NORWAY - BULGARIA

I. Results of a discussion meeting - „Effective entrepreneurial models and opportunities for social inclusion“

During the discussion meeting, entrepreneurial models for cultural consumption were discussed, offering unique opportunities for tourist adventures, experiences and attractions. These are traditional Bulgarian crafts, which represent not only a valuable cultural heritage, but also a potential for experiential tourism and economic development. Several main groups of crafts with effective business models - with prospects for independent economic development - were examined:

1. Crafts with entrepreneurial models for training children, hobbyists and apprentices.

In order to preserve traditional craftsmanship, a large part of authentic Bulgarian crafts are developing various entrepreneurial models in the field of cultural tourism. Our partners from Bulgaria demonstrated one such model to us at the Plovdiv Crafts School.

The workshops of the masters who teach are located in the Old Town on the Nebet Tepe hill. In them, specialists in wood carving, creating various artistic textiles, painting on ceramics, making costumes and others demonstrate their skills and teach children, amateurs, as well as tourists and guests of the city of Plovdiv. The discussions, deliberations and conversations took place during the organized meetings with Plovdiv craftsmen.

First of all, there we met with the master Stoyan Stoyanov - a master of costumes, artistic fabrics and beaded jewelry. Together with Slavka Baldzhieva, they revealed to us the entire technology for creating these extremely beautiful fabrics that you see on the screen.

Then we set off for the workshop of Kostadin Devedzhiev - a woodcarver. Here we listened to his infectious story about the powerful attraction of this craft, which master Devedzhiev experienced on himself. He encountered woodcarving when he was only in fourth grade. In the late 80s and early 90s, a woodcarving workshop, owned by Tina Ruzhina, opened in his neighborhood. Kostadin was so impressed by what he saw that he almost immediately wanted to communicate permanently with the craftsmen and one day become a real master like them.

There are not many who can boast that they have fulfilled some great childhood dream of theirs, and to this day they have become established professionals.

To fulfill his dream, he left his native Asenovgrad and came to the Old Town of Plovdiv, where he currently has his own workshop, located on Zanayati Street, and holds a Master's Certificate in Artistic Woodworking and Woodcarving. In the short time we had, he introduced us to the basic woodworking techniques and the necessary tools. At Tony Prangjeva's studio, we were initiated into the magic of coloring and painting on clay vessels.

Main conclusions and recommendations

Positive aspects: Creation of new jobs, promotion of crafts among young people, opportunities for development of small and medium-sized businesses.

Challenges: Need for investments in training, marketing and distribution, competition with mass-produced products.

2. Crafts with established products and effective marketing in Bulgaria and around the world.

The serious marketing presence of some of the products of Bulgarian craftsmen - on the national and European markets - was discussed. The most famous on the international market are well known to foreign connoisseurs and collectors, while others have an intensive presence in popular e-shops.

Initially, the focus of the discussion was the famous brand “Kostandovo”, hand-woven Persian carpets. The weavers at the factory happily tell us about their craft and share it with us. Between two and six women work on each loom, tying knot after knot, cutting off the excess thread and then aligning the rows, looking at the patterns from the schemes printed above them. Some of them have been working here for 40 years. They tie, cut, tie again, etc. - with some incredible speed. The factory in Kostandovo weaves carpets for the English royal court. The carpet factory in Kostandovo - a small town near Velingrad, has been operating as a private enterprise since 1998 and is the successor to the workshop established in the 1960s. The owner Nino Parpulov personally prepares the dyes for the carpets, and his son Todor Parpulov is the designer of the patterns. The Rhodope city also has the largest hand-woven loom in Europe, which produces carpets with an impressive area of 160 sq.m.

The factory is a mixed Bulgarian-English enterprise, which also explains its connection with the English royal court. During Prince Charles's only visit to Bulgaria, one of the stops on his visit was the hand-woven carpet factory in Kostandovo. And these carpets attract connoisseurs with their beautiful colors, ornaments, production of natural wool and, above all, handwork.

