Discussion at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences on German Cultural Policies in Europe in Partnership with the State Institute for Culture
On October 20, 2025, a public meeting-discussion on the topic "Germany in Dialogue: Cultural Exchange in a European Context" was held at the Institute of Balkan Studies with the Center for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBCT-BAS). The event is part of a series of initiatives dedicated to cultural diplomacy in Bulgaria and the Balkans, organized by IBCT-BAS in institutional partnership with the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs (SKI).
The initiative is implemented within the framework of the project "Cultural Diplomacy in the Balkans in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Achievements, Problems, Challenges for the Future", funded by the Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science.
The public meeting-discussion was opened by the Director of IBCT-BAS Prof. Dr. Rumyana Preshlenova and the project manager, Ch. Asst. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Milanova, scientific coordinator of the institute. On behalf of the director of the State Institute for Culture Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova, Nia Tabakova welcomed the participants, emphasizing the importance of sustainable partnership between scientific institutions and state structures in the field of cultural diplomacy.
Special guests and speakers at the event were H.E. Irene Maria Planck, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Bulgaria, and Dr. Kirsten Hackenbroch, Director of the Goethe-Institut in Sofia. H.E. Planck emphasized the role of cultural diplomacy as a bridge between peoples in the modern world, and Dr. Hackenbroch presented the activities of the Goethe-Institut in Bulgaria and Europe, as well as the joint initiatives within the framework of the Association of National European Institutes for Culture (EUNIC).
The discussion was attended by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mariana Tien, Scientific Secretary of Direction 9 "Man and Society" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Mr. Yavor Koynakov, Chief Expert "Coordination of International Cultural Projects" at the State Institute for Culture, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Albena Taneva, Head of the Department of Public Administration at the Faculty of Philosophy of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", Assoc. Prof. Dr. Boris Stoyanov from the Faculty of History of Sofia University, as well as representatives of the cultural sector, the academic community, doctoral candidates and students. The event confirmed the successful partnership between IBCT-BAS and State Institute for Culture as a significant model for cooperation between the scientific and diplomatic spheres in the name of cultural dialogue and European values.