Plovdiv, Bulgaria: Cultural Minister Krstu Krstev is all set to open International UNESCO meeting

The 11th International Meeting of the UNESCO Category 2 Centers working for the preservation of the living heritage of humanity will take place on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, and Wednesday, September 6, 2023, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. 

The forum is being held in Bulgaria on the initiative of the Sofia Regional Center – UNESCO, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Municipality of Plovdiv and the Municipal Institute “Ancient Plovdiv”.

The event will be held in the Small Basilica of Philippopol. The Minister of Culture, Krstu Krastev, Director of the Capacity Building Department at UNESCO, and Suzanne Schnutgen, Deputy, will open it. -Mayor of Plovdiv Plamen Panov, Director of the State Cultural Institute of the Ministry of Interior Snejana Yoveva-Dimitrova, Director of the Sofia Regional Center – UNESCO Irena Todorova.

The forum also marks the 20th anniversary of signing the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

Experts from Algeria, China, Iran, Japan, Peru, the Republic of Korea, and the UAE will visit the Old Town. During the working sessions, all the new trends in the field, the challenges faced by Category 2 centres, and strategically planned activities for international cooperation will be discussed.

The delegates will visit the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopol, iconic places and events in the Old Town of Plovdiv, and the Regional Ethnographic Museum.

Annual meetings of the Category 2 Centers began in 2013. again in Bulgaria, Sozopol. The forums are organized in Paris, Gueyang, Shiraz, and Algeria. The regular meetings aim to improve communication between the Centers and practical exchange between the network and UNESCO.

 Sofia Regional Center: UNESCO is one of the eight centres dedicated to preserving the global living heritage and is managed by an entirely Bulgarian team.