Sofia 2019 project - Phase 2, ENG version

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I. BASIC PRINCIPLES

Q1 City motivation...............................................4 Q1 (i) Main challenges..........................................5 Q1 (ii) City’s objectives..........................................6 Q2 Program concept............................................ 7 Q3 Program slogan..............................................8 Q4 Geographical area...........................................9 Q5 Political support............................................ 11 Q6 ECoC in the city and region dvpt................... 12 Q7 (i) Links to fellow Italian ECoC city................. 14

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Q7 (ii) Links to Bulgarian bidding cities.................16 Q8 (i) Fostering cultural cooperation.................... 17 Q8 (ii) Highlight cultural diversity.........................18 Q8(iii)Common apects.........................................19 Q8 (iv) City’s links with Europe..............................20 Q9 (i) Attract European citizens............................20 Q9 (ii) Artists, citizens and stakeholders...............22 Q9 (iii) Long-term cultural/social dvpt..................23

Q10 Synergies w. European cultural activities........ 24 Q11 Special target groups..................................... 25 Q12 (i) Links w. cult.operators in the city............... 26 Q12 (ii) Int links w. cultural operators......................27 Q13 Project innovation.......................................... 29 Q14 (i) ECoC social, cultural, urban effects............. 30 Q14 (ii) Public declaration of intent........................31 Q 15 Application development process.................. 32

Q1 Structure of the program................................. 34 Q2 Main events..................................................... 35 Season 1: Past Imperfect....................................... 37 Season 2: Present Continuous............................... 38 Season 3: Future Reflective................................... 39 Q3 Project selection.............................................. 71

Q2 (i) Annual culture budgets................................89 Q2 (ii) Overall ECoC budget...................................90 Q2 (iii) Operating budget....................................... 91 Q2 (iv) Overall capital expenditures.......................92 Q2 (v) Public authorities financial commitments...92 Q2 (vi) Plan for involving sponsors.........................92 Q2 (vii) Financial timeline...................................... 93 Q2 (viii) Culture budget after ECoC 2019............... 93

APPENDIX 1....................................................72

APPENDIX 2................................................... 94

Q1 Impact ........................................................... 108 Q2 Finance ......................................................... 108

III. ORGANIZATION & FINANCE

IV. CITY INFRASTRUCTURE

VII. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

II. STRUCTURE OF THE EVENT PROGRAM

Q1 (i) Structure...................................................... 82 Q1 (ii) Coordination with the region....................... 87 Q1(iii) Artistic Director selection............................88

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Q1 Access to the city .............................................98 Q2 Accommodation .............................................99 Q3 Set infrastructure projects ............................. 100

V. COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

Q1 Communication strategy................................ 102 Q2 EU visibility.................................................... 107

VI. EVALUATION AND MONITORING

Q1 Strengths and weaknesses .............................113 Q2 Culture with/without ECoC............................ 114 Q3 Other comments............................................ 114

All EU member states have had an opportunity to run in the ECoC competitions.

Some have had more than one, and even up to four such participations. Bulgaria has had none. This is the first time the ECoC program will take place in Bulgaria.

Normally, one might argue that, due to their national role, capital cities have advantages of size, status, cultural provision and wealth.

In our case, this is more than counterbalanced by the fact that, in a period of transition and economic stagnation, size is not an advantage at all; in fact, it is just the opposite. Furthermore, the legacy of the socialist era is concentrated in the capital. It is obvious in the physical state of the city, the organizational and administrative structures and in the mindset. This “legacy” of the former regime is on our doorstep, so to speak.

1. Why does the city which you represent wish to take part in the competition for the title of ECoC?

Thirdly, the challenge of our “new democracy” is centered in our city. Sofia is the hotbed of protest which we could witness for months of daily demonstrations in 2013. As we wrote in our first bid, the complexity of our city means that we face more and steeper barriers than other cities. Our city is the barometer of the state of the nation.

The ECoC initiative is a strong mobilizing factor, providing impetus for active citizenship and reenforcing the message sent by the citizens demanding decisive change in the system.

Thus, the 2019 title is of great significance for Sofia, far beyond rebranding efforts and tourist offers – it is a development path to city transformation. We believe that the title is not a reward but a stimulus, an encouragement to unlock our potential.

Policy decisions taken now will affect how our citizens will live for decades into the future.

Sofia’s population grows by 80 people every day, making it the 13th biggest and the fastest growing low-income city in Europe. Our city has been, and possibly will be, the stage for public debate and public reaction - one of the many signs of the social polarization permeating Europe’s major cities. Our communities are quite divided historically, socially, economically and ethnically.

We need to reinvent the spirit of sharing and belonging. The ECoC initiative is a strong factor in the development of active citizenship. The event is needed to gather citizens together around a common cause and to provide remedies for disillusionment, as well as a sense of ownership of the process, built on a bottom-up approach that encourages people to come up with their own solutions to problems.

protest demonstration, Sofia 2013

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Sofia is acutely aware of the challenges the country faces in its attempt to become a true participant in the future of Europe. For many citizens, Bulgaria’s EU membership is still an abstract phenomenon. Only 40% of our citizens consider themselves European, and less than one third believe that they have a say in European matters. Only 34% voted in the last EU elections in May vs. 43% EU average.

The ties that bind us together as Europe do not consist solely of treaties signed between governments. The ECoC initiative offers the possibility to establish another – more personal – dimension to Europe, which can be enriched by our participation. This personal participative dimension is a necessity, particularly in the face of growing Euroscepticism and strong two-speed Europe discourse.

We believe the title offers us a chance to change the model of isolation and onesided efforts to catch up with European developments. It can help us evaluate our strengths and potential, so that we can start contributing to and even lead European cultural debates in areas like small languages, game development, paper architecture and off-the-chart music.

Culture is probably the most unreformed sector of our economy and experiences chronic problems. This fact is indicative of the importance attributed to culture in our economy and society. In a period of political doubt, economic stagnation and social unrest throughout Europe, it is essential not to forget that arts and culture can have a positive influence on society at large. ECoC 2019 can help rebalance current acute agendas and see current issues in a much needed broader cultural perspective. We have inherited outdated models of cultural institutions and art financing, both of which are at a crossroads now. Sharing and working together with the rest of Europe, we need to create a balanced, progressive and open urban culture - a positive alternative to traditional forms of engagement.

What, for it, would be the main challenge of this nomination?

Sofia is the poorest EU capital city in terms of GDP per capita. Although the GDP has been constantly growing over the past 10 years, in 2012 Sofia’s citizens still produced and consumed less than half of what the average European did.

21% of the population lives below the poverty line. Young people are prone to emigrate.

Among the massive challenges facing the city are the need for rapid basic infrastructure development, improvements in education and its learning outcomes, modernization, sustainability, well-being and good governance. The difficulties presented by the post-industrial and post-communist society are still acutely present in all aspects of urban life. To an extent, these challenges motivate the bid, but they also determine its limits by providing a clear historical context that is impossible to either ignore or suppress.

The year 2019 will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the totalitarian regime.

Approximately 25% of our citizens have been brought up in a unified Europe and are under the age of 25; 30% of the population are over 60 and are in many ways a product of the totalitarian past; and 45% have experienced both realities. We see the ECoC as an opportunity to revisit this forced heritage of the 20th century and reexamine the process of rapid urbanization with its complex tapestry of urban experiences - economic, political, spatial, socializing and cultural.

As a capital city, Sofia must not isolate itself from the rest of the country; neither should it behave as “just another Bulgarian city”. As a capital, Sofia has the responsibility to facilitate regional and national balance, to remain open and be a leader, acting as a gateway to international culture and foreign visitors.

This must not be forgotten, even in a competition. However, acknowledging our responsibility does not mean that Sofia’s bid includes “something for everyone”, thus jeopardizing its strategic focus.

We therefore envision 2019 as a threshold, which can make it possible to contextualize our contemporary city and imagine new scenarios within a networked approach. The ECoC initiative puts arts and culture at the heart of society, and we feel that Sofia can play an important positive role not only at the local and regional, but also at the national and European levels, by focusing on cultural democratization, structural solutions, long-term effects and high-quality cultural experience.

Because we are on the “edge of Europe”, and we have been part of the EU for only 7 years, the development of European contacts, the participation in networks in the cultural, media and creative sectors, cultural exchanges, collaborations, co-productions and projects are still at a very low level, with contacts often championed by individuals. The ECoC initiative offers a unique mobilizing and enabling opportunity to go beyond the national scale. We realize that achieving lasting results will require astute leadership, openness and foresight.

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what are the city`s objectives for the year in question?

What

To secure a clear cultural dimension to the city’s and the region’s long-term development strategy. The ECoC initiative is a mobilizing factor for a transformation in the way the cultural sector is perceived; it will require us to look at a timeline far beyond the title year. Without instrumentalizing culture, we will demonstrate its massive impact on urban and regional development, and will further the process of regional integration.

expanding its tourist areas to include alternatives and new artistic offerings. We aim to at least double the level of participation of our cultural institutions and artists in the European context. We believe that the city has a key role to play in the Balkans as a facilitator of stability, and as a venue for dialogue and the exchange of ideas. Therefore, Sofia must commit itself to being a partner in the process of moving beyond the past and looking ahead to a common European future.

To support an opening up of the city to citizens and visitors, and to stimulate new audiences and stronger participation in culture. There are nearly 700,000 citizens in Sofia, mainly living in densely populated panel block areas with little or no access to culture. Accessibility to culture in the city and its spatial decentralization can be stimulated by cultural events, trails and tours, local urban initiatives. Focus will be placed on neglected areas, unused industrial sites, neighborhoods and public spaces. Our common agenda is to highlight the re-appropriation of public (cultural) space as an integral part of the process of democratization and engagement.

To provide a meeting space for citizens, a free and safe environment for the manifestation of diversity. Sofia is a city where social, educational, generational, political and religious differences are manifold. However, the city’s proud self-perception as a place of ethnic tolerance needs to be reassessed in the light of a common reality which offers no easy solutions. Such a reassessment is absolutely necessary if we wish to create a cultural framework for stronger cohesion and participation. People are at the core of our project. We will broaden access to culture and the arts, providing an enabling environment for the creative potential of citizens to co-create culture and participate in mutually reinforcing learning communities.

To renew the cultural sector. We aim to effect a mental change in the cultural system, and to revamp its management and its funding structures. We are aware of the need to stimulate a more open and progressive cultural system that can interact with society and generate new relationships, both at the community level and at the level of innovation, media and the economy. We seek to build sustainable models for our cultural institutions and thus use public investments to stimulate and facilitate cultural life, rather than merely subsidize traditional establishments.

To promote a higher degree of interaction between Sofia and Europe. The city wishes to be more visible on the European cultural map, participating in networks, collaborating on joint ventures and projects, attracting eminent European artists, contributing to university mobility and school exchanges. Sofia also has the ambition to develop cultural tourism and attract more Europeans to the city by

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To nourish creativity and retain talent. Personal and collective creativity can amplify the city success. With the full freedom of movement for Bulgarian workers within the EU as of January 1st, 2014, Sofia risks losing many young academics, artists, innovators and scientists in a one-way flow to the rest of Europe. Whilst applauding freedom of movement as a principle, we are aware that it is a challenging reality to us. Sofia must focus on creating platforms and flexible frameworks, on offering concrete initiatives that can retain, as well as attract, high-potential human resources. The ECoC initiative is such an opportunity, and we aim to maximize this potential for the involvement of the upcoming generation of creative young people.

Our program concept is based on the shared desire to address challenges, to solve problems, to defy the status quo, and to formulate possible solutions relevant to the city and to Europe. We aim to use this unique opportunity to establish a new balance between public and private, traditional and contemporary, centre and periphery, first- and second-class members of a two-speed Europe.

2. Explain the concept of the program which would be launched if the city was nominated ECoC?

Our point of departure is a society that needs to find a new point of balance in many ways. We want to bring our society together by combating isolation and the proliferation of radically opposed ideologies, as well as by negotiating conflicting interests that perpetuate divisions.

We understand sharing as a concept ultimately related to society – and to everyday life. It is a notion of opening up, of finding and offering unused resources. It is the willingness to contribute and be co-owner. It is also the point of departure for a cultural strategy for Sofia 2019 based on these ideals.

Sharing Sofia embraces shared goals and implicitly contains the sharing of knowledge and action, the horizontal dimension of participatory democracy.

These (artistic) elements have plenty in common with the concepts that underpin art in a globalized world and its ethics in our digital age. Open source, the art of networking, internet freedom, freedom of speech, participation and new forms of social representation are all brought to the fore.We are, therefore, building a program concept (structure) anchored by the critical necessities of Sofia and Europe.

Our concept of Sharing Sofia explores this landscape and interprets this notion of sharing from different perspectives. The program features three thematic seasons with nine programs, each with a specific focus, rooted in the challenges faced by Sofia, but which also addresses European urban and cultural dilemmas, while, to a modest extent, even pioneering solutions to some of them.

These nine programs form the basis for our timeline, event organization, communication and marketing. All based on the notion of sharing, they are the driving force of Sofia 2019. To ensure long-term resonance and structural change, we will initiate these programs successively from 2015 and gradually involve partners and citizens. This way we can achieve far stronger public involvement in the arts and in the city after 2019. Without participation, commitment, engagement and sharing, our program would be only rhetoric. It requires long-term commitment.

We believe that our city and our citizens are ready to begin a cultural journey beyond Sofia’s stereotypical image. Our goal is to explore the colorful, multifaceted, palimpsest character of Sofia through art and culture.

We want to trace the critical points of the past and present life of the city, where Bulgarian, Oriental, European and world cultures have interacted, where they have fused together, the points of mutual enrichment or meaningful divergence.

Long Day Boarding Sofia 2013

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Our program concept seeks to encourage the social and urban cohesion of the city: to overcome the dissonance between the traditions constituting the rich cultural heritage of the city, by making possible their integration into the diverse paths of modern and contemporary arts.

Sharing Sofia is more than a theme or a slogan; it is a mindset, a way of thinking and of doing things.

3. Could this program be summed up by a slogan?

We share Sofia with its citizens. Being among the 13 most populous European cities in the least prosperous EU member state, Sofia faces problematic identity, weak social cohesion, unbalanced development, public-private tensions, a struggle to catch up with European socio-economic standards. Over a period of about 130 years, the population of Sofia has grown 75 times, through a series of demographic explosions and immigrant waves. In the last decade, Sofia’s population growth rate has been considerably higher than that in comparable European cities. The city’s social and cultural capacities, its infrastructure and communication networks cannot keep pace with this heterogeneity, which jeopardizes the fundamental capital of the city: the citizens’ sense of community and ownership. We share Sofia with its citizens in order to encourage urban solidarity, connect and reconnect communities, and provoke “urban cohesion laboratories”.

We share Sofia with the region. The SWR suffers the consequences of overcentralization, with significant economic and demographic disparities and insufficient internal cooperation. We are led by the conviction that capital cities need to irrigate, rather than drain the regions over which they exercise economic, social and cultural influence. Sofia shares itself with the region in order to form a “development coalition”. We are committed to inventing ways to showcase the entire region, as close as possible to its residents, and so create coherence and raise the value of the region. We aim to foster, recognize, direct and strengthen regional ties. We want to share regional resources, build on each other’s strengths, and provide more cultural opportunities to all citizens.

We share Sofia with Europe and in Europe. From a geographical point of view, Sofia has always been part of Europe. However, the twists and turns of history have made it a part of Oriental culture as well. Ever since it became the capital city in 1879, and especially after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Sofia has been trying to “escape” from its Oriental feel and to add “Europeanness” to its centuries-old fabric of tolerance towards different traditions and their urban manifestations.

Sofia badly needs to boost its self-esteem. Perhaps the most important aspect of this task is to find the true identity of the citizens of Sofia, their true place in Bulgaria and in Europe, while giving them opportunities for equal participation in pan-European processes. The recipes and the grandiloquent rhetoric of the past are of no avail. We are ready to look forward to the future with bold and viable proposals and ideas.

Sharing Sofia is an invitation for dialogue between our citizens and Europe; between artists and cultural operators; between actors in various sectors, with a view to creating new partnerships and strengthening European self-esteem.

2019 logo workshop cOMPOTE cOLLECTIVE Sofia 2013

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4. Which geographical area does the city intend to involve in the ECoC event? Explain this choice.

2,500,000

SOFIA AS REGIONAL CENTre : DISTANCES TO AND FROM SOFIA BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT/CAR 9

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While as a formal structure Sofia numbers 1.3 mln. citizens (17% of the population of the country), as a metropolitan region the city actually has an area of 1,311 km2 and accommodates almost 2.5 mln. inhabitants, commuters, and students.

Sofia is the indisputable pivot of this region and in many ways, this defines the city as an urban and cultural phenomenon. In running for the 2019 title, Sofia will therefore work together with the cities of Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik, and the SWR as a whole.

The regional territorial units in Bulgaria were constituted by the central government in 2000. Although there are organic connections between Sofia and the SWR – thousands of commuters, one of the major pan-European transport corridors E79, a wealth of mineral springs and spa tourism along the Struma river, to name a few – it took almost a decade for the administrative region, marked by economic, demographic and cultural asymmetries, to see its development as interrelated and start developing regional ties in a move towards integration.

The SWR borders Serbia, Macedonia and Greece – a fact that also contributes to its identity and everyday realities. It also reenforces the identity of Sofia in a clearly Balkan context, which is one of the prominent characteristics of Sofia 2019.

By working together as cities, we will maximize our capacities to deliver a wideranging high-quality program. The bid of Sofia will be building on the strengths of each city and the region: Blagoevgrad is the home of the American University in Bulgaria, which hosts international students from 45 countries, and of the South-West University. The city has one of the youngest populations, and is one of the fast growing technology and innovation centers; it is a natural Balkan education centre.

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Pernik is renowned for its masked dance festival and for being the first Bulgarian member of the Federation of European Carnival Cities; it is also applying for the UNESCO intangible heritage list. Having been synonymous to coal mining and smelting industries for decades, the city is currently a pioneer in industrial heritage renovation, urban regeneration and working-class humor.

Kyustendil prides itself on its outstanding achievements and long-established tradition in the fine arts. The city has also managed to preserve a living connection between art and nature. It provides the 2019 artistic program with the opportunity to create new balances between technology and tradition, rural and urban, culture and environment.

Drawing on its own roots and features, Sofia 2019 will spread its net wide to encompass the regional territory of the Balkans. There are 5 mln. people living within a 4-hour journey to/from Sofia in Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro. This “secondary” region is no formal structure. On the contrary, it is a real European hybrid of nine nationalities!

It would be an understatement to say that it is a complex area – geographically, culturally and historically.

However, for Sofia, this environment is a fact and a challenge, and to ignore it would be to negate history and the reality of many linguistic, religious, cultural and economic links within the region. There is continued movement of people between these cities even today. Whether one looks at architecture, music, painting or food and folklore, the diasporas of trends and influences are clear.

The role of Sofia and the SWR in the Balkan exchange is made evident by the choice of Blagoevgrad as the site for the American University of the Balkans. It is reconfirmed by the fact that Sofia has initiated the Euro region Sofia-Nis-Skopje, as well as by initiatives such as the Sofia Forum for the Balkans – an annual meeting of high-level policy and opinion makers from the Balkans, the United States, the Middle East and North Africa. The Balkan region has therefore a key role in the 2019 project – as a European region.

