site.btaBessarabian, Banat Bulgarians Exchange Experience in Preserving Cultural Heritage

Representatives of the Bulgarian community in Moldova have returned from the Romanian village of Dudestii Vechi (known as Star Bisnov in Banat Bulgarian), where they took part in a cultural and educational exchange with the Banat Bulgarians from July 25 to 31, Nina Topalova, Secretary of the Bulgarian Community of the Republic of Moldova Public Association, told BTA. She is also a member of the Association of Bulgarians around the World.

The programme included workshops on traditional music, folk singing, embroidery and crafts, museum visits, an exhibition, exchanges of culinary traditions, joint rehearsals and a concluding concert. The initiative aimed to strengthen cultural cooperation and share good practices between the Bulgarian communities in Moldova and Romania.

"Bulgarian communities around the world are connected not only by their common origin, language and traditions, but also by their desire to preserve Bulgaria's spiritual heritage and pass it on to future generations. When these ties are built on trust, continuity and a shared purpose, they develop into genuine international initiatives that bring people closer together and create new opportunities for cooperation," Topalova told BTA.

According to Topalova, one of the most moving moments of the exchange was the visit to the At Granny's Museum in Dudestii Vechi. There, Elena Dinkova, a long-time custodian of the cultural heritage of the Bessarabian Bulgarians, compared traditional household artefacts, explained their purpose, symbolism and distinctive features, and highlighted the similarities and differences between the traditions of the Bessarabian and Banat Bulgarians.

The Bulgarian language classroom at Sts Cyril and Methodius Primary School in Dudestii Vechi received a donation of Bulgarian-language books and national flags from the Vasil Levski Bulgarian Theoretical Lyceum in Chisinau.

The participants also visited the headquarters of the Bulgarian Union of Banat-Romania in Timisoara, where they learned about the organization's activities and toured the city's historic centre.

The exchange was organized under an international project titled "Connections through Heritage: Learning and Cultural Exchange of Bessarabian and Banat Bulgarian Communities", supported by the European Union's Culture Moves Europe programme and implemented by the Goethe-Institut.