site.btaHead of Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad: Folklore Clubs Abroad Are Bulgaria's Most Beautiful Face

Following a meeting with representatives of the Association of Bulgarian Folklore Clubs Abroad (ABFCA) last week, Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Executive Director Rayna Mandzhukova said in a BTA interview that the more dance clubs from across the world join the ABFCA, the clearer their needs and their role as Bulgaria's most beautiful face abroad will become.

Established on November 28, 2016, the ABFCA has 30 participating clubs. Their leaders held their second meeting in Sofia on November 10-12. During the meeting, an analysis by Iva Kroumova from the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad was presented on the state of 222 clubs in 33 countries on six continents. 

Mandzhukova told BTA that the information in the analysis is based on the clubs with which the ABFCA communicates. "They vary: some operate as part of associations, others are registered as independent organizations, a third group are not registered at all and are just clubs that come together to dance or sing. The practice shows, however, that the latter start off for themselves but then begin to participate in concerts, representing Bulgaria in the city and the country they live in. At the next stage, they organize festivals or another type of initiative which once again represents Bulgaria; at a later stage, they gather with other such clubs, as a result of which we have the Association of Bulgarian Folklore Clubs Abroad," she explained. 

In her words, these folklore clubs abroad carry out such huge activity that they practically become ambassadors of Bulgaria and of Bulgarian culture abroad. They do this entirely at their expense, without any institutional support from Bulgaria, Mandzhukova noted. Last week's meeting between the ABFCA and the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad was aimed at making the clubs more visible to the Bulgarian State. "We invited them at the Agency to present to them our analysis and to discuss the steps we should follow so that they can feel a more stable commitment on the part of Bulgaria," she specified. Attending the meeting were representatives of the ministries of Culture, Science and Education, and Foreign Affairs.

The main conclusion from the analysis was that legislative changes are needed to solve the problems of Bulgarian folklore clubs abroad. They need methodology support, halls to work in, qualified leaders, an opportunity for training, national costumes as well as resources for organizing and participating in concerts, Mandzhukova told BTA. These main needs of the clubs can be supported by the State if the necessary mechanisms are elaborated, be these in the form of a decree, an amendment to a law, or a change in some ordinances, she added. The path to the interaction between a group of organizations and Bulgaria has already been laid by Bulgarian schools abroad, she noted.