5. Please confirm that you have the support of the local and or regional political authorities.

Sofia 2019 is given full support by Sofia City Council and the three main municipalities in the SWR – Pernik, Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad, which committed themselves to this bid, including its objectives, cultural and artistic concept, management structure and budget, with council decisions in 2013.

Sofia Municipality will invest €76,905,000 for the period 2015 – 2020. The regional partner municipalities of Pernik, Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad will invest €4,367,000, €2,996,200 and €3,798,500 respectively, resources to be spent primarily in their own areas. These council decisions are the result of the Memorandum for Cooperation between the four cities (2013) and the Regional Development Plan 2014 – 2020, the goals of which are also the goals of this bid. This cooperation has already led to more cohesive work between the four authorities on other strategies and projects, and beyond this timescale as well.

In June 2014, all the 52 municipalities in the SWR committed themselves to this bid with a signed declaration. With it, they agreed to develop concrete cultural activities in accordance with the Sofia 2019 concept, to participate in the marketing and communication strategy, and to be represented in the governance structure, thus guaranteeing the pursuit of long-term regional goals.

This political support is the result of a nine-year continuous process, which started in 2004, when Sofia City Council issued a decree, stipulating that Sofia should run for the title – two years before the European Commission announced the timeline for the current period.

Subsequently, Sofia started designing and implementing reforms in its cultural policies and delivery mechanisms, so as to foster creativity, develop new audiences, and professionalize the cultural sector.

Some of the milestones in these reforms – specifically aimed at preparing and supporting the bid process and the basis of the project - include:

Kyustendil city gallery

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Municipal theatre reform (2005 –2009), providing autonomy to the theatres, resulting in repertoire enrichment, audience development and a 3.5-fold increase in ticket sales revenue.

Establishment of the municipal grant-making Culture Program (2007). The budget of the program is 3 to 4 times larger than that of the National Culture Fund.

It has reflected and nurtured a huge growth in the sector.

Establishment of the grant-making Europe Program (2009) supporting citizen participation projects.

6. How does the event fit into the long-term cultural development of the city and, where appropriate, of the region?

Sofia Development Association, embodying the “arm’s length principle”, tasked by the Council with the bid preparation (2010).

Adoption of the Municipal Strategy for Development of Culture “Sofia – Creative Capital” 2013 – 2023 (2012) –a pioneering document in Bulgaria.

Establishment of Sofia Endowment Fund for Innovation in Culture (2014) as a sustainable public-private funding mechanism supporting groundbreaking (and risky) artistic endeavors.

Neither the political composition of Sofia City Council after the 2007 and 2011 local elections, nor the economic challenges have altered the cultural development process, its objectives, participatory norms and output orientation.

A stronger guarantee is the growing social support for the candidacy. 67% of the citizens supported it prior to its first submission in 2013, and by the time of the second submission in 2014 this support was sustained and increased slightly. This organic wave of enthusiasm and excitement is discernible throughout the business community and the academia.

1300 years Bulgaria Monument,Sofia

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Sofia is the first city in Bulgaria to develop a long-term cultural strategy “Sofia – Creative Capital 2013 – 2023”, adopted in December 2012. The strategy development was managed by Sofia Development Association, providing consistency and synergy with the 2019 project.

The strategy development process took almost a year and involved over 30,000 individual participants altogether. The strategy’s approach, scale and scope are innovative for Bulgaria, as the document offers comprehensive long-term planning across sectors, connecting culture to other aspects of city life: infrastructure, business, education, tourism, R&D. As all strategic documents in Bulgaria cover the period from 2007 (EU accession) to 2013, and culture occupies a relatively marginal role in them, we have taken the opportunity to develop a broadly owned strategic city cultural plan for Sofia and make sure that cultural policies are indeed central, instrumental and substantial.

The ECoC project is well embedded into this plan.

The strategy “Sofia – Creative Capital” certainly has broader goals and time horizon than the 2019 project. However, the major objectives coincide, because both drive the long-term cultural development of the city, including improvement of governance structures and the cultural, social and economic sustainability of the actions. These shared goals are:

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To balance the image of Sofia as an ancient, modern and cosmopolitan city To guarantee access to and participation of citizens in cultural activities To develop Sofia’s human capital through culture and the arts To position Sofia in the European cultural calendar as an attractive cultural destination and to achieve equal participation in pan-European cultural processes.

The cultural development plan activities reinforcing Sofia’s 2019 bid are numerous: the establishment of an international artistic residency program (2015), the development of a new financing and grant-making public-private mechanism (2014), new media for the arts (2014), to name a few.

Seen within a broader perspective, Sofia Municipality created and adopted its first Integrated Plan for Urban Regeneration and Development in 2012 – 2013. This plan integrates cultural policies into urban planning and sets the agenda for investments in the urban environment, along with measures for economic development and social cohesion. The Integrated Plan sets the priority projects and actions for the next seven years, including the title year and the year after (see Part IV).

The strategy and the memorandum between Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik form the basis for further strategic planning at the regional level for the next EC program period. In September 2013, all 52 municipalities took the initiative to discuss the Regional Plan for the Development of the SWR 2014 – 2020, in order to integrate the cultural renewal regional policy.

7. To what extent do you plan to forge links with the other city to be nominated ECoC?

Sofia has long-lasting shared paths and heritage with the cities of Italy, starting far back in the 1st century AD, when Sofia (then Roman Serdica) was a provincial capital of the Roman Empire. The main road linking Italy with the East, Via Diagonalis, was extensively used in the Middle Ages by the crusaders. The Bulgarian royal family in the first part of the 20th c. had strong dynastic links with Italy, encouraging a cultural spillover effect. Recently, Bulgarian artists like Boris Christoff and Rayna Kabaivanska have chosen Italian cities as their places of residence.

There is a sizeable Italian community in Sofia with 130 companies and business representative offices. Two universities in Sofia offer Italian Philology M.A.; two secondary language schools use Italian as their teaching language and issue Italian diplomas. Many young people continue their university studies in Italy.

Our student community there counts 1,000 Bulgarian students.

For 10 years now there has been an Italian Festival in Sofia every June; in 2014 it featured the participation of all shortlisted cities upon our invitation. There are multiple art exchanges and joint European projects between the different operators in Sofia and Italy.

There has been a continuous dialogue with the Italian Institute of Culture, which has openly supported our bid, the Embassy of Italy, the Italian Chamber of Commerce.

These links constitute the organic basis for growth in creative collaborations with the Italian city during the title year.

We have made this a priority of our research and preparation period. We have received 12 delegations from the Italian candidate cities and we have taken part in 8 conferences and visits with the candidate cities. In the last three months we have had a series of bilateral meetings and engaged in research with regards to possible partners and themes for collaboration.

We plan to use the preparation time 2015-2018 to set up a series of exchanges with the Italian ECoC city. We envisage series of visits and short residencies in 2015-2016, which would engage relevant partners to explore potential collaborations with the themes, discussed with each of the cities. These visits would include younger contemporary artists, writers, photographers, cultural institutions.

We budget for around 20-25 visits and 50 persons involved. This will result in a kind of “Tale of Two Cities� document in a European context that will be presented by 2016/17 in both cities.

Culture zone fest May 2014

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Secondly, we also plan to host two major European conferences in the two cities as a joint project, looking at the state of Europe prior and post 2019. The exact themes of the conferences will be decided by 2017 but will be an attempt to use the platforms for the ECoC title to focus on aspects of culture in Europe that need major attention. Our theme of Sharing is our point of departure. The planning of the conferences will be made jointly.

Thirdly, we will also naturally look for opportunities to include Italian artists, professionals, architects in all relevant 2019 projects. There will be an additional budget to encourage local organizers to include Italian artists.

Finally, we have also prepared outline projects with all six Italian cities based on discussion and negotiations. These will naturally be developed but they indicate that the project will reflect each of the cities interest and engagement in relevant themes.

Matera and Sofia both aim at citizens’ involvement in public space design.

We will implement together the Instant Architecture project to re-appropriate the public with a joint call for proposals and a joint Sofia-Matera selection jury, while the actual construction will be developed through a series of workshops between the architecture universities of Sofia and Matera.

We share strong connections to music, spirituality and, in very different ways, space exploration. The Voyager probe sent by NASA in 1977 bearing a golden disc of music portraying the diversity of Earth’s culture included a song by Bulgarian folk singer Valya Balkanska, inspiring the Voices of the Spirit project.

Matera, hosting one of Europe’s main space observations, will host a parallel edition of the project. The two cities will commission jointly a series of new compositions.

Matera and Sofia are not a natural tourist match, but the line that connects them - through the Balkans and on to the Mediterranean - traces a section of Europe that is unfamiliar to many contemporary Europeans. Based on Sofia Regional Routes and Matera Points of Contact we will explore ten other European sections through art with European photographers, filmmakers and video artists, travelling along and producing visual investigation of contemporary Europe off the beaten path.

One of the objectives Sofia and Perugia share is renewing the wealth of knowledge and the ways in which ideas are translated into reality. We will organize and implement jointly a Sofia-Perugia Science Fair for our young citizens, with a platform engaging schoolchildren across Europe. We will work together on Youth Reporters, a European youth project engaging high school kids in journal-

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ism to fill some gaps of media agenda.

Perugia’s drive to be a city of dialogue and hospitality, and Sofia’s goal to explore regional and city routes, are the basis for the joint Walking Across project.

Both cities will explore and transform artistically their lakes: the seven Rila lakes and lago Trasimeno.

Ravenna and Sofia have already cooperated on mosaics preservation. We will develop further our mosaic culture cooperation in a new sphere – city sound mosaics, exploring and commissioning acoustic city design. Bistrishkite Babi (Sofia UNESCO intangible heritage), working with European composers, will do singing interpretations of Ravenna UNESCO sites in a joint conversation between art and heritage. We envision original soundtrack development also in other areas of city acoustic design: tourism, industry, campus.

Ravenna’s Intercultural Headquarters parallels and complements Sofia’s Culture Zone as endeavors to link cultural centres and artists regionally and transnationally. We will further develop this cooperation into ongoing cultural exchange of street and urban art in a joint project.

Both cities have some uneasy past to come to terms with. Sofia’s “Reconciling the Past” and Ravenna’s “European Propaganda” challenge the two sides of totalitarian regime: communism and fascism. The two cities, together with the Atrium network both participate in, will join these two projects into a broader European one on the broken promises of old and new populism.

Sofia and Lecce will pilot and evaluate models of urban farming and gardening, integrating residence and cultivated land and producing active and economically, socially, environmentally sustainable communities with shared services, new activities and relationships in tune with the territory.

Citizenship, a concept that articulates concerns both relevant to arts practice and to the role of civil society, as an inclusive, participatory actor in European public space, is key to both cities. Sofia and Lecce will also join efforts to explore the theme by means of artistic research and commissions in different genres, debates and civic activism, culminating into a parallel festival that dares to speak for and to the European city. The two cities are committed to work jointly on creating

new opportunities for young filmmakers.

We will utilize each other’s strengths in further professionalizing our art scene.

Sofia will benefit from Lecce’s experience in art therapy and entrepreneurship in prisons and in working with people with special needs and abilities while Lecce will use Sofia’s cultural regional mobility platforms and artists to improve their own regional cultural spillover.

Ruse). We have encouraged programs of major Sofia festivals in these cities. To guarantee mutual cross-pollination, in this bid we have included co-production projects with Varna Summer Festival, the Regional History Museum in Plovdiv, the Dixie Jazz Fest in Veliko Tarnovo. We have also developed on-the-road art projects (such as Re-Orient Express), which will involve other bidding cities.

Lecce will also partner with Blagoevgrad on a joint project with the local universities and historical museums on European student migration exposition.

If we are awarded the title, the four cities will be transformed from competitors into collaborators and we are committed to new cooperation in the following areas:

Siena and Sofia will continue the collaboration on the Regional Academy for Cultural Managers, making it European with the participation of the universities of Sofia, Siena, Gimarães, Pilsen, Umeå and Riga.

Two-way artistic program participation. We have identified the theme and metaphor of the crossroads as key in all bids, including those from the first round. The theme captures well all cities’ challenges and potential.

We will also work together on performative artistic archiving of the memory and practices of people and communities left Under the Radar.

We will support coordinated local artistic implementation of the components, thus forming a nation-wide program with broader involvement of cultural operators, artists and new audiences.

Another joint initiative, based on our joint participation in an FP7 funded project, is Europeana for Citizens, broadening opportunities for cultural participation and digital co-creation. We will also further develop our projects Muzeiko and Leonardo 500, both based on the concept of edutainment, to a European wave of Open Playgrounds.

Sofia and Cagliari will join efforts in the area of creative and cultural industries development. Sofia Video Gaming will be further integrated with the University of Cagliari Hackathon model meeting of computer scientists for a session of collaborative programming.

Cagliari and Sofia will work together on literature and translation, with a special focus on the young authors. Our Translation Hub has natural connections with Cagliary’s Young European Literature contest and by connecting them we will scale up this line of work. in case your city gets the title, do you plan to cooperate with the other bidding cities in your country which have been pre-selected?

Sofia has already committed itself to cooperation with the other Bulgarian bidding cities.

Sofia does not wish to have a monopoly on creativity, innovation, cultural diversity or economic growth, but, on the contrary, to share opportunities, knowledge and resources with Varna, Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv. This commitment has been consistently pursued, as for instance by providing Sofia public funding to cultural operators from these cities for cultural exchanges or coproduction (Varna Summer Festival, Plovdiv Theatre, March Music Days Festival in

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We have included a national Crossroads project in the program, which will be allocated €2,5 mln. We propose to set up a curator team with one person from each of the four cities to manage the project. We will also use effectively twoway mobile and touring cultural events, structures and artistic residencies. We will streamline this process as of 2015.

National and international sharing of knowledge and growth through peer reviews, staff exchanges, joint monitoring and evaluation of cultural impact, capacity building. This approach will contribute to guaranteeing the artistic independence and the quality of our program, its transparent and efficient management, and the transfer of know-how and common capacity building. This program will take place between 2015 and 2018.

Internal and external communications and marketing to promote tourism, and to foster national and European institutional collaborations and social networks with the participation of the Bulgarian cultural sector. Joint marketing is a win-win solution for all cities, as it attracts more visitors, while giving a boost to local self-esteem and creativity.

We are ready to expand our 2019 communications into a Sharing Bulgaria tourist and marketing program to include all bidding cities with their offerings. We are committed to launching this in 2015, upon the final approval of the nomination.

We are aware that 2019 presents an opportunity for the country and we are committed to contributing to an exemplary experience and to maximizing the effect.

To strengthen cooperation between the cultural operators, artists and cities of your country and other Member States, in all cultural sectors.

Sofia aims to build and sustain long-term relationships with Europe and believes that the periphery complex needs to be overcome.

8. As regards “The European Dimension”, how does the city in“ tend to contribute to the following objectives?

There are already some very effective co-operations between Bulgarian and European cultural operators, e.g. European networks such as EFA, IETM, ENCC, ENCAT, ELIA, A Soul for Europe. Despite the considerable progress in this respect since Bulgaria’s EU accession in 2007, on the whole, cultural cooperation remains insufficient and is still a major challenge.

In order for this process to mature, unfold and result in fruitful and evenly matched cooperation, special efforts and initiatives are needed. In order to foster direct and lasting cooperation, we plan focused activities in the pre-program, building up to a title year that would showcase Europe’s diversity.

Pre-program project/activity Regional Academy for Cultural Managers As capacity building for cultural operators, the project started regionally in 2013, and is now tentatively an ongoing program, which will involve 6 European universities and strengthen participation in EU cultural programs.

Sofia Municipal European Mobility Fund Amounting to €31,500 in 2014, we will increase the fund 5 times to facilitate a further 80 to 100 exchanges for Bulgarian artists between 2015 and 2018.

Sofia 2019 Artist Residency Program Starting with one such program (contemporary dance) with 5-7 residents per year, we will facilitate and fund a minimum of 20–25 European residencies annually, starting from 2015.

Mentoring To overcome the perceived isolation of Bulgarian art and culture and serve as a source of inspiration for young Bulgarian artists, we will launch the three-year series European Makers: the Sofia Wave in 2016.

Arts showcase Bi-annual European showcase and conference for artists, and thematic or audience-specific projects broadcast online. The program will encourage exchange of content and transnational art events programming. We will invite key European operators and programmers to attend, starting from 2015.

“Le Grand bavardage”,Liex publics Marseille 2013

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Hosting conferences of European networks Based on the positive effects of hosting the annual conference of A Soul for Europe in 2013 and the planned International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts meeting in 2014, we apply to have at least one major cultural meeting/

conference event of European significance held in the city each year.

International 2019 team We aim to have a quarter of our team from other member states, allowing for access to new networks of cultural operators.

2019 artistic collaborations The 2019 program offers numerous opportunities for cooperation and coproduction, international art commissioning, mobile and travelling components. We plan to have 50% of all 2019 programs and individual projects involve European partners. Such partnerships will have long-term effects post 2019. All projects in our bid have at least one European participant – artist, cultural operator or network.

2019 program European cooperation approaches: Inviting as part of the program key and innovative European artists who have not been presented in Bulgaria before, to inspire our artists and enthuse our audiences (projects: It’s a Paper World, Opera in the Park, Voices of the Spirit, Sofia Digital Art Platform, City Graffiti).

Commissioning European artists to create works of art in Sofia and the region (projects: Earth, Wind and Water, New European Drama, Pop Up, Taste This, 11:11).

Co-productions in the performing arts and literature as one of the best ways to facilitate the creation of exciting artistic products and their diffusion in an international context, based on the “sharing” qualities (projects: New European Drama, European Makers: the Sofia Wave, Operation Museum Reboot).

Artists in residence programs, which will run from 2015 and cover all art forms (projects: Muzeiko, Dancing Sofia, Translation Lab, Regional Routes, Culture Zone).

Staff exchanges/ongoing connections between cultural managers in Sofia and the region.

Mobile and travelling projects outside Bulgaria through collaborations with European partners, reaching out to European audiences (projects: Re-Orient Express, Shared Balkan Moments, The World in Photos, Pop Up) Partnership with European networks and cities to scale up sharing experiences (projects: Streets of Europe, Instant Architecture - In Situ, IETM, Dancing Sofia - Aerowaves Network, 30 Years on Screen – the informal network of CentEast).

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To highlight the richness of cultural diversity in Europe

Our vision for presenting and advancing Europe’s cultural diversity relies on dialogue, not a series of monologues.

To bring people and cultural operators together and encourage a culture of sharing, understanding and celebration, we have two starting points: 1) build on the cultural diversity of our own community; 2) identify the specific areas through which we can contribute to the diverse European scene, where the cultures of social groups and societies find expression. This approach will ensure both highlighting and capitalizing on knowledge and experience.

Given our specific starting points, we can outline five programs themes: Roma art and culture Both a traumatic and an illuminating program strand, inviting Roma and NonRoma European artists, cultural workers, educators, activists, musicians, poets and writers to bring this little-known and often marginalized culture to the foreground. Projects: Roma Living, Under the Radar, Community Curator Program. .

To bring the common aspects of European cultures to the fore?

The common aspects of European cultures are a key part of the project. This program focus has resulted from committed partnerships that will endure beyond 2019 and are likely to make a sustainable contribution to the long-term aims of Europe’s cultural policy.

