Public meeting-discussion on “Bridging Cultures: the Albanian View on Cultural Diplomacy”

On March 11, 2025, a public meeting-discussion on “Bridging Cultures: The Albanian View on Cultural Diplomacy” was held at the “Ivan Geshov” Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It is part of a series of events on cultural diplomacy in Bulgaria and the Balkans organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies with Center for Thracology at BAS (IBSCT-BAS) in partnership with the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria (SIC). The initiative is implemented within the framework of the “Cultural Diplomacy in the Balkans in the 20th and 21st Century: Achievements, Problems, Challenges and the Way Forward” project funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of MES.

The public meeting-discussion was opened by the Vice-President of BAS Prof. DSc Emmanuel Moutafov, by the Deputy Minister of Culture Assoc. Prof. Todor Chobanov, and the project leader Sen. Asst. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova, scientific coordinator of IBSCT-BAS. The Director of the State Institute for Culture, Ms. Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, welcomed the participants and presented the successful cultural initiatives implemented between Bulgaria and Albania in recent years.

Special guest and speaker was H.E. Ms. Inid Milo, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Bulgaria. In her presentation, she focused on the potential of the so-called small states in the field of cultural diplomacy. She presented the most significant cultural events organized by the Albanian Embassy in Bulgaria and talked about the upcoming initiatives until the end of the year. 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 Heritage and National Identity” division of BAS, Prof. Dr. Roumiana I. Preshlenova, Director of the IBSCT-BAS, Dr. Bobby Bobev, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Albania (1998-2006) and Kosovo (2010-2014), Mr. Yavor Koynakov, Chief Expert at the Cultural Policy Department of the State Institute for Culture, scientists, lecturers and students in Balkan Studies at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.