After the carpets from Kostandovo became established in the English royal court, now masterpieces from the historic French line "Savonry" are being revived here again. This line began in the 17th century with the Sun King Louis XIV, and was continued by his successors - Louis XV and Louis XVI.

The French kings believed that no one was worthy of owning such masterpieces unless they were a monarch or the head of a religious institution, and when the time came to replace them, the old carpets were cut up or burned. In their time, they were the highest diplomatic gift.

Currently, only a few originals remain in the world.

We were impressed by the strong market presence of the artisanal production of the "Sopot Guild". The products of local woodcarvers, knifemakers, blacksmiths and engravers can be found on the World Wide Web.

Main conclusions and recommendations

Positive aspects: Stable income, export opportunities, building a strong brand.

Direct contact with consumers, possibility of product customization, flexibility in adapting to market trends.

Challenges: High competition in international markets, need for constant investment in marketing and development of new products.

Seasonality of demand, limited possibilities for mass production, competition with large retail chains.

3. Opportunities for tourists to participate in local hunting and fishing groups

Cultural tourism is one of the most diverse sectors of the Bulgarian economy.

The specifics of the country, resulting from its geographical location and climatic features, provide favorable opportunities for the natural development of large and diverse game populations, which are the basis for the development of hunting tourism.

The vast forests and mountains in the country are inhabited by all types of game, characteristic of the European-Siberian and Mediterranean zoogeographical regions. It is no coincidence that Bulgaria has the image of a famous and desired destination for this type of tourism - at the European and global level.

Hunting tourism is a specialized type of tourism, the main tourist service of which is the creation of conditions for hunting and the realization of the desired game hunt by the client, regardless of the goal - the pleasure of the experience, meat, skin or game trophies. Tourists, guests and hunters have the opportunity to use the tourist products and services of numerous hunting farms and hunting lodges. In these tourist destinations, hunting tourism can be very successfully and very effectively combined with various types of cultural tourism - SPA, Wellness, culinary, historical and wine tourism. They can enjoy the many cultural landmarks and natural phenomena with which the Western Rhodope region is rich and impressive.

Organized hunting in Bulgaria for individual and group hunters offers excellent trophy quality of red deer, alpine roe deer, Balkan roe deer, fallow deer, roe deer, mouflon and wild boar, as well as wolves and lynxes. Bird shooting is excellent for pheasants, partridges, ducks, quails and geese.

II. Guests from Norway present the opportunities for cultural tourism in Bulgaria

Together with their Bulgarian friends and colleagues, the Norwegian guests talk about traditional Bulgarian crafts, which represent not only a valuable cultural heritage, but also a potential for experiencing tourism and economic development.

1. Crafts with entrepreneurial models for training children, hobbyists and apprentices.

Video story about the organized trainings by Plovdiv craftsmen.

2. Crafts with established products and effective marketing in Bulgaria and around the world.

Crafts with production and products for sale in shops and bazaars.

3. Opportunities for tourists to participate in local hunting and fishing groups

III. Prospects for establishing a „Bulgarian-Norwegian Club for Historical Heritage and Culture“

1. Historical background on the development of relations between the two peoples.

Opportunities for developing relations between the two peoples.

The many differences arising from the geographical location, climate, historical situations, natural features and many other factors are the basis of the great mutual interest between the two peoples and their representatives from different professional and socio-cultural groups.

Realistically speaking, Bulgaria and Norway are two antipodes. Norway is the northern, calm, rich country! While Bulgaria is the Balkan, nervous, poor! Although at the beginning of the last century the difference was not so great. But both are in Europe. And this is reason enough for them to be the subject of attention.

One can speak of connections between the Bulgarian and Norwegian peoples as early as the first few centuries of the new era. In the early Middle Ages of the 8th - 10th centuries, the Danish Vikings headed for the coasts of Western Europe, the Swedish ones - for the settlements on the shores of the Baltic Sea, and the Norwegian ones - for the Atlantic coasts, Scotland and Ireland. But all of them together defined as their goals both Asia and the Balkans.