Europe’s shared heritage We will put our local cultural achievement within the broader context of European cultural processes. Our programs shed light on the profound connections that bind the arts to one another, and explore connections between particular styles in the arts and the historical development of Europe’s cultures and traditions. We focus on the shared parts of three forms of heritage in particular: antiquity, the 20th century legacy of the industrial era, and that of the communist era, all of which we see as resources and narratives, as well as points of departure. While the question of our ancient heritage is primarily a question of finding new ways to communicate this common history, the industrial and socialist themes are still extremely potent and in some respects, more challenging. The physical industrial legacy in our city is impossible to ignore, and its structural challenges are also obvious.

The Balkan cultural region Collaborative cultural projects in the Western Balkans aimed to strengthen relations with Europe, champion cooperation and exchange, and lead the way from shared heritage to common European future. Projects: Exploring Regional Routes, Shared Balkan Moments, Pop Up. Literature and translation As Umberto Eco has said, “Translation is the language of Europe”. We aim to showcase the linguistic diversity of Europe, but also sharpen the appetite for translation and encourage the publication of a wide variety of European works.

Projects: Translate in the City, Sofia Poetry Animated, Sofia Levels.

European music tradition A platform presenting the incredible diversity of European musical genres and sounds of all lifestyles. It aims to preserve / develop unique traditions with local and regional roots, while being open to the latest trends, migrations and encounters. Projects: Voices of the Spirit, Balkan Beat, Off-the-Chart Music, Surva.

European debates A new experiment in pan-European communication, offering the chance to participate in the debate on the future of Europe based on shared values. Projects: European Citizenship DNA, Reporteen, Roma Living.

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As a former communist country, virtually denied access to international and cultural processes, we are convinced that participation in a trans-national cultural element is essential for our cultural “revival”. However, the communist era, totalitarian experience and the massive impact of this legacy are part of the common heritage of more than 200 million Europeans in former communist countries, This will be brought to the fore in our project. These themes are at the heart of the Sharing Heritage and Sharing Memories programs.

The European city The European city is in many ways being challenged. Flow and migration are depleting some city tissues, creating a need for more sustainable urban models, for renewal in the relationships between urban and rural communities. That is one of the reasons why artists and cultural workers are becoming increasingly engaged in urban issues. Throughout Europe, there is a growing understanding that public space is a goal in itself. A new need has arisen to evolve urban environments which are livable and give a sense of communality and urban community. Such European issues are at core of our Shared Spaces and Sharing Green programs.

Europe as a state of mind A strong aspect of our program deals with European values and indeed the main theme of ”sharing” relates directly to the concept of European citizenship. We will work with European networks, institutions and citizen driven projects which place the citizen at the core of society.

For Aristotle, being a citizen meant being an individual who belongs to a community of common laws, sharing one’s entitlements and duties equally with others.

We will highlight the themes of citizenship, urban vitality and citizen-driven initiatives. Relevant projects: Community Curator Program, Open City, Open Mind, Re-Orient Express, The World in Photos, We Are Visual.

European cultural and creative agenda We address common challenges such as existing limitations to the mobility of cultural professionals, barriers to finance, stagnation/receding cultural budgets, skills deficits; and we pursue common goals such as the protection of cultural heritage, and the contribution of cultural and creative industries to growth and job creation.

The cultural sector is under an enormous pressure. Survival is an issue, which makes reform and revival even more pertinent. In the case of Sofia, these issues are hugely relevant as we are faced with a quadruple transition: a systematic transition, a European transition, an economic crisis transition, and a generational transition.These issues account for our capacity-building emphasis, our long term debate programs, our building of networks and partnerships between European and Bulgarian artists and partners, as well as our emphasis on the contemporary and independent arts/cultural sector. Relevant projects: European Makers: the Sofia Wave, Computer Gaming, Emerging Makers, Regional Academy for Cultural Managers. can you specify how this event could help to strengthen the city`s links with Еurope?

9.As regards City and Citizens, how does the city intend to ensure that the programme for the event?

Sofia 2019 will not only build on existing contacts and channels, but will also open up for new European links.

On a formal level, we will support the city’s engagement in European transnational networks and partnerships.

On a political and administrative level, we will strengthen Sofia’s participation in European programs, platforms and networks.

As a concrete example of our initiative, building on recent cultural developments, our city will take the lead on a Balkan City Network which will tackle issues related to creating and maintaining livable urban environments; in fact, many cities in the region are faced with rundown infrastructure, polluted land, substandard housing, lack of green spaces and randomly scattered shopping malls and offices with little regard for urban space.

On the level of institutions in the cultural, environmental and social sectors, we believe that the 2019 projects will have a long-term effect and that relationships and collaborations between partners will continue to develop.

On the level of citizens, we believe that Sofia 2019 can trigger a major mindshift and that many citizens will feel a closer link to Europe. For many residents the projects will help overcome a sense of exclusion, isolation, or the sense of being second-rate European citizens, which is quite prominent in our society.

Sofia’s links with Europe will be advanced by putting Sofia more prominently as a destination on Europe’s tourist map, by promoting its inclusion in pan-European cultural routes, by stimulating interest in our city and region, as well as by making Sofia more accessible.

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Alexander Battenberg str., Sofia 2014

Attracts the interest of the population at european levelAt“

tracts the interest of the population at European level A great starting point for attracting the interest of European citizens is that Sofia is affordable for every wallet and age. In June 2013, TripAdvisor rated Sofia the most affordable key tourist city. The cost of well-reviewed hotels, transportation, activities, food and drink, plus good airfare connections, offer a great opportunity for different tastes and poses no financial challenges for anyone, including backpackers, gap-year travelers, and holiday-makers.

The number of international arrivals at Sofia Airport increases by 3% annually.

We will work to connect the growing number of tourists in Bulgaria to our 2019 project through targeted communications and marketing initiatives, starting in 2015, as well as large-scale participation programs.

We will place a special focus on attracting the interest of the European population through school and university programs. Examples of concrete initiatives: Establish joint European master’s degree program involving the universities of Sofia, Siena, Pilsen, Gimarães, Umeå and Riga.

Facilitate exchanges between local and European secondary schools through Youth on the Move and Erasmus Plus Programs.

The ECoC 2019 stages exceptional events, bringing in outstanding creations and creators. This will also attract European interest. We have the confirmed participation of artists such as Rayna Kabaivanska, Elizabeth Kostova, Franco Nero, and Andrea Bocelli in the Summer Season outdoor concert programs. Examples of projects which will involve key European artists /ensembles: It’s a Paper World, New European Drama, Voices of the Spirit.

Some of our projects address themes the European populations know little of, such as the heritage of communism, Balkan stories, Orthodox music, Roma living, Sofia backyards, which have the potential to attract both specialized international audience, interested citizens, and social and cultural media, stimulating both debate and the wish to experience more.

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The Balkan strand of the program will be targeted to Balkan media and target groups in particular, while the Sharing Memory program is aimed to attract major media interest, especially in former socialist countries, addressing both the generation that experienced communism and younger generations.

We will also have free outdoor popular art events and intangible culture appealing to broad audiences at both the national and international level. These are well distributed over the seasons to allow linking in with the waves of winter and summer tourism. Examples of projects: Surva, Taste This, Opera in the Park, Code Fire.

Our audience-specific events will attract European visitors based on their special interests in urban sports, computer games, graffiti art, urban gardening, and electronic music. We envision targeted micro communications and marketing for them. Examples of projects: City Graffiti, Urban Explorers, Off-the-Chart Music.

Some of our projects will travel around Europe or will be implemented simultaneously in different European cities, engaging cultural operators, artists and citizens. Examples of projects: Re-Orient Express, Pop Up, Shared Balkan Moments, The World in Photos, Powered by Art, Streets of Europe.

We are aware that being on Europe’s periphery poses travel limitations. We therefore plan for significant online program and opportunities for participation. Examples of projects: World Art Diary, Solutions, Europeana for Citizens.

There will be sufficient volume of projects throughout the year. With clearly framed time slots and themes, we will ensure a critical mass and clear targeting of audiences throughout the year, with around 200 events per week in Spring/Autumn seasons and up to 500 single events per week in the Summer season.

To attract and accommodate a broad spectrum of European visitors, we are prepared to broaden the language access to cultural content and offering in Sofia.

The 2019 web platform is currently maintained in Bulgarian and English. Starting in 2015, we will be issuing newsfeeds in 10 languages with a view to more efficient communication with multilingual populations. As is the case at present,

a significant part of the translations will be made by European volunteers, thus encouraging a different form of citizen participation.

We will engage on a process of making all key cultural venues/exhibition/events, including museums, accessible to visitors, with online/site information in English, but we will also aim to provide information in French, Italian, and German as key European languages.

We will attempt to provide subtitles for relevant performances and events at major cultural institutions. All literature-related components of our 2019 project will be multilingual. The person-to-person city tours will be offered in 10 languages – thus bringing both European values and European people closer.

Our commitment to have 50% of all 2019 individual projects implemented with European artistic partnership through a series of thematic open calls is another stimulus for attracting the interest of the European public and artists.

Encourages the participation of artists, stakeholders in the socio-cultural scene and the inhabitants of the city, its surroundings and the area involved in the program

The investment in cultural infrastructure, providing work/meeting/presentation space for contemporary artists/creators from 2015, will involve the latter directly in Sofia 2019 and will lead to projects in 2019.

Sofia 2019 offers an opportunity for citizens and artists to curate their own experiences through involvement in projects and events. The program is designed as an artistic continuum with its constituent parts supporting each other, both in practical ways and aesthetically. The series of thematic open calls will ensure a pool of participating artists, operators, community groups, and citizens. The thematic calls will be based on the nine program themes of Sofia 2019 and will run in 2015 and 2016.

To encourage citizen participation, we are applying a number of different strategies: bringing art to unusual places and especially to the densely populated residential districts; open-air free events; participatory projects (such as Community Curating Program, My Sofia City Tours, Sofia Backyards, Regional Routes).

From the very outset, we have been building the Sofia and SWR project as an empowering common cause. Our logo system was selected by means of an international competition with a popular citizen vote in 2011. The logo is free for use by any organization, initiative, business, or individual supporting Sofia 2019, sharing the ownership and responsibility for its advancement.

To further develop community cultural participation in 2019 events, we will launch three funds for micro projects in 2015-2016, so as to stimulate local participation from groups that may otherwise be marginalized: Community Participation, Youth and Green Initiatives. We plan to take the initiative to contact local community groups in the suburbs and the region via outreach programs to engage “passive” groups and support local initiatives.

So far, over 470 cultural operators and over 700 cultural events have communicated their support. The open web platform www.sofia2019.bg is sourced by over 26,000 contributors. The bid was developed with the participation of thousands of artists and citizens. See Q15!

The capacity building programs will also involve a variety of stakeholders with programs for young entrepreneurs, up-and-coming artists, as well as professionals.

For the 62 projects in the bid, we already have around 200 partnerships with over 120 local, over 70 regional cultural operators and independent sector organizations and an estimated of 500 local/regional artists.

We plan to continue to support local artist platforms e.g. the independent performing arts network, by funding/co-hosting platforms such as the I.E.T.M (October 2014).

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Artists, citizens and stakeholders’ participation is also secured through our organizational structure, the Steering Committee and the Business Network, Volunteer, Forum and Ambassadors platforms. Our communication platforms Citizen Guides, Front Line and City Digital Platform also offer and rely on broad participation.

From artists’ and citizens’ proposals, we have developed projects as part of our communications strategy, which involve hundreds of people: PhotoLoan, Taste 2019, Design Class 2019, Sofia Talks, an annual public discussion involving a broad spectrum of stakeholders.

Is sustainable and an integral part of the long-term cultural and social development of the city?

We will make Sofia 2019 sustainable in a number of ways: The public and political commitment to cultural development through secured funding for activities, cooperation and cultural facilities until 2023 makes the event financially sustainable. The municipal budget for culture post 2019 will be higher than that in 2014.

The sizeable investment in cultural infrastructure is naturally seen as a longterm investment. It will improve the cultural sector on various levels: learning, design and creation, public platforms for presentation. See Part IV Q3 for details.

Clearly, not all 2019 projects will continue. However, we will negotiate with the national government and the city to either extend selected projects after the title year, or make certain key Sofia 2019 projects permanent. We will thus leave a lasting legacy, which can continue to be developed. Examples of such project are European Makers, Sofia Digital Art Platform, Urban Gardens, and Culture Zone.

At this stage, we estimate that around 50% of the bid’s key projects have this potential to continue post 2019 and are designed to be ongoing.

Sofia 2019 will leave permanent traces in the landscape of the city and the region in the form of new places for making and presenting art, or inspiring artworks and landmarks. Examples of projects: Earth, Wind and Water, Regional Routes, Dancing Sofia.

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Improvements in the governance of culture also lend sustainability to Sofia 2019. Culture and art related local or regional policies, including public subsidy and investment, “own� municipal productions, some functions of traditional municipal cultural institutes or ways of public consultations on urban refurbishment will be tested through pilot projects. New balances between public and private, subsidy and investment, tradition and innovation will be achieved and implemented at sustainable policy level.

We see 2019 as a learning project. Human sustainability will be achieved through massive efforts for capacity building and professionalization of the local cultural sector. The Regional Academy for Cultural Managers, the professional forums and educational programs, the chance for many artists, cultural operators, managers and citizens to gain first-hand experience with their own projects, will result in a critical mass of contributors to the creative economy.

Enhanced regional cooperation also contributes to the sustainability of Sofia 2019. Newly established models of cooperation, regional mobility of art and artists, routes, platforms and networks, richer cultural offering and improvements of the sector in terms of number and type of organizations, facilities and jobs, will all have lasting effects.

Finally, the European collaborations will ensure that there are platforms, channels and ideas which can be further developed. We intend to include these in bids for multiannual support from the EU and from regional EU funding. We plan to create a unit with the specific task of supporting European collaborations in the cultural sector. This has the backing of the City Cultural Department.

10. How does the city plan to get involved in or create synergies with the cultural activities supported by the European Institutions?

The objectives of Sofia 2019 are commensurate with those of Creative Europe, the current EU support program for the cultural and creative sectors. Among these are: peer learning and capacity building for international networks, professional opportunities, transnational circulation of works, the development of long-term audiences for European cultural products. We see great opportunities for synergies. We will build on such convergences to promote transnational co-productions, cross-border circulation, policy cooperation, innovative approaches to audience-building and new business models.

We put great emphasis on education and entrepreneurship. Bulgaria is among the three member states where specific teacher training in entrepreneurship is offered. Over the next few years, we will elaborate our current strengths into a set of related programs and events to culminate in Season 3 of the title year. Sofia 2019 will be joining hands with the European flagship initiatives in the Europe 2020 strategy for jobs and sustainable growth: Youth on the Move, Innovation Union, An Agenda for New Skills and Jobs. We have already integrated our 2019-oriented actions with the European Years of Active Citizenship, the European Year of the Brain (2014) and Development (2015).

Sofia will use efficiently its participation in European networks. It will also help widen networks to stimulate common initiatives and incorporate them into the program. We have already agreed to joint initiatives with Eurocities, A Soul for Europe, In Situ, and IETM. We will build on established collaborations with twin cities and other bidding cities in Bulgaria and Italy to conduct programs, especially in fields such as youth, citizenship, education and training, and regional development.

The 2014 – 2020 framework for the EU funds administered by the Bulgarian government envisions as one of its investment priorities the preservation, promotion and development of the cultural and natural heritage. 4% (€63,5 mln.)of the financial resources of the Regions in Growth Operational Program will be allocated to culture, while 17% (€270 mln.) will go to urban infrastructure development.

The Competitiveness Operational Program plans to provide €125 mln. for the creative and cultural industries. The Territorial Cooperation Programs BulgariaSerbia and Bulgaria-Macedonia will allocate 40% (€1.3 bln.) for cultural tourism, about two-thirds of which are intended for Sofia and the SWR. These priorities present excellent opportunities for synergies with Sofia 2019.

wALL- TO WALL- POETRY EUROPE PROJECT SOFIA

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11 . Are some parts of the program designed for par“ ticular target groups? Specify the relevant Parts of the program planned for the event.

Our program has strong social cohesion aims. There are communities within the community itself, and we are determined to face the challenge of accepting such a notion.

Having analyzed the demographic and the geographic data on participants and non-participants in cultural events, we have identified communities with distinctive identities who lack sufficient opportunities for cultural involvement.

Some of these communities are located in specific urban districts and neighborhoods. Such examples are Studentski Grad, an area featuring 7 universities and a community of about 80,000 people 25,000 of whom students, where only 1% of the residents are content with the local cultural offering; and the communities of densely populated panel block complexes like Lyulin (115,000 residents), Nadezhda (68,000) and Mladost (105,000).

We are giving these communities priority through our 2019 neighborhood policy. Our three specialized program funds, individual projects and events like Sofia Breathes Festival, Sofia Backyards, Reflective City, street art and workshops with residents are all excellent media for connecting people of different backgrounds and empowering citizens to take the lead in shaping their neighborhoods.

Other particular targeted communities are not geographically located but rather dispersed throughout the city.

We give specific priority to young people and the Roma, where extra input is required to achieve meaningful involvement.

As the home of 39% of all university students in the country, and with 19% population increase since 2001, Sofia has a very broad youth base. Young people are often vulnerable. They face numerous choices and constraints, such as time and money, which frame their identities and experiences. The current cultural delivery in Sofia and the region does not offer young people enough in terms of art

HaHa Impro Theatre Sofia 2014

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forms and expression, or paradigms for participation and engagement. The young are often treated as consumers rather than producers, and the cultural offering is disconnected from leisure. We will be exploring the creative capacity of young people, endorsing their participation in cultural activities as part of their wellbeing and personal development.

We will experiment with new kinds of venues and situations, including leisure and learning fatigue. Our goal is to change traditional cultural structures so as to involve the young, but also to change the artistic formats to respond to the needs and expectations of this generation: mobility, interdisciplinary forms of expression, new technologies, virtualization and multimedia-related forms.

12. What contacts has the city or the body responsible for preparing the event established, or what contacts does it in“ tend to establish, with:

We will parallel such 2019 individual projects and activities with corresponding communication mechanisms. Examples of projects: Urban Explorers, We are Visual, Urban Farms, Reporteen, Sofia Science Fair, Muzeiko, Sofia Tech Park and ARS Electronica.

Another important target group is the Roma community. Despite a decade of progress, many Romani citizens still live on the margins. In the current economic downturn, incidents of anti-Roma rhetoric are not rare. We are committed to making a real difference in the lives of the Roma with Sofia 2019 and to celebrating the history, impact and culture of this ethnic community.

From music to crafts and literature, Romani people have contributed in ways large and small to the fabric of our city. We will continue to forge new partnerships, discover new areas of understanding, redoubling our efforts to address the challenges Roma citizens face. We will launch a Roma Cultural Centre in early 2015 as a physical space for capacity building and art production, and as a reference point for the cultural engagement of the community. Thus, we hope to contribute to a freer, fairer and more inclusive Europe. The Roma are an integral part of all three season and themes, including one of the flagship events – the international Roma Living project.

This programmatic approach, reinforced by infrastructure and digital projects, will help us rethink the inherent pluralisms of our time, as well as redistribute and share opportunities for creation and participation by calling into question traditional patterns.

OPEN DAYS IN Tramway Depot May 2014

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cultural operators based outside the country?

We have analyzed the established contacts, partnerships and networks of cultural and artistic operators in Sofia, as well as the political partnership agreements between Sofia and other cities. This analysis has helped us set targets and implement concrete actions to further involve cultural operators outside the country.

We have used different strategies:

the city

and cultural operators based outside the city?

