the First World War. It is dedicated to the activities of the missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners of Missions Abroad, an organization of the Congregationalist (Congregational) Church, and provides a comprehensive view of their work, referring to broader sources and reflecting the local specificities. This study aims to clarify the essence of the Protestant missions missionary initiatives and the reasons for their flourishing in the period under consideration.

We look forward to welcoming you!

On April 11, 2025, a discussion was held at the Retro Café of RΗM-Sofia, dedicated to the film “Heights”, based on the novel of the same name by Milen Ruskov and adapted for the big screen by Viktor Bozhinov. The event was a continuation of the discussion of the literary work, which took place on April 4, 2025. The moderator of the event was Assoc. Prof. Gergana Doncheva, PhD (IBSCT-BAS). Those present had the opportunity and pleasure to talk with the performer of the leading role - Alexander Alexiev - one of the iconic figures of Bulgarian cinema today, who shared his work impressions in connection with the film and answered the numerous questions and comments with interest. The focus of the discussion were issues such as the influence that the film “Heights” has on Bulgarian society, its place and role as a historical film for the formation of a national and civic position, the possibilities for rethinking historical reality through the prism of cinematography, etc.

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

A team from the Institute of Balkan Studies with the Center for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, part the project "Obscured Balkans: On the Historical Novel", is organizing a discussion dedicated to the movie "Vazvishenie" by Victor Bozhinov.

The event is a continuation of a previous discussion dedicated to novel of the same name by Milen Ruskov, from which the adaptation was made and is part of a series that aims to draw public attention to the historical novel and its influence on modern society.

Moderator of the discussion will be Assoc. Prof. Gergana Doncheva, PhD (IBCT-BAS), and the film producers, as well as actors, together with prominent historians, specialists in the field of the Bulgarian National Revival, ethnologists and writers, will participate.

The discussion will be held on April 11, 2025 (Friday) at the Retro Café of the Regional Museum of History - Sofia, 1 Banski Square at 17:30.

The event part of the activities of the Institute for Balkans Studies with Centre for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, organized by the "Obscured Balkans" project, implemented jointly with the Regional History Museum - Sofia within the framework of their partnership in the "Heritage BG" Centre of Excellence".

On April 8, 2025, a public lecture-discussion on the topic “Slovenian Culture Through My Eyes: A Personal Perspective 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 Project Manager, Assist. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova, Scientific Coordinator of the IBSCT-BAS. The Director of DKI Ms. Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova welcomed the attendees and highlighted the fruitful cooperation between the institute she leads and the Slovenian Embassy. She drew special attention to the Bulgarian-Slovenian exhibition "Bridges" presented in 2022 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Slovenia.

Special guest and lecturer was H.E. Nataša Bergelj, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Bulgaria. She talked about the role of the Slovenian language and literature in the country's foreign policy, presented the most important cultural events held in Bulgaria since the beginning of her mandate, and emphasized the importance of the European Capital of Culture in 2025, which for the first time unites cities in two countries - Nova Gorica (Slovenia) and Gorizia (Italy).

Ambassador Bergel's presentation sparked a lively discussion, in which journalists, scholars, university professors, doctoral candidates, and students participated.

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Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology and the Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences organize an international conference "Balkan Gambit: Southeastern Europe between East and West (1185–1285)". It is dedicated to the 820th anniversary of the Battle of Edirne (April 14, 1205) between the armies of the Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan and the Latin Emperor Baldwin I of Flanders. The scholarly forum will be held on April 14 and 15, 2025 at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and online via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81843259329)

The aim of the international conference is to present new perspectives and contributions to the study of the dynamic events and processes that marked the Balkan Peninsula in the turbulent century from the third Norman invasion of the Byzantine lands and the restoration of the Bulgarian state to the end of confrontation between the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and the Sicilian King Charles I of Anjou. The conference will focus on the meeting, clash and mutual influences between East and West in the European Southeast and their impact on Balkan societies in this period.

PROGRAMME

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”.