On April 8, International Roma Day, in the National Library “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” the results of the implementation of the project “Unity in Diversity” (No. BGCULTURE-3.001-0044-C01) were presented. During the last 14 months, the project inspired and mobilized the energy of specialists and experts from NBKM and partner organizations in order to popularize the culture of three ethnic and cultural groups – Roma, Armenians and Jews and to show their coexistence alongside Bulgarian culture. Within the framework of the project, 8 “Ethnocafe” events, 9 “Class Hour” events were held, a traveling exhibition of children’s drawings was presented and 3 thematic editions were published, which are dedicated to the covered ethnic groups. All publications are distributed free of charge and are available through www.nationallibrary.bg and www.united-diversity.eu.
“This project is special for us. All events, initiatives and publications carried out within the framework of the project have become an important tool for deepening knowledge about the culture of ethnic and cultural minorities in Bulgaria. We engaged them as new target groups of the library, and this contributes to social cohesion”, said during the event Prof. Dr. Krasimira Alexandrova, Director of the National Library “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”.
“Slantse-1879” NP and “New Opportunities” association took part in the project as partners from the country. Mrs. Emilia Atanasova, head librarian at the “Sun-1879” Primary School, told about the creation of the “Roden Krai” club and the organization of classes that successfully united the efforts of students from the local Roma and Bulgarian community around common interests and initiatives, as well as the desire to study the history of their birthplace.
Mrs. Anelia Dudinova, from the “New Opportunities” association, spoke about the interest in the “Days of Roma Culture” festival, in which over 100 participants in the village of Aprilovo took part in various activities such as visual arts, dramatization and choreography, presenting various musical and culinary skills that highlight the richness of Roma culture.
Dr. Sofia Zakhova from the Vigdís International Center for Multilingual and Intercultural Understanding at the University of Iceland shared about the publication of the monograph “Roma Literature”, thanked for the materials provided by the NBKM fund and emphasized the successful cooperation between Bulgaria and Iceland, which is the result of the project .
The project “United in diversity” received support from representative organizations of the Roma, Armenian and Jewish ethnic groups during its implementation. It created opportunities to strengthen ties between different ethnic and cultural groups while promoting tolerance in society.
A photo album of the “United in Diversity” project is available at the EEA and Norway Grants media library.
The project “United in diversity” is financed under programme RA 14 “Cultural entrepreneurship, heritage and cooperation”, Result 3 “Improved awareness of arts and culture of ethnic and cultural minorities (focus on Roma)”, with the support of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic space 2014-2021.