site.btaEstablishing Permanent Centre for Promotion of Bulgaria in Wrocław Among Bulgarian NGO's Objectives

The establishment of a permanent centre for promotion of Bulgaria in the Polish city of Wroclaw is among the objectives of the Wroclaw Society of Friends of Bulgaria, the organization's Chair Dimcho Angelov said.

The Wroclaw Society of Friends of Bulgaria held a traditional Bulgarian evening event at the gallery of miniature musical instruments in Wroclaw a week ago, Angelov noted and went on to talk about the organization's history and the events it organizes.

The Society was founded in 1997 on Angelov’s initiative as a successor to the Wroclaw branch of the Hristo Botev Cultural and Educational Society in Poland following the democratic changes in 1989.

Registered as an NGO under Polish law, the Wroclaw Society of Friends of Bulgaria is open not only to Bulgarians, in keeping with current European integration guidelines.

The main aim of the organization is to promote Bulgaria in Poland, thus enhancing its positive image abroad, and to develop Bulgarian-Polish relations in culture, business, tourism, and sports, among others.

Angelov noted the Wroclaw Society of Friends of Bulgaria has held numerous Bulgarian exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, and folklore evenings in Wroclaw and throughout Lower Silesia, which received coverage by local media.

The organization's most significant annual events are the March Days of Bulgaria in Wroclaw held on the occasion of the national day of Bulgaria, March 3, the Spring Festival with the traditional martenitsa (a lucky charm associated with the coming of spring), and the Days of Bulgarian Culture, Education, and Slav Letters.

Angelov said that the concerts held by the Wroclaw-based Bulgarian-Polish band, Balkan Folk Acoustic, also contribute to the promotion of Bulgarian music and folklore.

"A community club established 20 years ago, whose library and video collection are still modest, has also contributed to the integration of the Bulgarian diaspora and the development of intercultural relations with other ethnic groups and national minorities," he added.

Angelov noted that the activities of Wroclaw Bulgarians have been chronicled in Prof Urszula Kaczmarek’s book Pod znakiem Warneńczyka and in the Mam jo Skarb series of the Wroclaw Ethnographic Museum.