site.btaBulgaria Invited to Apply for Hosting 47th Session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee

Bulgaria has been invited to apply for presiding over and hosting the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2025, Deputy Culture Minister Viktor Stoyanov said during Thursday's meeting of the parliamentary Committee on Culture and Media. The proposal to the Bulgarian side was made at the start of the 46th session of UNESCO, and the talks held during the session have revealed a positive attitude of the delegates of various countries. 

If Bulgaria submits documents and applies to host the 47th session, such a proposal should be put to the vote on July 30 during the current session in Delhi, it transpired at Thursday's meeting.

Stoyanov recalled that Bulgaria last hosted such a UNESCO forum in 1985. The 47th session of the World Heritage Committee is expected to some 1,500 delegates from 150 countries.

"The preparation and hosting of the session can bring Bulgaria to the attention of the world community with its rich tangible cultural heritage, its natural attractions and, last but not least, its rich intangible cultural heritage and diversity. Bulgaria being a host country, 40 years after 1985, would help to consolidate Bulgaria's position with its World Heritage Sites and, consequently, help us in our cause to preserve Nessebar's status on the World Heritage List," said the Deputy Minister of Culture. Alongside the main session, specialized forums and events from different countries are organized. According to the procedural rules, the session is held within ten days in the months of June and July, and necessarily starts on a Sunday and ends on a Wednesday. 

The Ministry of Culture proposes Bulgaria to nominate as chairman of the 47th session in Sofia Prof Nikolay Nenov, Director of the Regional History Museum in Ruse, in his personal capacity as a scientist. In Stoyanov's words, the cost of preparing such a forum would be between BGN 8 and 10 million. This is a very indicative budget based on previous UNESCO sessions, he explained.

"Of course, all institutions like to play it safe and be prepared in advance, but there are corresponding concerns with how well Bulgaria would cope," Stoyanov said.

Asked by Petar Nikolov MP of GERB-UDF about the possibilities of the Ministry of Culture to undertake such organisation and the need for cooperation with other departments, Stoyanov explained that the Ministry's team would work in full cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment and Water.

According to Manol Peykov MP of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, it is important to support this initiative. "I think we need to gain self-confidence as a country to organise such forums," he noted. In his words, the caretaker government can take this up because the initiative is prestigious and there should be continuity for it. "I believe that there is unlikely to be a parliamentary group, despite our political differences, that would oppose this initiative," Peykov added.