Our local and national cultural scenes often overlap. During the 45 years of communist rule, Bulgaria’s cultural policy was characterized by the total centralization of cultural processes within the state administration. State theatres, opera houses, philharmonic orchestras, art centers, museums, choirs, and ensembles were established in all bigger cities. Currently, there are 43 state theatres in Bulgaria, 8 of which are in Sofia. There are a large number of municipally owned cultural institutions. Public cultural institutions outnumber private ones nation-wide.

The traditional Bulgarian community centres (chitalishta), currently around 3,500 throughout the country, of which 141 in Sofia, are also funded by the state budget.

Sofia has a large and diverse independent community of artists. Although the independent cultural and artistic sector in the city is growing and is quite visible, it experiences certain inequalities, particularly in funding. We are aware that new public-private balances are needed.

From the outset of the project preparation, SDA has had the function to coordinate the process and provide accessible opportunities for involvement. We have secured the partnership of the three types of cultural operators in Sofia: national cultural institutions (for instance the Sofia Opera and Ballet, eight state theatres, the Sofia Philharmonic, and community centres), all municipal cultural institutions (theatres, ensembles, cultural centres, the city museum, the city gallery and the city library) and the independent sector, as described in Part 2.

We plan to continue their involvement and further develop it. Cultural operators will be able to apply for the successive open calls after 2016, as well as for the capacity building and showcase programs. Representatives of local, regional and national cultural operators will participate in the Sofia 2019 Steering Committee, the monitoring and evaluation team and the collaborative platforms for communication and marketing.

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Sharing Sofia

Hosting and offering venues for large-scale meetings and conferences of European-level artistic networks, such as the East European Network of Performing Arts, the Performing Arts Employers’ Associations League Europe (PEARLE), A Soul for Europe, the International Art Medal Federation (FIDEM), to name a few.

Active participation and/or relationship building with European networks, such as the Euro-Mediterranean Forum of Cultures, Les Rencontres, EUROCITIES. Proactive relationship building with the Italian candidate cities, former and already selected ECoC. Proactive relationship building with European universities.

Utilizing the partnerships established through EU projects currently being implemented by the city and the cultural operators.

Strengthening Balkan cooperation and contacts in the region. Sofia festivals have included strategic Balkan components in their programs – the Balkan Date Program of Sofia Design Week, or the Balkan Screenings of Sofia Film Fest, supported by projects and initiatives like the Balkan Documentary Centre.

Thus, Sofia has already managed to broaden and internationalize its cultural offering and has so far secured over 250 European partners: artists, artistic groups and organizations to participate in the 2019 program.

In the future, we plan to maintain contacts with international operators, as outlined in the communication and marketing section. We intend to invite and involve them in the 2019 program through targeted thematic open calls, establishing an ongoing process and creating continuous interest. As stated previously, we are committed to having at least one half of our program dedicated to international cooperation with local partnership.

Map of European PROJECT partners

EUROPEANA FOR CITIZENS ART INVASIONS

OFF-THE-CHART MUSIC

NEW EUROPEAN DRAMA URBAN EXPLORERS

WE ARE VISUAL

POP UP COMPUTER GAMING SOFIA DIGITAL ART PLATFORM THE WORLD IN PHOTOS TRANSLATION LAB WORLD-WIDE ART DIARY EMERGING MAKERS

POWERED BY ART ROMA LIVING FUTURE FROM THE PAST ANIMATE CITY MEMORY UNDER THE RADAR RECONCILING THE PAST 30 YEARS ON SCREEN VOICES OF THE SPIRIT RE-ORIENT EXPRESS SHARED BALKAN MOMENTS SOFIA SENSES CARTOGRAPHY

CODE FIRE

SOFIA BACKYARDS

MUZEIKO EXPERIMENTARIUM AND ARS ELECTRONICA LET THERE BE LIGHT IT’S A PAPER WORLD Sharing Sofia

OPERATION MUSEUM REBOOT

ART DIASPORA

REPORTEEN

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CULTURE ZONE

INSTANT ARCHITECTURE SOFIA LEVELS CITY GRAFFITI EARTH,WIND AND DANCING SOFIA WATER EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP DNA THE REFLECTIVE CITY

Sofia has not yet had the experience of such a large-scale European project. As the candidacy was developed over almost a decade, with broad participation, bottomup input, a gradual increase in the involvement of cultural operators and businesses, and step-by-step reforms bringing tangible results, we have the confidence that the 2019 project will be significantly innovative for Bulgaria, and to some extent for Europe as well.

The fact that the process has been at “arm’s length” from the political structures and the administration of the city is a major step, and has created a partnership between the city and civil society, which is in fact groundbreaking.

13. In what way is the proposed project innovative?

The shift from centripetal to centrifugal forces is a powerful organizing metaphor for our goal, which is to challenge the traditional models of cultural delivery and consumption. Sofia 2019 will support an important array of innovations to help cultural organizations and institutions experiment with new artistic programs and imaginative audience engagement strategies; involve community residents in creating work; present art in unconventional venues where it can be seen by a larger public; and showcase work from minority artists and immigrant cultures.

We will address themes that are new to our local cultural landscape and agenda, such as sustainability and art’s role in achieving resilient cities. We will experiment with urban community farms and gardens, slow food and slow travel, walking and biking projects. We will have a special department in our staff to consult project producers on footprint reduction.

We have chosen to program across genres in an attempt not only to connect sectors and arenas/territories, but also to disrupt existing formats, in order to stimulate new partnerships and broader involvement in issues that are key to the notion of culture, identity, generation, and place.

We have left behind the strict hierarchical structure of the existing cultural sector and its priorities/commitment. We try to mix, connect, infiltrate and create a new balance for the future. National structures, city structures, independents, commercially-run events and community initiatives are linked. We believe that this will provide a new dynamic through which we can share good practices, resources and experience for the “collective” good.

We are not planning to build any new infrastructure, but instead reclaim, preserve and repurpose our abandoned industrial heritage sites and renew the often underused cultural centres, libraries and institutions from the communist era. We will also support independent groups in their attempt to find their “own” solutions, and we will advocate reform in the relevant rules and regulations to allow this to happen. “Homeless” contemporary dance, and migrant and Roma communities will have their physical meeting and presenting spaces. We will be piloting new revenue-generating approaches to sustain artists and new art spaces.

CHERNOBYL rEMEMBRANCE Destructive Creation installation,2014

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Sharing Sofia

We will put the Balkans as a cultural region on the map. The Balkans is home to many different ethnic groups who have struggled with various difficulties in sharing this common living space. The regional perspective makes them partners

in dialogue. The project constitutes a concerted effort to engage collaboratively with the Balkans for the creation of a regional forward-looking cultural program.

In addition to artistic commissions, residencies and co-productions, Sofia will allocate one of the major title-year cultural venues to Balkan exhibitions, Balkan performing arts, film screenings, literary events and participative projects. The mobile program components will tour the Balkans. Collectively, we will be drawing new paths between our cultures and communities.

We will innovate with co-creation, digital and online programs and projects – still at a very early stage in development locally. At the same time, based on our strengths, we will venture into innovations at the European level in the area of computer and video game development.

14. If the city in question is awarded the title of ECoC, what would be the medium – and long-term effects of the event from a social, cultural and urban point of view?

We will innovate in language accessibility for our cultural offerings with subtitling, numerous multilingual projects and the translation of major communications into 5 to 10 languages. Building on the theme of European linguistic diversity, Sofia has the ambition to become a European hub for translation from smaller languages.

We put personalized experiences at the core. Having lived in a politically constructed mono-culture for decades, we will deliberately give up the one-story narrative in our program and opt for the establishment of a safe place for freedom of expression and a multiplicity of narratives, upholding the notion of individual responsibility that goes with these.

In fact, we hope to be able to allow citizens to interact with our project and our programs on many levels, by conceptualizing the programs as ongoing and by providing citizens with tools to curate their own 2019 experience and program.

We will facilitate their involvement with open-ended narratives, technologies and sufficient choices.

We have designed our program as a series of inspiring experiences featuring preference-dependent access to creativity. This will give European citizens the freedom to engage with various cultural forms and viewpoints. Putting the citizen at the centre of the process is different from, and much larger than, simply putting everything in one calendar or online.

Workshop for recycled materials Relax project, Sofia 2014

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Sharing Sofia

The strong links between the long-term cultural development plans of Sofia and the SWR and the ECoC has helped us set realistic targets for the program as a whole.

Effects on culture A number of cultural venues and improvements in the cultural infrastructure will provide a much needed and lasting framework for the arts/culture, and will offer upgraded facilities for creators and consumers alike. In particular, these will strengthen the independent arts sector. Examples include: Undergara, Tramway Depot, Blagoevgrad Observatory, Kyustendil Gallery, Pernik History Museum.

Sofia 2019 will stimulate local creativity. It will foster international cooperation and transnational careers through enhancing the professional capabilities and the skills of local artistic and cultural operators. This will result in upgraded cultural events, new audiences, and renewed decentralized cultural infrastructure within the framework of multiculturalism – capable of using cultural traditions, heritage and creation to the benefit of the community. Our program will enrich the cultural life in the city, bringing in new forms of expression. It will raise the bar with respect to professional quality.

Sofia 2019 will introduce citizens to new art formats, venues and experiences, and will strengthen the overall participation/engagement in culture. This will have a long-term effect on the cultural sector, and users will lead and support continued development, while larger audiences will create improved market conditions.

The Sofia 2019 project will reinforce the links between creative investments and business as new forms of financing creative enterprises arise; thus, access to new technologies will be improved and creative capacities enhanced.

tion: life-long learning, intercultural dialogue, management and teacher training through creative collaborations, enabling city environment. Our school and youth platforms will make a step-change in young people’s cultural involvement, career prospects and likelihood to settle permanently in the city.

Art and cultural activities are the guardians of human liberty. Sofia 2019 seeks to achieve a positive change in society: the revitalization of a community, the opening up of policy-making and innovative forms of expression of cultural activism. People who participate in cultural activities are more socially active – thus Sofia 2019 contributes to the cultivation of active citizenship. Building on existing community knowledge, the title year will bring about citizen involvement, empowerment and ownership of the process.

Urban effects Cities must sustain a constant process of urban development. Through interdisciplinary exchange, we will develop new solutions to urgent problems in urban regions: spatial disparities, neglect of public and private spaces, over-commercialization.

Besides, the initiative will allow us to develop Sofia and the region as destinations by implementing new products relatively rapidly, which will give these destinat ions a competitive advantage over other locations.

Sofia will experience an image renaissance, attracting considerable media attention and enhancing local, national and international perceptions. This will allow us to become a true European city, beyond complexes or stereotypes.

The relationship between city and culture will be greatly strengthened, and Sofia 2019 will be a model for a more inclusive and open vision of the character of the city. This will help solidify concrete strategies where local communities and groups will be included, rather than just consulted.

The 2019 project has the far-reaching and difficult task to engage in a demanding combination of cultural policy reform, organizational change, and radical cultural management improvement. The main enabler of institutional capacity building is the transformative potential of interactive and networked knowledge.

Learning to operate across silos, developing new tools to tackle problems and pursue opportunities through the kind of partnerships that bring skills, ideas and investments will constitute a major advancement.

Do the municipal authorities intend to make a public declaration of intent concerning the period following the year of the event?

Social effects Culture is a catalyst for cohesion. Inclusive cultural actions will grow in size in urban environments and regional settings. Art and culture offer new tools and codes for professionals to work with vulnerable groups and people in vulnerable situations; they also provide new possibilities for empowerment, allowing everyone to have a voice or have access to creative experiences.

The public commitment of the local authorities was declared by Sofia City Council and the councils of the partner cities in July 2013 with the vote in support of the bid. The proposed budget of the initiative allocates €3 mln. for the year after.

Moreover, the municipal cultural strategy “Sofia – Creative Capital” spans the period through 2023, providing a backbone for furthering the legacy of the title year, and backing it up with financial resources.

The Roma and the migrant communities will have their physical cultural venues and cultural offers in the city. Art and culture help people to imagine new worlds and play with new possibilities. Thus we hope to transform the SWR into a coming-together place and establish new Balkan bonds.

A key component is the focus on shared opportunities for the next generation. This applies to the school environment, but also to other aspects of educa-

The City is committed to securing an optimal bridging from 2019 to 2022. It has been agreed that the SDA will oversee this process and that the allocation of the additional € 3mln. will be made in consultation between the City and Sofia 2019.

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The application process of Sofia was a marathon, not a sprint. The initial city decision in 2004 to apply for the title gave the city cultural policy a road map for cultural development and reforms.

The actual targeted, open and independent process started in 2010 with the establishment of a cross-sector Initiative Committee and the appointment of SDA as the process coordinator, forming an interdisciplinary international team.

15. How was this application designed and prepared?

The entire application process caters to citizens, artists and the community as a whole. The initial goal setting and concept discussions coincided with the development of the city cultural strategy, thus allowing not only for strong links with the long-term cultural development, but also for concrete policy decisions and testing of new models. We paid special attention to the areas where Sofia was lacking and started addressing them. For example, we launched a Regional Academy for Cultural Managers, created urban media for culture, established a Fund for Innovations in Culture, increased the opportunities for European artist mobility and exchange, and facilitated ECoC related research.

In late 2012, the major municipalities in the SWR decided to support Sofia’s bid, which led to regional policy initiatives and regional project integration into the program. Later, in 2014, all the 52 municipalities in the region voted their support and involvement.

The artistic program was developed as a continual process, in an easy-to-get-involved way, through successive rounds of generating ideas, consultations, thematic workshops and regular reality checks. The process relied on the achievement and contribution of citizens and local talent who define the city with their work.

It also involved many European partners and collaborations with many former and future ECoC cities, including Wrocław, Marseille, Kosice, Arhus, Tallinn, Maribor, Guimarães, Leeuwarden and Valletta. The Sofia 2019 team attracted an international pool of artists, curators and programmers to help select and assist the further development of thematic content that best fits our vision, goals and concept. With meetings, exchanges and hosted events, we also managed to crossfertilize the program with European expertise from networks. Through publicized criteria, constant dialogue and feedback, we made sure to manage expectations.

We also followed the jury recommendations after the first bid and made efforts to design a more specific and innovative program, with stronger digital aspects and co-creation.

In 2014 we further developed the 2019 Business platform. 50 business companies have already supported the bid financially and in-kind, while 15 major companies have committed their sponsorship for 2019.

With the help of a core group of 260 volunteers, we carried out massive outreach campaigns, reaching thousands of citizens in every residential part of Sofia, in order to inform and – more importantly – to engage them with the bid.

sofia breathes fest, Sofia 2013

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Sharing Sofia

This makes us confident that theSharing Sofia project is realistic and reflects the shared experience, concerns and aspirations of people working in various sectors.

The infogram shows the major strategies we have applied to prepare the application.

2014

POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT

RESEARCH

INFOCOM

CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

ARTISTIC INVOLVEMENT

BUSINESS INVOLVEMENT

Sofia City Council decision to guarantee the ECoC budget

Sofia Asks You tracking poll with 1,000 respondents nationwide

3-month information campaigns Sofia 2019 in over 750 local and 90 foreign media Sofia 2019 Facebook with 33,000 likes from 44 countries Sofia 2019 bilingual platform with 26,000 contributors Sofia 2019 YouTube channel with over 15,000 viewers Sofia 2019 Twitter launched 150 cultural operators using Sofia 2019 logo for 220 events

On Tour for Ideas campaign in the SWR reaching out all 24 Sofia districts, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pernik

1st Regional Academy graduation with 25 cultural managers trained

Public-private Sofia endowment Fund for Innovation in Culture first call

2 waves information campaigns 3 thematic conferences

20 thematic public discussions on Sofia 2019 concept, goals, projects, priorities

8 information events

30 student internships

SWR signs a unanimous declaration of support Weekly City Task Force meetings engaging the Mayor, councilors, heads of Municipal Departments, curatorial team, SDA

Creative & cultural industries tracking research 2 PhD and 19 MA local and foreign students develop theses on Sofia 2019

2013

SDA monthly reporting to Sofia City Council City councils of Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik vote unanimous support for Sofia 2019 bid and budget

Sofia Asks You poll with 7,005 online questionnaires: 2,590 face-to-face interviews, 10 focus-groups

Memorandum for cooperation between Sofia,Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik

Creative & cultural industries tracking research

2011

2012

SDA monthly reporting to Sofia City Council Introducing independent monitoring of Sofia cultural events

17 MA local and foreign students develop theses on Sofia 2019 Creative & Cultural industries baseline research Urban media for culture research&prototyping

Sofia 2019 Initiative Committee: 12 political representatives

Sharing Sofia weekly program on Sofia Radio launched 180 cultural operators using Sofia 2019 logo for 220 events 120 cultural operators using Sofia 2019 logo for 180 events “Have an Idea” campaign with 16,000 ideas received

Mapping of cultural infrastructure

Sofia2019 bilingual platform launched

Audience analysis and segmentation

Sofia2019 YouTube channel launched

2010

20 cultural operators using Sofia2019 logo for 80 different events

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In December SDA is appointed coordinator of Sofia 2019 by Sofia City Council

Sharing Sofia

Mapping of cultural events & festivals

3 thematic conferences on Sofia 50 companies contributed in2019 kind to Sofia 2019. 7 companies contributed with financial 4-month ongoing workshops on support Open Days in Sofia’s industrial zones with estimated 5,000 project development Agreements with Music Auparticipants Exchanges with ECoC awarded thor and Prophon 260 volunteers with 6,240 hours and candidate cities: Košice, Marseille, Siena, Ravenna, Matcontributed era, Perugia, Lecce 20 student internships 10 own participatory events

Sofia 2019 Facebook launched

Student Internship program Sofia 2019 Volunteer Program launched Sofia 2019 Initiative Committee: 10 citizen and professional organizations representatives Sofia 2019 International logo system competition with 11,000 individual votes 33 public discussions on the Sofia cultural strategy 5 concept discussions with 500 participants 2 discussions and workshops on culture & placemaking with the participation of PPS New York

38 workshops on program development with over 100 cultural operators and NGOs and 250 artists 3 conferences on Sofia 2019 A Soul for Europe and East European Performing Arts Platform conferences in Sofia Exchanges with ECoC awarded and candidate cities: Lille, Kosice, Marseille, Aarhus, Perugia, L’Aquila, Bergamo, Matera, Salerno, Urbino

Public-private Sofia endowment Fund for Innovation in Culture established 33 companies contributed inkind to Sofia 2019

PEARLE 43rd General Assembly 15 working meetings with business organizations & international seminar 19 companies contributed Exchanges with ECoC awarded in-kind and candidate cities: Wrocław, Eindhoven, Venice, Matera Sofia 2019 Initiative Committee: Sofia 2019 Initiative Committee: 15 business organiza25 cultural and artistic repretions representatives sentatives Sofia International Conference on ECoC Committee of the Regions (EDUC) conference in Sofia Exchanges with ECoC cities Tallinn, Perugia

II STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM 1. What structure does the city intend to give to the years program if it is designated ECoC? How long does the program last?

2. What main events will mark the year?

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Sharing Sofia

Program for 2014-2018 Our Sharing Sofia project is, in fact, larger than the year 2019 itself. We will be launching the nine thematic programs successively, starting in 2016 and building up to 2019. We also aim for the themes to be used consistently before and also after 2019.

We are also aware that there are other program aspects which demand an earlier start, as is now accepted good practice of ECoC. This approach will allow us to develop each program over time by testing and developing individual projects, creating networks, building relationships and also developing the marketing and communications around it. These are all seen as platforms for engaging with different cultural sectors and audiences while highlighting different aspects of our overall theme of sharing.