In the 10th century, the Scandinavians maintained close trade relations with the Volga Bulgaria, which was established in the last decades of the 7th century. But the Volga Bulgarians also visited the cold North for trade purposes. The movement of Scandinavians and Slavs took place along the so-called Northern Route, starting from Constantinople through the Black Sea, along the Don, Volga and Dvina rivers, to the present-day North and Barents Seas, and from there to the southwest, along the coast of Norway and down to Western Europe.

One of the sagas of the Norwegian-Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson (1178 - 1241) speaks of the journeys of the Norwegian Vikings to Southeastern Europe through Bulgaria on their way to Constantinople. And in another saga by the same author it is about the suppression of the uprising of Peter Delian in 1041 to reject the Byzantine yoke, which is attributed entirely to the Norwegian king Harald and the Scandinavians. Information about the journeys of Norwegians is also found in chronicles from the 12th - 14th centuries.

In 1841, Norway became a vassal state of Sweden, formally incorporated into a union called the United Kingdom. Although deprived of its own foreign policy institutions, Norway retained its rights to trade and its merchant fleet. Norwegian ships also reached Bulgarian ports in the Black and Aegean Seas. In 1850, Swedish-Norwegian vice-consulates were opened in Varna and Burgas, subordinate to the Consulate of the United Kingdom in Constantinople.

The Norwegian officers Sofus Kristensen and Gunnar Fludd also participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The former reached as far as San Stefano, where he participated in the ceremonial parade on the occasion of the signing of the peace treaty. During the hostilities, he sent reports from Bulgaria, which were published in the Norwegian press. Fludd participated in the sieges of Pleven and Vidin. For his contribution to the victory, he was decorated twice. During the war, two Norwegian ships transported provisions and Russian troops.

Relations between Norway and Bulgaria after the liberation of our country from Ottoman slavery were characterized primarily by trade. Bulgaria exported mainly wheat and wine. In 1900, an agreement was signed in Constantinople between Bulgaria and Sweden for "most favored nation in the field of trade", which later extended to Norwegian goods.

Further development was also marked by consular relations between Bulgaria and Norway. Despite the limited political independence of our country after the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, with full state sovereignty of Norway after 1905, when it became a fully independent independent state, bilateral relations developed actively.

According to Norwegian archives, diplomatic relations between the two countries date back to 1906, when the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a letter from the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petrov, proposing that bilateral relations be maintained through the legations of the two countries in Berlin. However, there is no documentation of any exchange of notes or negotiations to establish diplomatic relations.

According to Bulgarian scientific research, the date of establishment of diplomatic relations is considered to be April 20, 1918, as a result of which a Bulgarian diplomatic representative residing in Stockholm was accredited in Oslo. But even in the absence of exchanged diplomatic representations, bilateral relations developed in a positive direction. Agreements were reached to settle trade and other issues.

Bulgaria's participation in three consecutive wars: the Balkan War, the Inter-Allied War and the First World War (1912 - 1918), caused a stagnation in the development of relations with Norway.

The Norwegian explorer and public figure Fridtjof Nansen, head of the Commissariat for Refugees and Prisoners of War, has made a great contribution to the release of nearly 800,000 Bulgarian prisoners and their repatriation to their homeland with the help of the "Nansen passport" he created.

After the end of World War I, the Legation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was charged with the protection of Norwegian interests in our country. In 1924, a trade agreement was concluded between Bulgaria and Norway. In 1928, the Bulgarian Minister Plenipotentiary to Germany, Metodi Popov, visited Oslo. As a result of a bilateral agreement, five years later, a Bulgarian Consulate was opened there, which worked in parallel with the Norwegian consulates in Sofia, Varna and Burgas.

