site.btaBulgaria Initiates Establishment of Balkan Cultural Operator Network

Bulgaria is initiating the establishment of a Balkan network of cultural operators aimed to promote a stronger presence of the region on the European cultural map, said the organizers of the European Jazz Conference just held in Sofia.

Over 350 delegates from 38 countries involved in jazz music and cultural policies, including over 150 music festivals and clubs, export offices, regional cultural institutes, agents, managers and representatives of some of the biggest music media gathered at the National Palace of Culture from September 22 to 25 to take part in various modules of the programme. It included conference panels, working groups, networking sessions and the key presentation showcase concerts of 16 musical projects from the country, which presented the Bulgarian jazz scene.

"The interest that Bulgaria aroused as a new destination and source of cultural products was fully justified," the organizers said. They think the event, which passed under the motto Breaking new ground, was of strategic importance not only for Bulgaria, but also for the entire Balkan region, which has long remained in the shadows on Europe’s cultural map. That was also the reason for Bulgaria to initiate the establishment of an informal network of Balkan cultural operators from Serbia, North Macedonia, Romania, Greece and Turkey attending the event, the idea being to work together for stronger positioning of the region and attracting new investments in cultural, festival and congress tourism. 

"We drew the attention of the entire European jazz and cultural community to Bulgaria, to our musical traditions. We work very hard to open up foreign markets for Bulgarian musicians, as well as to expand the representation of cultural operators from Bulgaria in the European jazz network to actively interact with other festivals and organizations from Europe," said Mila Georgieva, International Relations Manager at A to Z Foundation which organized the European Jazz Conference in Bulgaria and is the initiator of the A to JazZ Festival.