Finally, we feel that it is imperative to initiate a program of capacity development as part of the program, not only to support the project itself by strengthening levels of competence, but also as a long-term investment in the cultural sector. This is one of the major challenges of the cultural sector in the city/country today.

So, we will gradually develop the program over a four-year period, 2015-2018, culminating in 2019.

The pre-program has five main perspectives:

Capacity development This will include management and artist training, development schemes. There is a huge need to update, renew and open up the management systems of existing cultural institutions and local government cultural departments, for younger entrepreneurs and initiators to manage larger, more complex and international projects. We estimate that around 250 individuals will take part in these workshops and seminars. These will also have long-term value in enhancing city and regional networks. One program has already started in 2013/2014 with the Regional Academy for Cultural Managers. Partners include the universities of Sofia, Siena, Pilsen, Gimar찾es, Ume책 and Riga.

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Sharing Sofia

Regional Academy for Cultural Managers

Annual program with maximum 50 participants per year. 200 hours of study/workshops. Bulgarian and European tutors.

A program of European networking, exchanges and collaborations

Open for maximum 50 artists from 15 disciplines, with programs in 2015-16/17/18. Intensive program of weekend residencies plus ongoing mentoring.

Bulgarian and European teachers.

aiming to engage relevant partners in projects, securing co-producers and co-organizers for individual projects. In addition to the partners we have already involved, we plan to invite key European operators and artists to Sofia to become acquainted with the city, and meet local artists and operators. We will also support local partners and artists to join European networks, take part in meetings, conferences and make international visits.

Arts Management

Audience development

Community & Culture

One of the aims of 2019 is to substantially increase the participation in arts/cultural activities. We will develop marketing tools, launch campaigns and support a series of nontraditional initiatives which will increase public interest and also facilitate new marketing platforms for the cultural sector in the city/ region in general and for the Sofia 2019 project in particular.

Master classes and mentoring for artists programs

for producers and organizers in the independent arts sector, with strong emphasis on project management, development, communication, marketing, and international relations. Open for 50 students annually from 2015. Intensive program of weekend residencies, on-site case studies. European lecturers. for project initiatives and community organizers, focusing on local engagement of community in art and cultural projects. Project-based approach, with support given to 10-20 initiatives annually.

Local & national debates and international conferences

Addressing major cultural issues closely linked to the 2019 program. These will place the program into a larger context. The key partners in this strand will be the National Radio, the universities in Sofia, Culture weekly newspaper. The program will start in the Autumn 2015 with two series, each autumn and spring.

Key projects launch We plan to launch the 9 programs successively from 2016, 2017 and 2018. This will be planned in detail with specifications and events. Each launch will feature a conference to give the program perspective. See pre-program 2015-2018. We estimate that around 20% of the 2019 program will have prelaunch events, accumulating to 1,000 events.

Program for the Year 2019 We have designed a program concept and structure for the year based on three overall themes, which we use both to create three seasons in the year and also to encompass our nine sharing programs.

Each of the three seasons includes three programs, valuable on their own and complementary within the broader project frame. They emphasize specific priorities through individual artistic projects. In this bid we present some 62 core projects, which are indicative of our approach and scope.

Many of these individual projects have “open� formats and will in fact be supplemented with sub-projects developed through open calls or by the artistic team. We estimate that the final program will include around 90-100 core projects and around which may include up to 250 individual/sub-projects and 20,000 single events/event days, averaging 70 events per day throughout the year.

The program structure has three thematically fo-

SEASON PROGRAM 1

SEASON PROGRAM 2

SEASON PROGRAM 3

Sharing Sofia

We will open the 2019 program in January with a choreographed series of events in the city. The major axis will be Vitosha Boulevard from the National Palace of Culture to the renewed Tramway Depot/ UnderGara (4 km). The day will start with a series of

Past Imperfect

international keynotes and debates on key questions of the year. An opening of the mindset. This will be followed by nine simultaneous events to mark the themes of the year in key arts, religeous, political, cultural, educational buildings in the historic city. These will be followed by choreographed and staged music events on balconies, rooftops, courtyards, along the two axes and with invited Bugarian/ European artists with classical, contemporary, jazz, folk music. A European shared musical bazar with high energy to engage all of Sofia, acting as a vital leitmotif for the year.

Our closing event in December will feature youth arts and culture. Its focal points will be the new cultural spaces in the city This will be the culmination of the three years of mentoring, master classes, workshops, exchanges and residencies, talent search and development. The focus will be on the future, on dreams, expectations and visions. It will give us the opportunity to celebrate youth arts, creating a memorable culminating, exploratory event which a generation will fondly remember throughout their artistic careers. Public spaces will resonate with digital media, urban guerrilla graffiti, pop up actions, urban lighting and experimental soundscapes.

SEASON

Present Continuous

SEASON

Future Reflective

A season of living archeology, of rediscovery and A season of excursions, trails, events, explorations, reinterpretation of history, identity and place. manifestations and reconstructions in the city and landscapes.

SHARING HERITAGE SHARING SPACES No. major projects: 10-15 No. major projects: 10-15 Est. total number projects: 25 Est. total number projects: 30 Est. No. event days: 6,500 Est. No. events: 7,500 Est. visitors: 500,000 Est. visitors: 750,000 SHARING MEMORIES SHARING SECRETS No. major projects: 10-12 No. major projects: 10-12 Est. total number projects: 25 Est. total number projects: 25 Est. No. events: 2,500 Est. No. events: 3,500 Est. visitors: 400,000 Est. visitors: 300,000

A season of invention, innovation, creation, provocation, imagining, and dreaming.

SHARING ROUTES No. major projects: 10-12 Est. total number projects: 30 Est. No. events: 5,000 Est. visitors: 500,000

SHARING GREEN No. major projects: 10-12 Est. total number projects: 25 Est. No. events: 7,500 Est. visitors: 500,000

SHARING DREAMS No. major projects: 10-12 Est. total number projects: 25 Est. No. events: 2,000 Est. visitors: 250,000

40% activity

25% activity

35% activity 36

We are working with programs featuring both paid and free activities. We aim to provide 75% events free to the public and these are estimated to attract 85% of the public. Every program will include a strong mix of participatory projects, projects for children/young people and minorities, as well as projects for broader audiences. Each of the programs has well defined long-term and strategic goals.

SEASON

THEME OVERALL SEASON CONCEPT

cused 2019 seasons, exploring the city from a particular perspective. All of the themes are multidisciplinary. This structure creates a definite program progression, adding up to a dramaturgy composition, giving a sense of dynamics and exploration.

This concept also helps concentrate and focus our management and artistic priorities to ensure quality.

It guides and structures Sofia 2019 communications and marketing, which aim to reach out to many different communities, targeting participants, audiences and visitors.

Sharing Possibilities No. major projects: 10-12 Est. total number projects: 30 Est. No. events: 2,500 Est. visitors: 400,000 SHARING CREATIVITY No. major projects: 10-12 Est. total number projects: 25 Est. No. events: 2,000 Est. visitors: 350,000

Season 1

January May

PAST IMPERFECT Sofia is among the European cities which have undergone the greatest political, social, economic and cultural changes over the last 150 years. Different ruling powers have dominated the image and the space of the city, suppressing the possibility for other creative forces to articulate themselves.

Until recently, our history was viewed as a series of events happening independently of each other, forming a linear narrative, some parts of which are either blank or hard to talk about: the Ottoman influence, the socialist period, the former industrial pride, the most recent transition period.

These tensions in the way we perceive the past as a factor in our individual and collective identity result in the temptation to focus only on the non-controversial ancient heritage of the Thracian, Greco Roman and medieval eras and to construct the city image “for the sake of the outside world�, for potential tourists and visitors, leaving out the sore spots for the residents to deal with.

Sofia in particular feels a sense of urgency to come to terms with its recent past and to create the freedom to explore, reflect upon, anticipate or let go of some vestiges of the past through physical changes in the urban, artistic, cultural and social setting. Our three programs will both present and challenge these given narratives and invite both residents and visitors to find different perspectives whilst daring to suggest some new common meeting points of identity. And not to suggest in any way that we want a past perfect!

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Sharing Sofia

Sharing Heritage

Sharing Memories

Sharing Routes

Season 2 June September

PRESENT CONTINUOUS Sofia and the regional partner cities need to review and redesign their concept of public spaces and their cultural infrastructure models through the prism of today’s dynamics, functions, peculiarities and current challenges.

We want to embrace the possibilities of the present continuum and focus on the transitional city and landscape, on art and culture as being formed here and now. We will focus on the contemporary, the temporary, on movement and juxtapositions, on perception of the senses rather than the memory, on-the-spot creation, however without isolating the here-and-now from other realities: past, future, or imaginary.

This focus on the act of creation assigns new roles to the city and to citizens: the city is not merely a stage or a backdrop, but a source of inspiration and a toolbox; the citizen is not merely a spectator, but a participant, a co-worker and a co-creator. Such acts of artistic creation will involve joining hands with citizens, with few or no intermediaries and the delineation between public and private, art and everyday, nature and city will be challenged and reinterpreted.

We believe that the experiences which have the greatest and most lasting impact on any audience are rooted in the strength of sharing and we believe that this season of energy and synergy will be both celebratory and cerebral.

We, therefore, devote the summer season to direct participation in public spaces, to celebrating openair arts and culture, and sustainable relationships with nature. We will enrich the identity of the region by venturing into the “what if”, by discovering the unknown aspects of the city, its alternative cultural forms and contents. The main locations will be the renovated industrial heritage sites in Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik, with spillovers throughout the region’s public spaces.

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Sharing Sofia

Sharing Secrets

Sharing Spaces Sharing GREEN

Season 3

September December

FUTURE REFLECTIVE Sofia wants to undertake radical and dramatic preparations in the coming years, in order to make its modern debut before Europe and the world in 2019 as a truly European city and a next-generation destination – physically as well as ideologically!

The efforts to plan the title year’s legacy and to address future challenges find solid expression in our program.

Today’s challenges – increased urbanization, an ageing population, the crisis in the economic model, the scarcity of natural resources, cultural and religious friction, changing business models or sustainable development – make it clear that by 2050 our way of living must be radically different. We believe that art and culture must be among the key factors making it possible for us to both formulate and even adapt to new scenarios.

How will society face these changes? Which learning and business models will dominate in the future?

Does the model of planned obsolescence have an expiration date? What transformations do we need to initiate now? How powerful is culture as a driver for change? In order to answer these questions, we will explore and innovate, piloting creative learning models and platforms and imagining the city of the future through cooperation between art, technology and science.

This season is our laboratory for ideas and visions, our kickoff for sustainable concepts, which may lay the creative foundations for young artists and innovators. In them we place our hopes and faith but also challenge them to take up these issues and to engage and step into the arenas for the first time in Sofia history to rewrite future scenarios from a non-dogmatic, non-conformist and humanist perspective. Can and dare Sofia dream new dreams?

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Sharing Sofia

Sharing CREATIVITY

Sharing

Possibilities

Sharing Dreams

SHARING HERITAGE Our focus is on supplementing the existing heritage program of the city to include other cultural perspectives.

We open up for new museum formats with Museum Reboot, where citizens are invited to look at and re-program heritage.

Our industrial heritage has left open scars around the city and the region, but unused industrial sites also offer the chance to create nontraditional venues and collaborations, while providing us with a central strand in our year-long program and long-term cultural recycling.

We invite the main religious faiths in the city to work together around the theme of tolerance in Open City, Open Mind, and we champion the value of cultural diversity as part of our heritage in the Living Roma project.

Popular Balkan folk traditions are given a new lease of life in Surva.

Finally, we play with connections between the past and the future in Future from the Past.

Sofia 2019 is making an effort to develop networked heritage and champion heritage democratization.

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OPERATION MUSEUM REBOOT

DIG DEEPER INTO COMMUNITY

Our history museums need to be truly transformed into dynamic and engaging places, fulfilling their mandate to collect, celebrate and question the collective memories of our communities.

The modern city of Pernik is the product of coalmines and steelworks attracting populations to the area. The Underground Mining Museum will partner with a number of European mining museums and form a cultural route. This network will co-desing a project for 2019, built around the notion of European mining communities in the industrial age, the present postindustrial and the future ages.

Starting in 2015, we will work with four key heritage museums - the Sofia City Museum, the Underground Mining Museum in Pernik, the Regional History Museums in Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad - to refocus their curatorial and marketing efforts, and help them democratize their content, commit to project space and audience engagement programming, to indoor and outdoor curating, and digital initiatives.

COMMUNITY CURATOR PROGRAM All four museums have committed to this project, which invites diverse community groups to share their perspectives on artifacts they choose from the museum collections. They will also conduct research on relevant socio-cultural themes, identify potential objects and work with an outside design team to present new thematic content with related programming for adult and school audiences.

The project will explore the cities’ past, present and future using the entire city as a living museum. It will connect the museums to the landscapes of city memory, and will integrate everyday issues within the realm of the museums, contextualizing the past and creating networked heritage. Twelve temporary community curator program exhibitions will be held between 2015 and 2018.

VIA DIAGONALIS Sofia City Museum, together with eight partners from five countries, will work on a common European exhibition project for 2019 on the topic of Via Diagonalis as a path for the transmission of knowledge throughout Europe, from antiquity until today.

This co-curated project will broaden the perspective of European museums from local/national to transregional and European.

HEALING WATERS As many other ancient towns, Kyustendil originated around 40 thermal spas. Thermal spas are a core constituent of the history and identity of the community. A new international spa health centre is built to contribute to the city’s ambition of becoming the European spa health capital. Together with partner institutions, Kyustendil’s history museum will cocurate an exhibition on the role of healing waters in communal life.

STUDENT MIGRATION As ‘temporary migrants’, international students are often relegated to outsider status despite the fact that they are invited to live in the cities and are legitimate members of their local communities. Student migration is a major contributor to multiculturalism and to the building of a stronger European identity. In a joint project, Blagoevgrad and Lecce 2019 will conduct research and curate an exhibition on the topic.

Main organaizer: 4 regional museums in the SWR Location: 4 museums in Sofia and SWR Indicative budget: € 2,750,000

Pernik Mine Museum

Water Tower Art Fest, 41 atSharing Opening SAMCA Sofia

AS THE TIME FLOWS, CONCEPTUAL ART FEST, BLAGOEVGRAD 2014

CULTURE ZONE The major industrial zone of Sofia around the Central Railway and Goods Station, with its numerous warehouses and former plants, has collapsed and is left in tatters. The city is re-purposing many of the old buildings and sites to fit the new economy. This is a collaborative social and urban innovation project, unique in our city, which has engaged a variety of stakeholders: property owners, artists, civic organizations, creative entrepreneurs, the city authorities, and the residents. Sofia 2019 led this by opening up the site in March 2014 for hundreds of visitors and organizing an open design process involving artists and citizens. So far, over 7,000 m2. have been provided for free by the owners to be turned into ateliers and cultural venues.

In 2019 Culture Zone will be one of the major platforms of our program, hosting urban play and recreational areas, over 200 artists, an Industrial Gallery, and a city farm market. Sofia 2019 will equip, redesign and run an international artist residence centre in the area, which can be used by cultural operators.

Residencies will be based on specific projects contributing to the local art scene, and will strengthen links to the European arts/culture scene.

Main organizer: City of Sofia. Sofia 2019 Location: 2 km. route in industrial Sofia Budget: â‚Ź 1,000,000

POWERED BY ART The tens of private ghost factories in Sofia and the region which have been standing derelict since 1990, have no easy comeback. Left unattended, they decrease property value and safety levels in the communities.

Without electricity, Powered by Art will take over these spaces for a series of extraordinary weekends, which will re-open the factories.

The major and most symbolic unused privately owned industrial sites in Sofia and Pernik - such as Kremikovtsi, the Sugar Factory, and Stomana - will run again. Site specific art, performances, slam poetry, video and new media projects, and vast exhibitions will make for unique (re)discoveries and unusual encounters with the fabric of the past.

Over the next 24 months, Sofia City plans to spend â‚Ź100,000 to fund 20 citizen-led pilot projects to reclaim vacant property. Sofia 2019 is facilitating this process by working with several alternative organizations led by Sofia Breathes Festival and UnderGara, who have launched Pop Up City, an initiative which brings performance artists into empty lots, vacant buildings and unused urban infrastructure.

They manage the ongoing program.

Yovo Panchev, curator of Sofia Underground Festival, will curate exciting programs and work with museum curators and stage designers in these unconventional spaces, welcoming audiences into enhanced three-dimensional environments, where they are almost part of the event. Abandoned industrial skeletons will be reclaimed, their industrial history recovered, and people will be able to reconnect to abandoned spaces. Artists include Dan Tenev, Iv Toshain, Ivan Grozev, Rassim, Sasha Frolova, Robert Zeidel, VJ Aneiko.

Contacts are already established with the two major European platforms for culture centres in former industrial sites, Art Factories and Trans Europe Halles, to facilitate residencies, create our factory to factory creative exchanges, and find specific partners for theme work.

This program will start in 2016 with an annual weekend in several sites. In 2019 there will be nine weekend events throughout the year, reflecting the nine programs and relating directly to their themes.

To preserve memory of the place and the workers it hosted, the Industrial Gallery will display industrial heritage and industrial themed artwork.

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Main organizer: Dauhaus Foundation Location: 10 ghost factories in Sofia and Pernik Indicative budget: â‚Ź 750,000 CULTURE ZONE

ROMA LIVING Roma are one of the largest minorities in Bulgaria and in Europe. Alone in Sofia, over 200,000 Roma are caught in the paradox of being assigned to the edges of mainstream society and finding themselves at the centre of this society’s discriminatory occurrences.

We have initiated an ongoing process of development that will culminate in 2019. The core of our project will be a two-week program around the International Roma Day (8th of April), with events connected thematically and artistically at various locations - the main one being a new Roma Cultural Centre in the heart of Sofia to be opened in 2015, featuring Roma art, performances, conversations from different European countries.

Social Development and Transformatori Association in Fakulteta district engaging youngsters and the community in a collaborative design process to redesign or build spaces for social and cultural actions up to 2019. The Roma community will feature strongly in a number of other projects, including the Community Curator Program, Art Invasions, Animated City Memory and more.

Main organizer: Roma NGO Coalition, Sofia City, Sofia 2019 Location: Roma Cultural Centre, 10 locations in Sofia Indicative budget: € 1,000

Our point of departure is Roma culture as a unique European phenomenon. This trans-national project seeks to increase knowledge about the Roma in Europe, encourage the participation of this ethnic community in Europe’s cultural life, while contributing to its value and diversity, thus challenging the Roma’s predominantly negative image.

Curated by Maria-Alina Asavei, the project will be a collective effort with the parole that contemporary Roma art should be sustained, theorized and talked about: the invisible has to be made visible, changing society in a way that politics cannot.

Calling Cards, Zone Culture Gallery 8, London

We are working with many European partners, including Roma festivals and diverse organizations all over Europe, who will contribute to a joint program.

The EUNIC centres in Sofia will also invite content and offer a space for dialogue and art to Roma and Sinti from their respective countries, with a view to inspiring the acceptance of differences as a key ingredient in the very possibility of co-existence.