In 1931, Norway accredited its Minister Plenipotentiary in Ankara, Sofia and some other Balkan countries. The Norwegian Consulate General continued to operate in the Bulgarian capital. The same year, a Treaty on Mutual Respect, Arbitration and Recognition of Legal Decisions was signed between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Norway. In 1938, the Bulgarian Legation in Stockholm resumed its activities, which had been interrupted several years earlier. The Bulgarian Minister Plenipotentiary was also accredited in Norway, Denmark and Finland.

During World War II, from a political point of view, Norway and Bulgaria were allies of Nazi Germany. With the help of the Germans who occupied Norway, the government of the national traitor Vidkun Quisling was established in power, whose name became a household name after the war. The royal family, the legal government and the civil administration were evacuated to London and from there they directed the multi-directional resistance against the German occupation and helped the Allies in their fight against Hitler.

In the north of Norway, a partisan movement of approximately 50,000 people operated. In the fight against the Nazis, Norway lost 10,000 victims, and about 40,000 were arrested and imprisoned. Today, Norway feels national pride in its contribution to the fight against Nazism, in honor of which a museum has been built in the center of Oslo.

As a result of the political and ideological consequences of World War II, Bulgaria found itself in the opposite camp to Norway's affiliation. The northern country chose the path of cooperation with the emerging political, economic and military organizations - the Marshall Plan, the Common Market (today the European Union), NATO.

During the Cold War, bilateral relations developed slowly, although a number of agreements were gradually signed in the trade, legal and transport fields. Diplomatic relations were restored in 1956, and in 1964 they were elevated to the rank of embassies. The beginning of the 1980s marked an impetus in the development of bilateral relations. Agreements were concluded for cultural, scientific and educational exchange, in the field of tourism, commercial navigation, to avoid double taxation. Visits were made at the highest level.

The democratic changes in Bulgaria after 1989, its orientation towards Euro-Atlantic political, economic and military structures created conditions for the two countries to move to a new stage in the development of their bilateral relations. In 1996, Norway re-established its Consulate General in Sofia, which was housed in the building of the Embassy of Sweden. After 1997, the Norwegian ambassadors Gunnar Lindemann and Arnt Rindahl, based in Bucharest, were also accredited to Sofia. In 2001, a Norwegian embassy was opened in Sofia. His Excellency Rolf Balzersen was accredited as ambassador, and he presented his letters of credence on 28 November 2001. In parallel with political relations, trade, economic, cultural and educational relations have been developing upwards.

2. Bulgarian cultural institutions in Norway

According to official data, Bulgarian citizens in Norway in 2019 numbered about 7 thousand people, making up about 0.13% of the country's population.

• Bulgarian Orthodox Community „St. St. Cyril and Methodius“, Oslo. (since 1993) It is part of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese in Western and Central Europe of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Divine services are held in the Greek Church „St. Nicholas“ in Oslo. The priest is the staurophorian steward Angel Petrunov.
• Bulgarian-Norwegian Society, Oslo. (since 2007) Established by a group of Bulgarians and Norwegians. Its main goal is the preservation of Bulgarian culture and traditions, the development of cultural and social cooperation between Bulgaria and Norway, and the support of the integration process of our compatriots in Norway. (http://www.bgnor.org/home/).
• Bulgarian School „Rodna Rech“, Oslo. (since 2016) Cultural and Educational Association „Rodna Rech“. (https://bgschool.no/)
• Bulgarian School „Rodna Rech“ is a Sunday school of the Bulgarian community in the city of Oslo, Norway.
• Cultural and Educational Association "Rodna Rech" is a self-financing independent legal entity with limited liability, registered on July 5, 2017 in the Kingdom of Norway. It was founded in accordance with the legal provisions, the statutes and the decisions taken during the founding meeting. It has a bank account, an independent balance sheet, requisites, a seal, etc.

