On 24th of April a roundtable discussion was held at the Goethe-Institut Bulgaria on the topic “Culture, arts, cultural and creative industries – an important factor for the development of regions and the role of municipal authorities in making them a priority of local policies”, organized by the Factory of ideas, the Observatory for the Economy of Culture, the Bulgarian Music Association, Createch Bulgaria and the Goethe-Institut Bulgaria.

The event brought together experts from various sectors – culture, tourism, education, administration and local government – ​​to discuss the possibilities for the development of regional cultural policies and to raise the issue of the role of culture as a strategic factor for the sustainable development of regions in Bulgaria.

Diana Andreeva-Popiordanova from the Observatory for the Economy of Culture opened the session with an analysis of the current zoning and the need for cultural strategies tailored to the new territorial units. She emphasized the need for new approaches to budgeting and decentralization of cultural financing, as well as the creation of regional cultural funds that take into account the specifics of each region.

Mirena Staneva presented results from the mapping of stage spaces in the country, noting that although the network is wide, access to municipal stages by independent artists remains limited. Private spaces are not sufficiently covered in cultural calendars, and the lack of monitoring and statistical mechanisms hinders effective planning. Specific recommendations include expanding the scope of statistical data, consolidating cultural calendars, creating a program for financing stage spaces, as well as a targeted program for young musicians.

Yanina Taneva from Factory of Ideas Association drew attention to the potential of the community center network and the need for its modernization. She presented the example of the program “Mediation for the Modernization of Community Centers” BABA residency – connecting artists with elderly people from villages. According to her, it is imperative to create a mentoring network that would help increase the capacity of community centers and their workers.

Kaloyan Stoychev from the National Association of Local Initiative Groups emphasized the role of LAGs in the decentralization process and their ability to implement strategies for the development of culture in rural areas.

Ivelina Kyuchukova from the Ministry of Tourism noted the lack of an integrated national strategy for connecting tourism and culture. Although the Tourism Law provides for zoning, the cultural perspective often remains out of sight of tourism policies.

Lidiya Varbanova from NATFА presented a European project dedicated to cultural policies and local communities, which includes six laboratories in different regions and aims to explore sustainable models for cultural development.

Lyubomir Kutin emphasized the lack of monitoring in the public funding of festivals and the need for an attestation system that would enable long-term planning and sustainable development of cultural events at the local level.

Irena Todorova – Executive Director of the Sofia – UNESCO Regional Center – drew attention to the legislative framework and the opportunities for cultural inclusion of young people, and reminded of the potential of youth cultural centers in the country, which are still functioning in some regional cities.

“These spaces – often equipped with a stage and appropriate infrastructure – could become part of the Bulgarian Music Association’s platform and be made available for young artists to perform.”

The conclusions of the discussion outlined a clear need to build a coordinated national cultural policy, tailored to regional specificities and supported by a stable infrastructure and sustainable mechanisms for funding and monitoring. Culture, the arts and creative industries should be considered not simply as an element of the cultural environment, but as a strategic instrument for economic, social and territorial development.