In connection with this project, we will set up and support local initiatives with the main Roma communities in Sofia: Fakulteta, Botev, and Filipovtsi, to develop specific cultural competences and opportunities locally. As an example, Sofia 2019 supports a new project initiated by the Centre for Health and

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Surva festival

SURVA Held each January, the historic international festival of masked dances and street parades Surva is the largest event of its kind in the country and in the Balkans, currently bringing together nearly 6,000 participants in 90 groups from Europe, Asia and Africa.

Rooted in pre-Christian rituals, the masked dances comprise one of many European folk traditions specific to regional cultures, but sharing the mask as a common element.

Building on this popular tradition, European curators and art directors will be invited to “translate” the festival for the 21st century, engaging local communities in social and cultural activities, and creating a platform for anthropological and contemporary artistic expression on the theme of the ritual masks as an act of transformation. The project will be directed

by Eugenio Barba (IT), founder of the Odin Theatre, who is a world-famous figure in the field of intercultural tradition and contemporary performance.

Main organaizer: City of Pernik Location: Outdoor & indoor spaces in Pernik Indicative budget: € 500,000

OPEN CITY, OPEN MIND Sofia has an extremely complex and varied history, in which religion has been a very prominent factor.

The religious aspect is highly visible in the city and is still a major social and cultural force. With six main faiths, strong religious communities (Orthodox – 892,500; Catholic – 5,600; Protestant 10,250; Muslim – 6,800; Jewish – 1,500; Armenian – 1,000) and a constant stream of refugees and migrants arriving in the city, the inter-religious tradition of the city is omnipresent.

Building on the city’s proud core value of ethnic and religious tolerance, and led by the belief that mutual understanding and interreligious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace, we will use the first week of February, proclaimed by the UN the World Interfaith Harmony Week, to establish an

open platform. The project will be led by an international and interfaith curatorial team: Momchil Metodiev, Mohamed Khalaf (Kuwait), Selma Todorova, Bogdan Patashev, and Jozef Lupták (SK).

The platform will engage the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, the mosque, the synagogue, other temples and places of worship, many of which will be open as cultural venues for the first time. It will host exhibitions, performances, concerts and debates; it will feature an international photo exhibition Closest Multiple, develop an interfaith map of Sofia, host educational programs for adults and children, and organize an international conference.

Main organaizer: National Council of the Religiuos Communities in Bulgaria Location: 20 religious locations in Sofia and SWR Indicative budget: € 600,000

FUTURE FROM THE PAST Digging into the past by means of archaeology, genetics, nuclear physics, or biology is not merely about the past. It is about knowing the past in order to understand the present and to anticipate, or even build, the future.

Through the voices of scientists and audience alike, the 2019 Sofia Science Festival will take this notion as its starting point and explore the capital city’s own archaeological wealth for scientific inspiration.

For the first time, the festival will hold site-specific events across the city - at ancient excavation sites, metro stations, parks, subways with curated archaeology exhibits, medieval town constructions.

Outstanding scientists like prof. Tom Shakespeare (UK), Gilles Boeuf (FR), and prof. Miguel Seabra (ES/UK), will lead events on scientific topics, showcasing possible future scenarios rooted in the past.

A new platform, Café Scientific, will be launched in 2019 on board trains linking Sofia with other major Bulgarian cities.

A special partner will be the Perugia Science Festival (IT).

Main organaizer: British Council in Bulgaria Location: 15 archeological sites in Sofia Indicative budget: € 500,000

refugees are searching for peace not for more violence, city graffiti

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SHARING MEMORIES This program, seeking to strengthen citizens’ relationship with the City of Sofia, embraces the concept of the archaeology of memory. The goal is to uncover the missing pieces of historical narratives and give voice to those who have been forgotten in history. Focusing on personal and community driven perspectives, the program uses a socially inclusive approach to engage various communities living in the city to collect their memories and share them as living heritage.

We create relationships between the residents and the city’s history, while perceiving cultural institutions as memory collectors in Animate City Memory and Under the Radar. We explore the opportunities of performative archiving of non-material practices and activism to bridge history gaps.

We also highlight the serious theme of “revisiting history” in a series of projects reflecting on the socialist legacy in Reconciling the Past, Freedom Picnic and 30 Years On Screen. These projects will assess our experiences and attitudes springing from ethnic, religious, political, and national affiliations, also resonant all over Europe.

Sofia 2019 wants to transform the city into a more relevant, diverse and authentic place, in tune with its citizens.

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ANIMATE CITY MEMORY Today, in the context of the changing urban landscape of the neoliberal city, the memory of the recent past is threatened with “extinction” – an issue that Sofia shares with many other European towns, particularly in Europe’s periphery.

Curator Svetla Kazalarska will work with arch.

Boris Hochel and Zuzana Kierulfova, the Association for Sustainable Architecture ArTUR (SK) and the Association for Building with Natural Materials (BG) to build social infrastructure for the “memory collectors”, where in the course of a month the recollections of the residents of Sofia will be evoked and recorded.

Nine locations in Sofia, each with its own particular history and rank in the spatial hierarchy of the city (dense high rise areas built in 70s, former Jewish and refugee areas, a Roma settlement, new fast developing construction), will be invaded by memory hunters: students in cultural anthropology and urban sociology, and ethnologists.

The research methodology will be elaborated in a series of workshops in 2017 and 2018, with our European partners from Maribor, Belgrade, Diyarbakir and Kotor.

The personal memories collected will be animated through comic strips, illustrations, animated films, installations, collages by artists and designers from Eastern Europe, resulting in a curated exhibition at the National Ethnographic Museum. The exhibition will connect to the 2019 International Festival of the Ethnographic Film. An online digital version will attract ongoing additions from the residents of Sofia.

A touring version of the exhibition will be presented in 2020 by European partners in 5 countries. The exhibition will also provide the frame for a series of memory panels, talks and interviews.

Main organaizer: National Ethnographic Museum Location: 15 residential areas Indicative budget: € 800,000

Concert with a Monument Transformatori Association 2013

UNDER THE RADAR

RECONCILING THE PAST

Aware of the selective nature of “history” and the role played by documentation, archiving and communication, this project will take a number of themes and issues which slip “under the radar” of official data collection.

The year 2019 will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the communist regime. We envisage a major international project for the region in which European artists born in the year 1989 reflect on the communist past, while investigating ways in which arts and cultural work can help reconcile historically divided communities. The project is a natural extension of the many “revisiting communism” projects we have seen in the past decade in Europe. Yet, it will be the only one to re-edit the massive amount of material and reflections already made. Curator Vladya Mihaylova combines contemporary approaches to generate new knowledge of the recent past, thus providing the missing links between generations.

Art has the chance to change how documents are created and displayed, providing new forms for the organization and transmission of cultural memory, especially with regard to documenting history associated with pain and oppression (generally drawing on oral memory) and with minority ethnic or sexual communities excluded from the documentary repositories of traditional archives.

Living archives will take different formats. As an example, Robert Yanakiev (BG), Alessandra Rossi Ghiglione and Alberto Pagliarin (IT) will curate a travelling documentary theatre, based on a current EU funded project “Caravane” with partners in 11 countries. Via residencies with the Roma, the team will generate a collection of video and audio recordings, shorts and photos, while the renowned Roma poet Sali Ibrahim will lead the (oral) literature strand.

New technologies will be used to integrate this wide range of formats into a coherent whole. The living archives will be displayed as an audiovisual installation at museums and art centres, as well as online.

They will also be available as a resource for artists, scholars, students, curators, policy makers, and anyone interested in the diverse cultural landscape of Sofia.

Main organaizer: Vazrazhdane Theatre Location: 7 European countries Indicative budget: € 600,000

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Phase one “Remembering” will include interviewing hundreds of individuals. In cooperation with local and national institutions, interviewers will gather information on historically relevant but now forgotten places like Kovachevtsi, the Party House, the Bells Monument, the Palace of Pioneers, and the monument of the first socialist leader Dimitrov. A free newspaper, both in printed and electronic form, will follow this process, and it will also include critical texts, articles and translations of key publications.

“Missing links” workshops will be conducted by leading artists who work with monuments, memory, public space, socialism, and heritage. Artists include Santiago Sierra, Krzystof Wodiczko, Chto Delat, Pawel Althamer, Raša Todosijevic, Luchezar Boyadzhiev, Nedko Solakov. An international open call will select young artists born in 1989 to participate in the workshops, share knowledge and create new site-specific works.

Finally, a major exhibition will be curated at selected monument sites, key socialist buildings and centres, the National Archives Agency and some other relevant institutions. This exhibition will travel to partner locations, starting in 2020, thus linking the project to the Council of Europe’s cultural route on the architecture of totalitarian regimes.

Main organaizer: Vaska Emanouilova Gallery Location: 15 venues in Sofia, the SWR Budget: € 1,200,000

Sharing Sofia

30 YEARS ON SCREEN

100% SOFIA

PICNIC OF FREEDOM

For its 2019 edition, in partnership with 15 key Central and East European international film festivals, the Sofia International Film Festival will organise a special Panorama of films, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The project is based on the concept of the Berlin based documentary theatre masters Rimini Protokoll who have produced a series of large format performances in some 15 European cities, each with 100 statistically defined citizens who reflect the true nature and DNA of the city in a theatre performance.

Inspired by this approach, we have invited Rimini Protokoll to not only produce this for Sofia in 2016 with one hundred citizens, but to develop a series of projects which look at different artistic concepts based on the idea of 100% Sofia. We will “put Sofia” on the stage, in the gallery, on the screen, in the TV studio and on the page” and create a series of artistic interventions based on the family histories, the reoccurring dreams, the intimate dinners, the personal diaries and the secret walks. Each project will start with one hundred people and each group will in fact reflect the city according to pre-determined statistical data.

The Picnic of Freedom will be held on May 1st, in several places around the city, as the closing community event of the Sharing Memories Program. Some 30 years after the fall of the communist regime, it will bring together artists, representations and expatriot communities from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, and Romania.

This program will include classic films from the 80s (such as Tengis Abuladze’s Repentance, Andrzej Wajda’s Man of Iron), films made during the 30 years of transition (Christian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, Danis Tanovic’s No Man’s Land), and new films.

Ten filmmakers from 3 different generations will present their work and talk to the audience and the industry: veterans like Andrzej Wajda, Andrej Konchalovski, Tengiz Abuladze, Jirji Menzel; midgeneration filmmakers like Cristian Mungiu, Danis Tanovic, Pawel Pawlikowski, Cristi Puju, Jan Svjerak; and young directors whose films will be selected.

The films will be shown at highly symbolic places like the former Communist Party HQs and the Kremikovtsi plant.

At the same time, SIFF will devote its Sofia Meetings platform to up-and-coming film directors and producers from the new “transition” countries in the Black Sea Region. Sofia Meetings will offer its participants professional training with some of the leading European film experts and producers, including Cedomir Kolar (No Man’s Land), Ada Solomon (Child’s Pose), Alexander Ris (The Trap); heads of funds such as Manfred Schmidt (MDM), Kirsten Niehuus (Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg), and Julienne Ezanno (CNC); heads of sales companies such as The Match Factory, Pyramide International, Films Boutique, Wild Bunch, Claude Eric Poiroux (general director of Europa Cinemas).

Main organaizer: SIFF Location: Former Communist Party HQs, Kremikovtsi plant, 10 other symbolic places Indicative budget: € 700,000

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The project plays on the notion of representation, on statistics as believable and authoritarian and also on individuals as completely unique and even unpredictable and people as the essecnce of any city. A unique exploration in the the psyche of Sofia.

Main organaizer: Sofia 2019, Rimini Protokoll Location: 15 venues in Sofia Indicative budget: € 350,000

The event, celebrating our path to democracy and “return to Europe”, will feature joint open-air concerts and film screenings, exhibitions of personal memorabilia, an exhibition of street billboards, and – of course – a city-wide urban picnic with “new socialist kitchen menus”.

Artists from the seven countries will be commissioned to design retro-art picnic tables. These can also function as mini stages, and be preserved as a legacy of functional sculptures in the city’s parks and squares.

Main organaizer: EUNIC Network Location: South, West and North parks in Sofia Indicative budget: € 250,000

SHARING ROUTES Like most cities nowadays, Sofia is a place where different traditions collide, intersect and flourish. The movement of people, bearers of their culture and traditions, has brought with it the migration of art forms. From the 4-8th century to the present day, such visible elements have forged bonds within Europe, well before Europe was united in an economic system. This Europe before Europe will be the focus of projects such as ReOrient Express. We will also explore the cultural diasporas generated by different kinds of migration: art and artists crossing and re-crossing various boundaries will be brought to the fore in Art Diaspora.

From temporary routes to travelling talks, we will test different ways of promoting our region. Both our long-term Regional Routes Project and the Shared Balkan Moments will involve various communities in providing access to different parts of the region and to new interpretations of its landscapes Aesthetic sensibilities also migrate, transforming not only their original practices, but also the cultures we live in. Our European and Balkan travelling projects explore migrating aesthetics, whereas the Voices of the Spirit trace the pattern of European vocal traditions.

Using sensory cartography, we want to remap and re-walk the routes in the city.

Citizens get to know the diverse landscapes of performative place in Sofia Senses. Sofia 2019 will lead you on journeys of heritage exploration.

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EXPLORING REGIONAL ROUTES

communities to maintain their own routes.

The landscape of the SWR, bordering Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia, is spectacular. It is immensely varied, both culturally and in terms of natural beauty.

Yet it remains relatively uncharted, its many stories untold. Old-fashioned marketing, the lack of promotional materials in other languages, stereotyping, and the inaccessibility of many places have left one of the obvious assets of the region unexplored – in every sense of the word.

By 2019, we plan to build a series of 10 routes from 5 km to 100 km, with a series of interlinked themes.

The underlying notion is responsible and sustainable cultural tourism, combining slow food and slow travel with a sense of discovery. A team of European eco designers, architects, tourism and biodiversity experts will construct spectacular micro architectural viewpoints, eco-furniture, temporary site-specific artworks, and audio guides. A light touch combined with strong community involvement with local guides and local stay-overs.

Our point of departure is the cultural landscape of the region. We will instigate a series of expeditions or mobile mapping projects in 2015-2016. Teams of international and local artists will travel the region together with botanists, mountaineers, anthropologists, and historians, meeting with local communities and “everyday experts”. The result will be a curated exhibition with large format photos, video, and interviews - these, in their turn, will form the basis for a number of regional experiential routes.

Together with our regional partners, we will delve deeper into the region’s potential and resources to redefine its tourist attractions. The goal is to transition from promoting a series of local events and sites to managing regional processes. Instead of offering merely new tourist products, we will inspire local

We will use the experience of other European routes exploration, such as the National Tourist Routes in Norway, which has a strong landscape and design element; the Dutch project Sense of Place on islands off the Frisian coast, part of the 2018 ECoC program; as well as the GR 2013 regional route, which involved many communities in Marseilles Provence.

We are establishing a European advisory team to support this long-term project.

Main organaizer: 20 local authorities in the SWR Location: 10 municipalities in SWR Indicative budget: € 2,000,000

VOICES OF THE SPIRIT Bulgarian vocal traditions in folklore, religious music and opera have always been a cultural strength and key to Bulgaria’s sense of identity.

The project covers three series of vocal formats: folklore, religious, experimental. These series will link Bulgaria with the Balkan, Middle-Eastern, Mediterranean and European vocal traditions.

Voices of the Spirit is exemplified by one of Sofia UNESCO intangible heritage list members from Sofia – Bistrishkite Babi, and the Bulgarian Voices women’s choir who have achieved iconic status in Europe (a Grammy Award winner). In fact, there are many choirs building on this tradition. Key artists in this project will be the women’s choir Great Voices of Bulgaria (formerly Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares), who have worked with a number of European musicians in crossover projects. Valya Balkanska, the singer of the Bulgarian folk song on the Voyager Golden Record, which was sent into outer space by NASA, has also pledged to participate. The project will engage Balkan and European artists and Ilya Mihaylov will act as programmer. Church singing in Bulgaria, which will form the second component, dates back to more than a thousand years ago. In the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, there are

two traditions of church singing – Eastern-monadic (one-voice) and choral (polyphonic). Participants in this program will include choirs and soloists from different orthodox traditions: St. Nevsky Cathedral Choir, the Male Choir of St. Petersburg, Greek Orthodox Seminary Choir.

Thirdly, we will curate a program of international vocal series with a clear spiritual dimension, including ensembles such as Theatre of Voices, the Hilliard Ensemble, The Tallis Scholars, Ars Nova/Paul Hillier, Anomymous 4, The Sixteen, Aquabella, Brabaa Fortuna, with spiritual music by, among others, Gorické, John Tavener, Arvö Pärt, and Hildegard von Bingen. The series will cover contemporary works, a new simplicity and minimalism era, religiously inspired and experimental electronic work, and will be presented in unusual non-cultural venues throughout the city and the region.

The European Broadcasting Union will also partner with us on this project, by direct broadcasting to its members, making audio recording, and with special programs on-air.

Main organaizer: National Philharmonic Choir “Svetoslav Obretenov” , Great Voices of Bulgaria Location: “The Bells” and 9 more non-cultural venues Indicative budget: € 1,850,000

RE-ORIENT EXPRESS When the great railways were built in the 19th century, the Orient - a place of exotic culture and spirituality, became accessible to Europe. The Orient Express connected Western Europe (London and Paris) with South-Eastern Europe, and finally Turkey. Even after its closure in 2009, the Orient-Express remains a potent symbol which deserves to be given a new lease of life.

The project will use the train route as a moving lab for young European artists, a place for the artistic exploration of ‘otherness’ and identity along the route from Istanbul through South-Eastern Europe and to Western Europe. In each city, host organizers will facilitate concerts, readings, and meetings with the European artists.

The Bulgarian State Railways have agreed to be a partner in the project and supply both transportation and contact with the European Rail Network. UnderGara Creative Hub will coordinate a platform of partners.

Each city will take part in the project steering group.

Each centre will follow the project online during the entire 30 days, in March 2019. We expect some 200 young European artists, activists and writers to be the core participants, attracting many more en route.

Main organaizer: UnderGara Location: 10 European cities Indicative budget: € 2,100,000

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SHARED BALKAN MOMENTS

SOFIA SENSES CARTOGRAPHY

ART DIASPORA

Iwan Brioc, director of Theatr Cynefin, Wales, will organize a sensory community theatre production which will tour the Balkans, exploring diversity and challenging the stereotypes of what makes us Balkan.

New maps and walks will be developed to explore Sofia’s rich sensory landscape. Combining observation and experience, these will offer a different way to perceive the diversity of the city. The sensorial dimension is essential in the perception of the city as a performative place, with references to Italo Calvino Invisible Cities, the Situationists and to contemporary urban place-making strategies. The new pilgrimages are poetic urban extracts. They dig their way into the grain of cities to find out what places and their people are really about.

One of the facts of Bulgarian life is that many major artists leave the city and become either nomadic or relocate permanently.

The project is initiated by Theatre Labyrinth – Sofia and is a co-production with a network of six experimental sensory theatres in Europe. The research will be made while visiting Balkan places. The format will be a mobile labyrinthine structure, which invites audiences to discover the essence of Balkan myth and reality.

Main organaizer: Theatre Labyrinth Location: 7 Balkan cities Indicative budget: € 600,000

Soundscapes will play a central role. As a form of contemporary performing art, audio projects that set scenes, interlocking the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual perceptions of audiences, will be produced by the theatre director Ida Daniel, Sofia, Jasmina Založnik and Cona Radio, Lubljana, through open calls to members of the East European Performing Arts Platform and the Association for Independent Theatre, Iceland. Employing different types of sensorial communication, the theatre groups Momo (Sofia) and Cantabile (Stege, DK) will provoke personal experiences by facilitating genuine encounters in immersive environments in the city’s intimate exteriors. Artists like Christian Nold with his sensorial maps will be invited to work with local communities.

