On June 10, 2024, an academic seminar with international participation "Spiritual and Cultural Heritage and Ethnic Identityinthe Balkans" was held. The event was organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) in fulfillment of the tasks of the academic project "Ethnic, Religious and Minority Issues in the Balkans in 20th and 21st Centuries" of the Institute for Balkan Studies and Center for Thracology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with Reg. № 2412130 in the Registry of the Bulgarian Current Research Information System of the National Center for Information and Documentation (NACID).
The academic seminar was held in a hybrid form – in person in the IBSCT-BAS building and online via Zoom. Speakers were Miloš Rastović – Scholar-in-Residence at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, the United States of America, and Founder and President of the American Council for Eastern Europe, and Dr. Verzhin Hugasyan – Vice-Chairman of the Young Professionals (YP) of AGBU Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Prof. Dr. Golfo Alexopoulos, Director of the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of South Florida, U.S.A. was a commentator of the event. The academic seminar was moderated by Prof. Dr. Nadia Boyadjieva, Doctor of Sciences in International Law and International Relations, affiliated with IBSCT-BAS, Head of the project "Ethnic, Religious and Minority Issues in the Balkans in 20th and 21st Centuries" and Chair of the Organizing Committee of the scholarly forum.
In his report, Miloš Rastović examined the importance of preserving the sites of the spiritual and cultural heritage of Serbia in the period after World War II. He paid special attention to the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church as the main pillar for the preservation of the Serbian ethnic identity. Dr. Verzhin Hugasyan presented the role of the spiritual and material heritage of the Armenian people and the activities of the Youth Structure of the All-Armenian Charitable Union “Parekordzagan” in the city of Plovdiv.
The academic seminar was attended by young and established researchers, representatives of various scholarly institutions from Bulgaria and abroad. Other events within the framework of the project will be organized aimed at both the academic community and the wider public.
