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.
