A public meeting-discussion on “Germany in Dialogue: Cultural Exchange in a European Context” was held at the “Prof. Alexander Fol” Institute of Balkan Studies with the Centre of Thracology at BAS (IBSCT-BAS). It is part of a series of events on cultural diplomacy in Bulgaria and the Balkans, organized by IBSCT-BAS in institutional 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 project “Cultural Diplomacy in the Balkans in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Achievements and Challenges in the Present Time” funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science.
The public meeting-discussion was opened by the Director of IBSCT-BAS, Prof. Dr. Roumiana Preshlenova and the project leader, sen. asst. prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova, scientific coordinator of IBSCT-BAS. Mrs. Nia Tabakova addressed the audience on behalf of the Director of SIC, Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova.
Special guests and speakers were H.E. Mrs. Irene Maria Plank, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Bulgaria, and Dr. Kirsten Hackenbroch, Director of the Goethe-Institut in Sofia. Н.E. Irene Maria Plank spoke about the nature of cultural diplomacy in the modern world. Dr. Hackenbroch presented the diverse cultural activities of the Goethe-Institut in Bulgaria and Europe as well as the successful initiatives within the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC).
The event was attended by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mariana Tian, Scientific Secretary of the “Man and Society” division, representatives of the cultural sector, scientists, lecturers, PhD students and students