The project will have local artists working in cooperation with Urban Pilgrims performative tours in Copenhagen, Vienna and Munich. Innovative cartography methods will be developed, based on the touch and taste of places, and urban rhythms. Different locations will engender a new choreography of the city.

Main organaizer: ACT Association Location: Different locations across the city Indicative budget: € 850,000

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Tracing this Bulgarian artistic diaspora is the point of departure for Bulgaria’s leading visual artist of his generation, prof. Greddy Assa. He will invite key contemporary artists of Bulgarian origin, now living abroad, to “return” - as part of a curated exhibition with their work and with the work of an inspiring artist they have met in their new home city, whose work is “in dialogue” with their own. Among the artists invited are Houben R.T. (New York), whose works have been featured at the Bronx Museum, the Brogan Museum, FL, the 54th Venice Biennial; Desislava Unger (Vienna), bringing to Sofia Larissa Leverenz, the visual artist Hristo Gelov (Madrid), awarded the McLaren Wall-to-Wall award, who will invite Nestor Sanmiguel.

A series of global artistic dialogues will be presented in Sofia and will return “home”. Works in all contemporary visual arts media: painting, sculpture, prints, photography, collage, video art, installation, will be presented. This major exhibition will be shown at the National Art Gallery. It will be accompanied by a debate on current issues in the arts in Sofia and Europe.

Main organaizer: National Endowment Fund “13 Centuries Bulgaria” Location: National Art Gallery Indicative budget: € 700,000

SHARING SPACES

SOFIA BACKYARDS

Our shared spaces have an enormous effect on local activity. They define our sense of identity and community, and ensure access to arts and culture, security and safety. By probing different approaches, we want to create a much stronger sense of shared space in our city and among our citizens.

Sixteen inner neighborhood yards in different parts of town will be the venue for Open Door events throughout the summer season. The key concept is to open up neighborhoods and to articulate Sofia’s culture and way of life through its intimate urban interiors. The courtyards have traditionally been centres of communal life and a melting pot for minorities and migrants. Currently, they are underused and run-down spaces in the substandard parts of Sofia.

We want to encourage their renovation and reintegration into open spaces for on-the-spot artistic expression through exhibitions, installations, screenings, urban gardening, temporary constructions and open door parties.

We will organize programs with strong community participation in the intimate though rundown city courtyards in Sofia Backyards. We will pilot designing spaces with citizens to establish new models of city ownership, using instant architecture in derelict sites and new rooftops projects in Instant Architecture. We will transform apartment buildings into City Graffiti artworks.

With Art Invasions, we also challenge the boundaries of closed spaces and facilitate social interaction with isolated communities/groups in prisons, hospitals, residential homes for the elderly, and Roma settlements. We discover “underground” Sofia with its hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, excavations, shelters, with specially curated programs in Sofia Levels.

Locations in underprivileged suburbs will turn into stunning stages for a massive Open Air program with classical and contemporary music, opera, theatre, dance, film, and literature.

We repurpose cultural venues for shared artistic expression, as in Dancing Sofia, a program in contemporary dance - an art that is still “homeless” in Sofia.

Sofia 2019 wants to (re-)open the city, improving urban quality by making the city more accessible, a place where people can play freely and experiment.

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The curators Nora Karalambeva, experimental artist, and Nikolay Davidkov, architect, will lead the development of the various projects with the residents, in collaboration with groups of artists, designers, local museums and community centres. This project contributes to a more open and accessible city, challenging private-public controlled spaces.

The backyards will be open to visitors for at least one month during the summer season, launching the first ones in 2016.

The enclosed sculpture garden of the National Museum Complex in Sofia designed by architect Yanko Apostolov and currently under construction, will become a main gathering place for this urban lattice of courtyards, as well as a public venue for the museum’s performances, lectures and special events.

Main organizer: Cultural Centre of Sofia University Location: 16 inner yards in Sofia Indicative budget: € 750,000

INSTANT ARCHITECTURE

OPEN AIR 100

This project deals with culture-led urban transformations: selected spaces or situations are activated with projects, which create temporary platforms for activities. The project will show that infrastructure is often a “performance” or a creative process. It includes pneumatic and lightweight tented structures, converted vehicles, simple do-it-yourself kits with wood, boxes, crates and scaffolding.

Sofia 2019 will work with city festivals and major art producers to form a platform with classical and contemporary music, literature, theatre, dance and opera, in order to curate a 100-day program of openair events in the summer season.

In accordance with the principles of the instant architecture movement in Europe, the selected sites will be derelict, and the method will involve strong community participation.

We will put into practice the democratization of architecture both in a participatory and a conceptual sense. The need to reconnect architecture and landscape with citizens and the everyday is pressing as iconic architecture trends distance the city from its citizens.

The individual projects will be developed by curating and through an international call for instant architecture projects for 2019, jointly with Matera 2019.

The project will be launched in 2016 with 72 Hours, an instant architecture competition, and will progress annually.

Main organizer: Destructive Creation, Grupa Grad Location: Panel residential areas Indicative budget: € 750,000

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We will use some of the existing park stages in the city, but we will focus on new outdoor stages in the suburbs and in the region, bringing audiences to often quite “ordinary” or previously unused spaces which can attract new local publics and which offer interesting settings: natural, industrial, heritage sites or plain suburban sites between blocks of flats. All events will be free.

By multi-genre cross-programming, Open Air 100 seeks to reach out to new potential audiences, while encouraging co-programming and linking up with established and independent programs. All series will include a new major commissioned work.

As examples, the Sofia Soloists will create a program of 12 themed concerts, held every Saturday afternoon, for the large residential areas Lyulin and Ovcha Kupel, where 300,000 residents have few cultural venues and no major cultural events. They

will also work with local music schools and involve young local musicians in the program.

The Film Archive Cinema will screen a series of major international urban films in situ on large building block facades, parking blocks, and rooftops in Druzhba. The screenings will pay homage to film as a truly urban format and celebrate the city as a focal point of fascinating phenomena.

Other project strands include Sofia Poetry Animated – contemporary poetry and poetic practices intervening in public spaces in Mladost; Opera in the Park in Oborishte district and Sofia Philharmonic in Gorublyane district. A co-production with Varna Summer Theatre Festival will bring groundbreaking European theatre productions from directors Peter Brook, Jan Farbre, and Ariane Mnouchkine on a spectacular outdoor stage in the North Park, Nadezhda district.

The project aims to reach new audiences, develop new partnerships and turn residential districts into vibrant places for the cultural expression of the city.

Main organaizer: Sofia 2019 and partners Location: Various locations in the city Indicative budget: € 3,000,000

CITY GRAFFITI

SOFIA LEVELS

The project is an urban transformation experiment, which will take place from June to September 2019 in Hadzhi Dimitar, a residential neighborhood in the outskirts of Sofia.

The project approaches the vertical layers of the city by means of art. Beneath Sofia includes a rich variety of below-the-surface venues – metro station museums, underground theatre, archeological sites, bomb shelters and over 240 km of underground tunnels. Ivan Mudov (Musis Gallery), Gergana Dimitrova (36 Monkeys Theatre) and Yassen Atanassov (Sofia Poetiki) will form a curatorial team to explore the theme of the underground and create a multidisciplinary program. The performative underground project will engage over 40 artists/arts collectives, including the Union of Bulgarian Actors, Haspel, the Fridge, and Mesechina Music.

The Urban Art Foundation, initiator of the project, will invite renowned crews from different European countries (Etam Cru, Natalia Rak, Tone and M-city, Borondo, to mention just a few) who will transform 15 apartment blocks by painting large-scale murals.

The project will bring together artists and the local community in a process of co-creation. The preparations for the interventions will be made by residents of the buildings and by volunteers. City Graffiti will be an excellent example of what Sharing is.

The project will also have a considerable impact on the improvement of the physical environment and the embellishment of the neighborhood. City Graffitti will be developed in collaboration with Google Street Art project.

Main organizer: Urban Art Foundation Location: Hadzhi Dimitar neighborhood in Sofia Indicative budget: € 300,000

Sofia Rooftops addresses the Sofia’s need to acquire non-commercial public spaces, while offering a bird-view experience of the city. The Transformatori Association will work with 6 partner studios/ organizations from 4 countries to design/redesign two “elevated city squares” with free independent access. One of them will be on top of the National Palace of Culture, which will amount to a symbolic change of the palace’s meaning. By turning the top into a square, citizens will be able to reappropriate the space and enjoy shared ownership of it. The new rooftop squares will stage a two-month site-specific contemporary music program.

Main organaizer: Partnership with a.o. Transformatori, Union of Bulgarian Artists Location: Underground theatre and galleries, archeological sites, bomb shelters, underground tunnels, 2 rooftops Indicative budget: € 600,000

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DANCING SOFIA There are surprising numbers of independent choreographers and a whole new generation of young dancers who still need a home – a shared home with the necessary facilities, where these growing and struggling contemporary dance companies can practice and give performances.

Dance is a highly international art form with many established European connections. Dance companies are active participants in international exchanges and form an integral part of Sofia’s art mobility.

However, they still lack visibility and have to compete with other performing arts for access to venues.

Sofia 2019 is an opportunity to create a more sustainable structure for dance and to open contemporary dance to larger audiences.

Sofia City will re-purpose one of its cultural venues, which after renovation in 2016, will be managed as a public-private partnership with the dance sector.

To create a physical reference point, uniting dance training, performance studies, choreography and events, is one of the biggest wishes of those who care about contemporary dance in the city.

Sofia 2019 will work with the independent Derida Dance Center, the Antistatic Festival and some independent dance companies on this project. Derida is the only place with an international artists-in-residence dance program in Bulgaria. Based on the residencies of 2017/2018, Sofia 2019 will commission a series of co-productions with Ravena 2019 and other European partners.

These productions will be launched with the European cross-border dance performance network Aerowaves, with partners from 35 countries, in the SPRING FORWARD Festival, the most important dance event for emerging choreographers in Europe, which will be presented for the first time in the Balkans. Following SPRING FORWARD, the productions will tour the Dance the City Ravena 2019, while the new dance centre will host other 2019 programs.

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Main organizer: Derida Dance Centre Location: Re-purposed cultural venue in the city Indicative budget: € 1,000,000

SHARING IS CARING COMMUNITY FUND Sofia 2019 efforts to advocate and strengthen early and meaningful community participation in the project has resulted in the commitment to establish a community participation fund Sharing is Caring, and a partnership with 18 grassroots community projects already in progress as a starting point. As different as they are – from developing a walking path in Lozenets District to integration of refugees in Voenna Rampa District, from enlivening the Bells Monument in Bistritza district to a social enterprise for the homeless in Banishora District, their unifying traits are community activism and involvement, site-specificity and social innovation, based on community needs of the residential areas outside the city centre.

Starting in 2016, we will support these and other community driven initiatives by launching the Sharing is Caring community fund with a mobile resource unit on wheels visiting these communities and locations such as schools, community centres, marketplaces, university campuses, residential compounds.

Sofia 2019 multidisciplinary team of “angels” will invite community members to workshops and facilitate project development and implementation.

Main organizer: 18 informal groups/networks Location: 20 residential areas in Sofia Indicative budget: € 1,000,000

SHARING SECRETS

BALKAN BEAT

There is a substantial part of Sofia and its culture that remains mysterious, forgotten, abandoned or just overlooked. Few people know about it or talk about it.

The culture of convergence, which is peculiar to the Balkans, is exemplified by the Balkan Brass Band tradition, linking Ottoman military music with Balkan folk music and Roma music. Balkan beats are unmistakably recognizable and have spread around the world. But the tradition comprises a myriad of local and personal adaptations. This is the underlying theme of the Balkan Beat project.

Keeping in mind the social dimension of art and culture, we set off on a journey, unearthing hidden gems and invisible communities, with My Sofia Tours, Streets of Europe and I Came to Sofia.

It is an open secret that Sofia’s residents are generally dissatisfied with the city’s water features. This situation will be challenged in an attempt to transform Sofia into a Reflective City.

We will give voice to the immigrant communities to engage with aspects of the city. In Balkan Beat, we will throw the spotlight on Balkan brass music. Fierce, seductive, soul-shaking and border-defying, brass music is arguably the most widely shared and popular music in the region.

Sofia 2019 aims to make a move from merely tolerating the unpredictable to actually accepting it, and even appreciating it.

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This exhilarating and celebratory music is the obvious basis of a shared Balkan heritage. Along with Ivo Papazov – an international celebrated Roma Bulgarian star, and Teodosii Spasov, the project will attract bands and composers from Turkey, Northern Greece, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro. Thanks to music’s invigorating power, the project will allow us to share pure joy – amidst cultural clashes.

This mini festival will tour the region and take place in Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik, with brass battles, street performances, music streaming and playlists.

Main organaizer: Partnership with a.o. Brazzobrazie Fest Location: Outdoor locations in Sofia and the SWR Indicative budget: € 700,000

THE REFLECTIVE CITY Most cities have their sore points – for Sofia this is water. With no river or waterfront, a couple of manmade park lakes and often non-functional fountains as symbols of past pride, urban water features and basins serve as emotional reflections of a never-ending transition.

Curators Maria Vasileva, Sofia City Gallery, and Pavlina Mladenova, director of Videoholica Festival, will turn the urban water surfaces (existing and temporary) into an open-door gallery of the city, by the city and with the city; a “screen” seen as an alternative, hidden layer of Sofia.

Artists Grimanesa Amoros (PE), Candas Sismn (TR), Max Hattler (GB/DE), Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova, Sabin Vasilev and Neno Belchev (BG), Olafur Eliasson (DK), ElektrikMe (BG), HR-Stamenov (BG), and Incite (DE) will create 10 site-specific video, media, sound and light installations, reflecting on the topic of grand and dubious urban endeavors.

The project challenges many notions of the public realm and will attract people along routes from Druzhba to Zapaden Park to comment on pressing or problematic issues.

Main organizer: Sofia City Gallery , Videoholika Association Location: 10 water features in Sofia Indicative budget: € 900,000

MY SOFIA CITY TOURS The project builds upon the vast success of the Free Sofia Tour and will be instrumental in developing many 2019 themes. It will encourage efforts to rediscover parts of the urban heritage, while developing a greater awareness of the diversity of the city – architectural, social, and cultural.

Free Sofia Tour will invite and train citizens and experts to devise authentic tours in the city (My Sofia), based on personal experiences and memories. In the kick-off period, we will count on the participation of well-known people, followed by city volunteers, who will apply with their route ideas.

This initiative will be developed as of 2015, exploring certain districts and testing the tours. Having strong educational, social and cultural aspects in empowering citizens, this project has the potential to become a grassroots mobilization tool.

Main organizer: Free Sofia Tour Location: Entire city Indicative budget: € 300,000

STREETS OF EUROPE

EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP DNA

Street names are significant cultural indicators as to how conceptions of the city change the cityscape and people’s experience of it. Street names confer meaning on urban space. Based on historic links, currently Sofia has over 30 streets named after diverse European cities, among them the boulevards Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, and Madrid; the squares of Helsinki, the Hague, and Portugal; and the streets of Paris, Munich, Thessaloniki, Budapest, Skopje, Lyublyana, and Zagreb.

The work of the Czech artist David Cerny, commissioned to mark the Czech EU presidency in 2009, offered ironic analysis of national stereotypes and cultural identities. Most works stirred little reaction, but the squat toilet symbolizing Bulgaria provoked political and media overreactions in the country, and demands for an apology. This is one of several instances revealing the cultural insecurity accompanying Bulgaria’s EU membership.

Each of these streets will host a temporary cultural representation of the respective city/country, thus turning into walk-in cultural institutes in a civil society-driven cultural exchange.

Concrete places for human-scale international programming will be offered to each city/country – spaces could be house galleries, empty shops, clubs, cafes, poster walls, schools, bus shelters.

As the streets with European city names are dispersed all over Sofia, the programs will be well integrated in the city fabric.

Sofia will also offer exchange projects to the respective cities.

This project relates to Europe of Regions and European City networks including Eurocities and ECoC cities are being involved. The National European Cultural Institutes will be partners in the project and will all provide links to international partners.

Within this framework, many citizen-based exchange projects will take place, including with arts organizations and community groups. A conference on European exchanges and partnership models, together with the Committee of the Regions, is planned for 2016.

Main organizer: EUNIC network in BG Location: Over 30 streets across Sofia Indicative budget: € 850,000

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Among the aims of contemporary art is to provoke debate, create controversy, or force the viewer to question the obvious. Achieving that end is a victory for art and imagination over complexes and reductive thinking. The Red House Center for Culture and Debate, together with around 15 other debate and cultural centres across Europe, will co-curate a year-long program of discussions on combustion situations, where local tensions and uncertainty can drive disputes over art. The project will also feature experimental works from international independent artists in the performing and visual arts and film.

At the same time, now that the enthusiasm for the European family is cooling, the ongoing debates will aim to revitalize the idea of Europe as a community of values. We will explore the composition of European citizenship – the glue that binds us together.

Main organizer: The Red House Sofia Location: Red House – Center for Culture and Debate Indicative budget: € 800,000

I CAME TO SOFIA… As many cities in Europe, particularly in outside border countries, the challenges of migration are one of the key issues of our city and despite decades of concern, legislation and investment, models of integration and co-existence are anything but standard.

A number of organizations in Sofia involved with migrant communities will work together to create to give migrants a voice and to engage with aspects of the city. With the city attracting up to 90% of all

migrants in the country (mainly from the Middle East and China), uniting efforts, scaling up and exchanging with the rest of Europe is a growing necessity.

Based on successful experience of cultural projects with immigrants, the partners will create a new specially provided venue at the Women’s Market, traditionally known as “the place for migrants”, and work with migrant groups on cultural projects which will both develop their skills and ability to be involved in the city, and provide opportunities for art self-expression.

The new venue will be the meeting spot where different migrant communities living in Sofia will regularly organize cultural initiatives and events such as thematic talks and presentations, language courses, film screenings, exhibitions, social games.

The format will be an ongoing “travel journal”, relating stories of migration which will both be a global cultural portrait and a personal account.

Main organaizer: Sofia 2019 and partners Location: Sofia City Library Indicative budget: € 1,050,000

SHARING GREEN

TASTE THIS

Sofia’s environmental record has often been less than exemplary and the city still faces numerous environmental challenges. We take the opportunity to demonstrate that public art, in collaboration with other disciplines, can create remarkable places that encourage sustainability and responsible stewardship of the environment.

We live in a time passionately seeking ways to achieve sustainable food and living. Kyustendil and its region is an area where built-in environment has coexisted in harmony with orchards, mineral springs, mountain hills, and family farms.

Leading European artists will be commissioned to do site-specific projects.

They will be offered unique opportunities, ranging from large-scale permanent installations to ephemeral projects by the seven Rila Lakes, all of which will have to be built with natural materials, in the Earth, Wind and Water project.

We will link art with activist concerns of energy efficiency and the restoration of the natural world in damaged areas.

In Taste This, we will create new balances between heritage, nature, sustainable culture and organic food, by engaging communities in growing/cooking, food will be emphasized as a social activity. We will showcase retrospective work, but we will primarily commission contemporary work reflecting on nature, landscape, and food. The project is an attempt to rediscover and redefine the region, reconnecting people to the potential of their shared landscape.