The founders of the Bulgarian Sunday School "Rodna Rech" are Bulgarian citizens living in Norway. It is entered in two registers - of non-governmental organizations with a non-profit purpose and of legal entities in Norway under No. 919257393. The Board of Directors is the governing body of the association. The scope of the association's activities includes the following goals: to preserve Bulgarian traditions and customs, to maintain Bulgarian national self-awareness and identity among the Bulgarian community in Norway, to organize courses for children and adolescents in Bulgarian language, history, geography, culture, ethnography and folklore. To organize and participate in social and cultural events.

Students from the school participated in a number of national and international competitions. The school's principal is Pavlina Ivanova. In the 2019/2020 school year, 79 children were enrolled. They are divided into 10 study groups depending on age and level of proficiency in the Bulgarian language. The program includes classes in Bulgarian language and literature, history and geography of Bulgaria. In the 2019/2020 school year, the school is located in two buildings. Children from kindergarten to 6-7th grade are moved to the St. Sunniva school. The upper grades continue to hold their classes in the residential building of the Embassy of Bulgaria - and its property, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the embassy, but is separated from the embassy complex.

3. Strategy and Plan for Organizing Bulgarian-Norwegian Intercultural Dialogue on Historical Heritage and Culture

3.1. Strategy for Organizing Bulgarian-Norwegian Intercultural Dialogue on Historical Heritage and Culture

Both partner organizations NPO "NSEP" and FjelluglaKompetanse AS possess sufficient competencies and professional experience to establish a Bulgarian-Norwegian cultural community. The Bulgarian organization works in the field of culture, education and conducts training and initiatives to improve the skills of children and adults in the field of creativity, implements projects::under the Erasmus+ program, incl. initiatives for pensioners and people with SEN for training in crafts in Bulgaria and Portugal; "60+", aimed at pensioners and people with disabilities who are trained in 6 types of arts.

"FjelluglaKompetanse" AS is also motivated to participate in the creation and development of intercultural dialogue. She also has experience in vocational training and a rich portfolio of projects related to the preservation of crafts. She is established in Norway as an organizer of qualification courses and certificates for craftsmen, and also participates in various projects aimed at developing craft entrepreneurship. She is currently participating in several international projects that focus on presenting crafts as a cultural product in Norway and Europe.

Through this international initiative, the foundations of long-term and purposeful cooperation can be laid. Cooperation in the presentation of cultural artifacts, natural landmarks, craftsmanship, cuisine and food and beverage production. Opportunities will be sought for the creation of products and services for cultural tourism and travel, based on cultural and historical heritage and attractive, contemporary, attractive events.

The goals outlined thus imply the creation of lasting and sustainable opportunities, the exchange of good and innovative practices, as well as demonstration and operational models for cultural entrepreneurship, local events and bilateral events.

By establishing a bilateral cultural community, conditions will be created for intercultural dialogue aimed at presenting craft skills and productions as products of cultural tourism. The participants in the dialogue, representatives of organizations from Bulgaria and Norway, have been working for several years /within the framework of the Active Citizens Fund/ to reveal opportunities for social inclusion and development of entrepreneurship - based on craft traditions. The meetings held so far were mainly informative and exploratory. They revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the two organizations; the opportunities for mutual complementarity and findings were made about the great potential, qualities and skills for organizing a Bulgarian-Norwegian cultural community.

Recommended activities that should be planned and carried out:

• During the study, 5 organizations of Bulgarians in Norway were identified. It is a good idea to search for others that have connections or interests in Bulgaria, have been partners of Bulgarian companies and organizations, or wish to participate in bilateral cooperation.
• There is no connectivity, common activities, or other interactions between the currently existing organizations of Bulgarians in Norway. It is necessary for the new cultural space to have opportunities that unite most bilateral relations in the field of culture.
• The Internet presence of the existing organizations, as well as individual representatives of Bulgarians in Norway, is almost imperceptible and there are no modern information and communication channels that create opportunities for group or interpersonal communication.
• It is a good idea to create opportunities for quality communication by using all the possibilities in the Internet space - social networks, web applications, and electronic media. It is a good idea to interpret the cultural and natural landmarks in Norway and Bulgaria in the form of video clips.

