site.btaMediators to Provide Daily Support for Communication between National Culture Fund and Independent Cultural Sector

Mediators will provide daily support for communication between the National Culture Fund (NCF) and the independent cultural sector, the Culture Ministry announced on Thursday. This was agreed at a meeting between representatives of the Ministry and organisations from the cultural sphere implementing projects under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), who earlier in the day had protested over delayed payments.

Deputy Culture Minister Georgi Sultanov invited representatives of the protesters to a meeting to discuss the problems.

The meeting, which took place at the Ministry’s headquarters, was attended by Deputy Culture Ministers Georgi Sultanov and Todor Chobanov, the Head of the Culture Minister’s Cabinet, Konstantina Atanasovska, and National Culture Fund Executive Director Sofia Shtereva, the Ministry noted.

Representatives of the independent cultural sector presented their concerns, demands and questions related to the management of NRRP projects. During the meeting, it was agreed that mediators would be appointed to support daily communication between the NCF and the independent cultural sector for more effective information exchange and timely resolution of current issues, so that beneficiaries’ cultural projects can be successfully implemented, the statement said.

The Culture Ministry and the independent cultural sector share a common goal - the development of a sustainable environment that supports pluralism, diversity, broad access to culture and the freedom of creative practices, the Ministry added.