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West Stara Planina Activities People to People Activities First 'Old Mountain - New Bridges' festival - Pirot, 2002 Second 'Old Mountain – New Bridges' festival - Belogradchik, 2003 The Second Bulgarian-Serbian 'Old Mountain – New Bridges' festival was held from June 12th to 15th as a follow-up to the first festival, at which it was decided that the festival should become an annual celebration and a platform for transboundary dialogue. The event promoted the region and the culture of its people on a wide scale. 20 Bulgarian and seven Serbian media outlets covered the festival. A CD-ROM with authentic music from the region and a videotape about the festival were produced. The festival also drew attention to the mountain with a traditional celebration of the natural and cultural traditions of WSP. 130 children and 40 other artists participated in the festival. A crafts and local products fair proved to be an effective and direct way of promoting the craftsmen. The festival served as a platform for transboundary dialogue with two round table discussions, one for NGOs and one for the media. The NGO round table resulted in a declaration of cooperation and coordinated NGO activities in the future. The media round table resulted in a network of WSP media. The Belogradchik Municipality and many local people were actively involved in the organisation of the festival, which helped to bring local ownership to the project. A CD with photos, a movie and music from the event is available upon request from the project team. Carpet exhibition - Dimitrovgrad, April 6-7, 2004 An exhibition of Pirot and Chiprovtzi carpets, and more than 50 photos of carpets, was opened in Dimitrovgrad. This presented these two schools of carpet making together for the first time. Representatives of Bulgarian and Serbian NGOs who have carried out small grants projects in crafts presented their experiences with the natural coloring of wool, traditional sheep breeding in WSP and the link between carpets and ecotourism. Two representatives of the Bulgarian Parliament also attended the exhibition and were interested in being further involved in activities in the region. The exhibition was very successful in presenting the transboundary connections between Chiprovtzi and Pirot carpets. Further efforts should focus on activities that link the two carpet schools, and promote natural coloring and the trademark carpets from WSP. Third 'Old Mountain – New Bridges' festival - Pirot, 2004 The festival gathered, for the third time, children, mayors, and ecotourism and agriculture stakeholders from both sides of the border to work together and to celebrate the nature and culture of the mountain. The festive part included a concert of authentic folklore and exhibitions of artists and photographers from Serbia, that focus on West Stara Planina in their work. On the work side, there were three roundtable: One on ecotourism, another on environmentally-friendly agriculture, and a roundtable of mayors. Regional Fair of Balkan Agrobiodiversity and Rural Heritage - Dimitrovgrad, September 2003 and September 2004 The project supported the organization of two fairs on Balkan Agrobiodiversity and Rural Heritage, with the primary aim of presenting and promoting indigenous breeds, and traditional products and crafts from across the Balkans. There were participants from all Balkan countries, including from West Stara Planina and Skadar Lake, at the first fair. The second fair hosted a SAVE-financed conference on Rare Balkan Breeds, and provided a platform for presenting a REC-supported project - Interactive Farm - in the vicinities of Dimitrovgrad. The fairs received very high publicity and were very successful in promoting integrated rural development in West Stara Planina. West Balkan Summer Festival 2005 From July 11 to August 20, the cross-border region of West Stara Planina hosted a summer festival comprising 10 cultural events organised on both the Bulgarian and Serbian sides of the border. The programme kicked off with the Bulgarian rock festival Berkstock and finished with the Serbian rock festival Gitariada. The Bulgarian-Serbian fair at Salash-Novo Korito proved to be one of the most interesting events: borders were opened and participants crossed over to taste each other’s local cuisines. Lovers of ancient religious rituals could experience the celebration of the “obrok” in Chiprovtzi, made on Ilinden, while nature lovers could take part in traditional mountain festivals in Berkovitza, Gorni Lom and Chuprene. All these were planned and initiated at a transboundary forum of mayors organised during a project in the village of Burzia, Berkovitza. The project also assisted in developing a joint public relations campaign for the festival programme, and in the exchange of participants among the villages. For more information, please visit the www.westbalkanfestivals.info. Third Regional Fair of Balkan Agro-biodiversity and Rural Heritage
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The
Third Regional Fair of Balkan Agro-biodiversity and Rural Heritage was
organised in Dimitrovgrad, Republic of Serbia, on September 24. The fair
aimed to promote indigenous breeds of livestock and know-how in animal
husbandry and to facilitate cross-border cooperation between different
stakeholders. More than 20 indigenous breeds from the Balkans were presented,
together with local handcrafts (e.g. carpets from Pirot and Chiprovtzy),
apicultural and organic products, traditional dairy products, traditional
meals and dishes, and traditional folk dances from Pirot and Dimitrovgrad.
The fair was officially opened by Suzana Djordjevic Milosevic, deputy
minister of agriculture, forestry and water management of the Republic
of Serbia; Vesna Mijalkovic, chief of the Pirot District, and Veselin
Velickov, the mayor of Dimitrovgrad.