3.2. Plan for organizing a Bulgarian-Norwegian intercultural dialogue on historical heritage and culture

Main objective: Creation of a digital platform for intercultural dialogue based on Bulgarian and Norwegian cultural heritage, craft traditions and opportunities for cultural tourism and experiential tourism.

Digital tools should create conditions for Bulgarian and Norwegian entrepreneurs in the field of culture; for travel enthusiasts; for cultural tourism and cultural events to conduct quality intercultural dialogue and cultural consumption. Electronic tools should allow overcoming the boundaries of cultural differences and reaching relatively remote places with limited cultural infrastructure and going beyond national borders.

Digital platforms are extremely suitable for conducting intercultural dialogue and creating spaces for presentations, discussions and exchange of opinions for a large number of people living in geographically remote areas (according to statistics, 67% of the population has access to the Internet).

1. This means that the majority of people around the world interact, consume, share and produce digital content and such content is embedded in cultural worldviews, beliefs, practices and artifacts. In turn, cultural values ??play a key role in the digital media we interact with, the platforms we use and the content we are exposed to.

2. In fact, digital media can be seen as a cultural portal - they connect different groups of people, disseminate cultural information and create spaces for online communities of people who share cultural backgrounds or values, i.e. they form the digital diaspora.

3. Digital media can transmit and preserve traditional culture and develop new cultural expressions, which has led to a growing awareness of the importance of technology for the preservation of cultural heritage.

4. Digital technologies can also promote cultural self-expression, support intercultural understanding and disseminate the narratives and voices of traditionally marginalized groups.

Innovative technologies allow for the opening of spaces for expanded dialogue, both for creators of cultural values ??in different formats and for users. Users have greater freedom of action and the ability to create content and engage with content created by other users and groups.

Planned activities:

• Choosing an appropriate platform: using a platform that is easy to navigate and offers features such as forums, chats, videos and live events.
• Defining electronic tools that have features and functionalities that: are suitable for interaction with phone sensors; create conditions for integration with social networks; support live streaming of events or build video library capabilities in web format.
• Create engaging content: publish regular content that is interesting and useful to members. This can include videos, articles, discussions and events.
• Attract new members: individuals, companies and organizations from both Bulgaria and Norway.
• Encourage interaction: create a space where members can share ideas, ask questions and actively participate. Engagement is key to building a community.
• Maintain activity: organize regular events, such as webinars, seminars or virtual meetings to maintain member interest.
• Feedback: share opinions and suggestions from members to improve the club and make it a more attractive environment for participants and attract new members.
• Discussion forum: a discussion section or forum where users can discuss ideas, share experiences or seek collaborations.
• Common calendar: publishing events and initiatives related to cultural tourism opportunities in Norway and Bulgaria.

The planned activities will involve partners from Bulgaria and Norway, attracting Bulgarian organizations in Norway and Norwegian organizations in Bulgaria for cooperation. Together, they will seek funding opportunities and implement projects aimed at implementing the planned activities.

Useful links

https://www.eeagrants.bg/programi/dvustranen-fond/proekti/strategichesko-strudnichestvo-mezhdu-blgariya-i-norvegiya-v-podkrepa-na-mezhdunarodnite-angazhimenti-na-blgariya-za-borba-s-antisemitizma-i-opazvaneto-na-evrejskoto-nasledstvo

http://bgnor.org/home/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=46

https://bgschool.no/

https://www.pulsfoundation.org/bg/actual/news/276-stoinostta-na-dvustrannoto-satrudnichestvo-mezhdu-bulgarski-i-norvezhki-partnori-po-otnoshenie-na-domashnoto-i-osnovano-na-pola-nasilie-v-bulgaria.html