With projects like Urban Gardens and Farms and Taste This, we want to bring nature back into the urban environment, using experimental architecture, urban farming, slow travel and slow food.

We feature creative projects with the potential to attract audiences eager to interact with artists on common concerns, such as the meaning of sustainable art in the city.

Sofia 2019 aims to re-envision ecological relationships within the city, as highlighted by It’s a Paper World and the Code Fire projects.

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Kyustendil’s rich agricultural tradition has been somewhat lost over the last decades, although traditional festive gatherings like the Cherry Festival or the Harvest Festival are still very popular.

Most importantly, we want to raise a new generation of sustainable solution seekers. Constituting both a return to nature and a venture into contemporary art, the project is a catalyst for creating an active community in Kyustendil and Sofia for sustainable food, art and tourism. As a program, it will run through the entire summer season. A production team involving the city, Slow Food Bulgaria and artists like Casey Angelova (New York/Kyustendil) and Efrat Green (Haifa/Kyustendil), will manage the open source content and the art commissions.

In collaboration with Slow Food and over 15 other partners, Kyustendil will turn the June Cherry Fest into a week-long eco food, agriculture and art festival, packed with events and activities focused on real food, farmers, small producers, traditional Bulgarian products, fruits and vegetables, biodiversity, nature, agriculture and community.

All cultural venues in Kyustendil have agreed to host the event and create individual programs. There will also be cooking classes, an online cooking book for cherry recipes, a farmers’ market, Slow Food Eat-in and a Disco Soup drawing attention to food waste.

The Vladimir Dimitrov Gallery will be refurbished and the Union of Bulgarian Artists will organize a series of plein air sessions and exhibitions, while the Regional History Museum will curate a Regional Edible History exposition. Finally, performances and events linking to symbolic elements and rituals of food will also be programmed.

Kyustendil will commission the design and construction of 5 vintage points/landscape observatory/land shelters to invite walking tours through Osogovo.

Main organaizer: City of Kyustendil, Slow Food Location: “Vladamir Dimitrov” gallery, Kyustendil History Museum, 10 venues throughout Kyustendil Indicative budget: € 1,100,000

Panagiya fest, Kyustendil 2012

EARTH, WIND AND WATER

SMALL AND GREEN IS BEAUTIFUL

The Seven Rila Lakes, a group of lakes of glacial origin in the northwestern Rila Mountains, are scattered among impressive peaks and deep gorges, between 2,100 and 2,500 m above sea level. The lakes have been a mythical and sacred place for centuries and remain completely “untouched”. Every August 19, thousands of members of the White Brotherhood or Danovites congregate to greet dawn with rhythmic unison dancing in a large circle. Only 90 km from Sofia, the lakes are a popular destination.

Sofia 2019 will launch three micro funds as part of its commitment to engage local communities in 2019: a green fund, a youth fund, and a local community fund. These are expected to attract many new participants in the cultural field.

Their unique secluded landscape will be the backdrop and inspiration for seven special art events over seven summer weeks, using only natural materials and solar or wind energy. Each of the artists, all deeply involved with environmental matters, will create a site-specific work “with a light footprint”, which will heighten the experience of the landscape.

At this stage, we introduce five of the proposed projects.

Composer Pierre Sauvageot, director of Lieux Publics, Marseilles, will place his massive installation of wind-driven instruments and sound structures reacting to the winds. Danish visual artist Elle-Mie Ejdrup Hansen will install her “light, vocal and landscape” project with one hundred lighting/listening posts across the hillside, with hundreds of recorded voices of citizens reciting European poets. Anguas Farquhar, Creative Director of the Scottish company NVA, will create a mythical night-time procession, premiered in Edinburgh in 2012, where hundreds of participants with headlamps walk up the mountainside, while spectators can watch them from the city.

Walking figures become a giant artwork. Finally, artists Rob Mulholland (UK) Tanya Preminger (IL), Anke Mellin (DE) and WIll Becker (BE) will create land art projects in the area. Each of the projects will be produced together with local participants and the creations will also be accompanied by workshops and classes.

Main organaizer: Sofia 2019, Rila National Park Location: The Seven Rila Lakes area Indicative budget: € 1,600,000

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The city launched its Green Sofia Program in 2011.

The program is open to apartment block owners or CSOs to regenerate or plan anew small-scale community green areas. Almost €500,000 in grants have been provided so far to around 250 community groups, covering material expenses only.

Starting in 2016, Sofia’s Green Fund will be redesigned. Its annual budget will be doubled with matching funds from Sofia 2019. It will broaden in scope and, most importantly, it will include an artistic and cultural element. A team of landscapers, architects and designers will work with the selected communities on the design of the interventions, raising the artistic and social value of the green renovation projects. We aim to achieve increased community involvement in public spaces transformation and bring contemporary art practices closer to citizens.

Main organaizer: Sofia City Location: Public spaces, residential areas across the city Indicative budget: € 700,000

URBAN GARDENS AND FARMS Sofia lags behind most of its European counterparts in terms of sustainable urban development. This is partly due to social priorities and economic hardships, but widespread negative attitudes towards growing food in the city, inherited from the pre-1989 period, also play a role. The movement of urban gardens/farms is still marginal. As a result, we are facing severe challenges: polluted air (up to 4 times higher than the European city norm) and obese children (6th in Europe). Our Urban Gardening Project includes learning communities, infrastructure, practices and initiatives testing different approaches.

Sofia 2019 is working with the City Education Department and will establish a network of minimum 10 schools in Sofia and the region to set up school farms growing fruit and vegetables. Schoolyards currently covered in asphalt will turn green again. The school curriculum will include sustainable farming and cooking classes. By “reinventing food”, these farming and gastronomic pioneers will turn eating into a more creative experience, challenging traditional notions of food.

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Sofia will transform one of its open-air market places, Borovo, into a permanent farmers’ market of organic produce, a permanent meeting space for over 100 bio-farmers and citizens passionate about healthy food.

Based on scattered examples of guerilla urban farming, we will encourage the creation of community gardens in back courtyards, on roof terraces and even in car parks by supporting temporary “gardening chill-out” zones.

The University Botanical Garden will serve as an environmental advice centre, offering tips, demonstrations and seminars on subjects such as cutting fruit trees, the right way to compost or build habitats for beneficial organisms. These are particularly useful at a time when do-it-yourself has become so fashionable.

Main organaizer: Slow Food convivia in Bulgaria Location: School yards, Borovo open market, suburban spaces Indicative budget: € 600,000

GREEN DOT ANIMATION This co-creation project features renowned animation artists from all over Europe. Great creative minds like Phil Mulloy (UK), Evert de Beijer (NL), Matei Branea (RO), Ivan Bogdanov (BG), Izabela Plucinska (PL), Veronika Obertova (SK), Vanja Andrijevic (CR), Andrea Martignoni (IT), and Vera Neubauer (UK/CZ) will create each a short piece of animation. The only requirement for the content of the animation is that it should start and end with a 250 pixel green dot in the exact middle of the screen.

The green dot can become anything – a tree, a character, a building, a city, and it can tell its own story of green sharing, before becoming a dot again in 20 seconds. The project will invite additional entries from all over Europe. The most inventive entries will be put together to form a sequence showing the state-of-the-art in animation on the topic of sustainable culture in resilient cities.

Main organaizer: Compote Collective Location: Vitosha Open Air Cinema Indicative budget: € 350,000

IT'S A PAPER WORLD The Sofia Paper Arts Fest is a recent initiative that has achieved a unique position internationally. For Sofia 2019, the fest team is preparing a major international project, It’s a Paper World. Using paperbased materials only, the project will engage with design, fashion, sculpture/visual art and architecture. Paper, wood pulp and cardboard are the basis for many household objects, but they are also increasingly used in temporary constructions, survival kits in disaster areas, housing pods for the homeless, plus lifestyle products such as clothing and furniture. From third-world urban townships to environmentally conscious designers in the first world, the possibilities of paper to offer cheap, flexible, renewable and recyclable products are endless.

It’s a Paper World will feature an inspirational series of exhibitions curated and via open call: origami, paper architecture, designing with paper, art paperwork, wearing paper. At the same time, there will be an extensive education program to engage students in sustainability and art & design issues. Paper Playgrounds will be set up to collect and reuse paper and cardboard.

The event infrastructure framework will also be paper made. There will be pods the public and visitors can rent. Participating artists include the Swiss artist Zimoun with cardboard sound environments, Julie Vaibel, young UK/German designer, with her collection of Collapsible Fashion, the French artist Olivier Grosetëte with the Fleeting City - specially made cardboard boxes which can be constructed into 5m-high buildings by volunteers, and the American architect Frank Gerhy with his collection of cardboard furniture.

The key figure in It’s a Paper World will be the Japanese artist Shigeru Ban, recently named the 2014 winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize. Ban is renowned for his disaster relief design and use of environmentally aware unconventional materials – eco architecture – and in particular, his signature waterproof and fireproof paper tubes. He is an inspiring leader for humanitarian architecture and experimental design.

CODE FIRE We will say goodbye to the summer season with a spectacular fire event. The art of fire is an art of transcendent experience. Inspiring respect for the natural elements, it brings people closer to nature.

Cross-disciplinary European artists and formations will gather together at Pancharevo Lake, where on a floating stage they will present over 20 theatre shows, performances, installations, and interactive happenings with fire. Producers will be Fire Theatre Company and Fireter.

Main organaizer: Fire Theatre Company, Fireter Location: Pancharevo lake Indicative budget: € 350,000

Main organaizer: Amateras Foundation Location: Various spaces in the city Indicative budget: € 850,000

Shigeru ban japan pavillion, universal exhibition, hanover 2000

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SHARING POSSIBILITIES In this program, we look to the future in various ways. Young people who are key to the growth of our city and of Europe, emerging media and art forms, creative solutions and ideas - these are the major foundations on which Europe’s future will be built. The Emerging Makers, Experimentarium and Ars Electronica, and Muzeiko all provide such long-term perspectives.

We want to find ways to encourage all young people to use their creative resources, enabling them to effect positive and constructive changes.

We also aim to engage with cultural diversity, while maintaining cultural identity and social cohesion. The program creates links among social workers, educators, cultural organizations, the media, and artists in projects such as The World in Photos.

We plan to increase and share places where creative exploration and experimentation can be safely practiced by the young. Art education and creation is an endangered species which we need to revive.

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SOFIA CONVERSATIONS OF A SOUL FOR EUROPE

EXPERIMENTARIUM AND ARS ELECTRONICA

After the Sofia conferences Sofia Conversations in 2009, 2011 and 2013, the European network Soul for Europe is committed to holding three largescale international event in Sofia every second year (2015-17-19), bringing together individuals from the cultural sector, politicians and representatives of the media, the business world and other areas of society. The Sofia Conversations will be an ongoing civil society platform to define and initiate specific, common steps to strengthen the cultural component of tomorrow’s Europe. The conference topics in 2015-17-19 will look at changing European dynamics such as: from macroeconomics to micro communities, from financial markets to community resources, from post-modern aesthetics to new world-order ethics.

The Experimentarium is a major proposal to establish a new learning/experience centre in the Balkans for children and young people to experiment with science and education. This is part of Sofia Tech Park, which will be fully functional in September 2015. The Experimentarium will create a place to experience hands-on science and technology, while also offering training programs for teachers.

Sofia 2019 will contribute a budget for a “Speakers Corner” at each conference, where European citizens will be invited to attend and present their ideas.

There will also be an intensive outreach program involving schools and universities with the topics of discussion.

Main organaizer: A Soul for Europe Location: Conference halls, schools, universities in Sofia Indicative budget: € 450,000

Sofia 2019 will be supporting this project in the development of a travelling platform, which will re-locate for periods of time to schools and cultural centres. In 2019, the travelling platform is committed to visiting other Bulgarian and Balkan cities, with residencies of 1 to 4 weeks.

While the platform travels, the experimental lab of ARS Electronica in Linz will be hosted at Sofia Tech Park. Ars Electronica has been at the forefront of the interaction between radical, innovative ideas in the arts, emerging technologies, media and everyday life since 1979. This will be the first time the lab participates in a Balkan project.

The year-long program with AE will not only attract interest to the centre, but it will also inspire and inform our own creative sector. The precise format of the partnership is being designed, but it is certain to be radical and unique.

Main organaizer: Sofia Tech Park Location: Sofia Tech Park, schools and cultural centers on the Balkans Indicative budget: € 1,050,000

MUZEIKO

REPORTEEN

The first children’s edutainment centre – to open in 2015 - was designed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture (USA), with over 100 Bulgarian architects, graphic designers, illustrators and scientists participating in the development of the concept of the exhibits.

Based on a currently running national project, the Centre for Educational Initiatives, Sofia, will work with the Radio and TV Journalism School-RAI of Perugia to elaborate a European digital platform for teenagers. The platform will be based on short video films produced with personal smart phones on an annually selected topic, related to key issues like exclusion, tolerance, and freedom.

Muzeiko will offer interactive experience in the areas of Archeology, Geology, Paleontology, the Natural World, Constructed Worlds, Communications, Energy, Space Technology, Arts and Culture.

In 2019 Muzeiko will host international summer residencies to offer six European artists time, space and a supportive community to exchange ideas and focus on their current work. The museum will invite individuals and artist collectives interested in collaboration and interdisciplinary dialogue to conceive new working methods involving kids.

Projects may take countless forms, such as multimedia performances, theatrical productions, animated filmmaking, immersive installations, and online projects, and the products will tour the region. The artists in residence in Sofia will cooperate and cocreate with artists in residence at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Main organaizer: Muzeiko Location: Muzeiko Indicative budget: € 950,000

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The project stimulates freedom of expression, trains media skills and establishes a basis for debate on the subject. It also generates a huge audience on the Web (already 45,000 views by 30,000 unique users).

The project will host a ReporTeen Academy to develop skills through mentoring and sharing knowledge, supported by local and European youth and media organizations. Its main partner will be European Youth Press (a network with over 20 member organizations), and the selected video reportages, with their authors, will be featured at the European Youth Media Days held every October in the European Parliament in Brussels. This event gathers 60,000+ young European journalists.

Main organaizer: Centre for Educational Initiatives Location: Schools in Sofia and Perugia (IT), EU Parliament Indicative budget: € 250,000

EMERGING MAKERS

WORLD WIDE ART DIARY

The European Investment Fund, under the name JEREMIE, is already in Bulgaria. With 21 million Euros to spend, the fund has branched into two divisions for the Bulgarian market: LAUNCHub and Eleven. These two have developed an investment strategy based on seed funding, instead of giving out large sums at once, which increases both the success rate and the motivation for a further investment.

We want to involve the widespread Bulgarian diaspora of young artists, creators, professionals and intellectuals living and working outside of Bulgaria to create a broader sphere of reference for Sofia’s cultural life in a multifaceted deliberation on global issues.

So far, no creative entrepreneurs have benefited from this opportunity. To address this problem, the three biggest shared creative spaces: init Lab Hackerspace in Sofia, SOHO and Betahaus, will have open calls to select promising creative entrepreneurs. Co-working communities pull young people from all areas of interest closer: designers, hackers, techies, developers. They will provide free working space, mentoring and ongoing development support for six months, helping emerging makers take their business or craft to the next level. At the same time, through its Tandem program, the European Cultural Foundation will accommodate exchanges with artisans and cultural professionals in other countries in order to further ambitious cross-border projects.

Sofia becomes a global city and extends its boundaries for one year. Vasko Vassilev, violin player, London, Samuel Finzi, actor, Berlin, Vladimir Valkov, the only Bulgarian given the 40 under 40 Design and Architecture Award, California, together with 362 other Bulgarians located in different cities in the world, will reflect and comment on the day – from the point of view of their experience and sense of belonging. Artists will draw comparisons, bringing to the fore unexpected perspectives and connections between cities and cultures.

Zone Culture Art Fest, Sofia 2014

Main organaizer: Partnership with a.o. SoHo, Betahaus Location: SoHo, Betahaus, init Lab Hackerspace Indicative budget: € 2,200,000

This “world-wide art diary” will be an online, multilingual platform, and will have a daily media component. It will also have a physical home in downtown Sofia – where debates and discussions will be staged, based on themes and “breaking views” in the diary. Local editors/bloggers will engage art communities to spread the diary. The project will be implemented by the independent sector through an open call, with the involvement and support of Bulgarian cultural institutes abroad.

Main organaizer: State Cultural Institute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Location: Online, media Indicative budget: € 350,000

Zone Culture Art Fest, Sofia 2014 63 Sharing Sofia

Zone Culture Art Fest, Sofia 2014

TRANSLATION LAB

THE WORLD IN PHOTOS

English may currently be the dominant world language, but a great deal of literature, classical and contemporary, was and is written in other languages.

These works are either accessible only to those who know the original language, or in translation. Publishers tend to claim that readers are not interested in literature in translation, but they also offer few samples. Certainly, there is a general loss of interest in European translations that stands in contrast to almost every other area. With 55 disappearing languages in Europe and a really negligible amount of literary works from smaller languages, the richly faceted language map of Europe is threatened, as is the access to diverse contemporary literature.

Emmi Barouh and Albena Spasova (both with Fotofabrika) will annually curate large-scale open-air exhibitions of best world reportage photos in Sofia.

This initiative will culminate in 2019.

Sofia 2019 has the ambition to become a hub for facilitating exchange between lesser European languages, as well as between the literatures of Europe’s immediate neighbors on the east and south.

Led by the international literary and translation organization Next Page, based in Sofia and devoted to encouraging and developing the literary sector in “peripheral” languages, the city will launch a series of initiatives directed towards the general audience and professionals. Focusing on contemporary writing and its translations, the project will bring together translators-in-residence and provide a physical space where translation as a lab and a hub will try to find ways of reaching more diverse and younger audiences.

From “The Protesting Person” (2014) and “Geo-political Creative Destruction” (2015), the themes of the exhibitions will reflect on the current social and political trends, and will make bold statement in the public space with over 100 photos of impressive size on billboards and facades.

The confirmed partners in the project are leading photo/news agencies from around the world. AP Photographers, Reuters, DPA, AFP, and ITAR-TASS will search/deliver photos. They are also committed to promoting the project as a global event.

The project will also become a platform for professional exchange working with languages as diverse as Croatian, Estonian, Danish or Georgian. Thus, common challenges can inspire common solutions.

The program’s culmination will be a translation “fair” showcasing translations from “small languages”, with different platforms and events (workshops, instant translations, market for independent publishers & their authors, etc.), to be held in October 2019 in Sofia.

Main organaizer: Next Page Foundation Location: Sofia University, Sofia City Library Indicative budget: € 700,000

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Photo exhibition, National Palace of Culture bridge

The World in Photos will also work with 50 high schools in the Sofia region to organize a photo hunt and a competition on the same annual themes. Students will share their views on acute social issues, while some of the exhibited photographers will be invited to take master classes and select the photos.

Fotofabrika will work with its partners, among which the Photographic Observatory in Ravenna, Photo España and Les Rencontres Arles-Photographie, to take the photo exhibition to different parts of Europe.

Main organizer: Fotofabrika Location: Public spaces in Sofia, Madrid, Ravenna, Arles Indicative budget: € 750,000

SHARING CREATIVITY This is an interdisciplinary program focused on the creative use of technology in art-making practices.

We will work with organisations and artists that are active in the digital sphere or need to develop this aspect, either through creating digital art or by using digital technologies to support audience engagement. The Sofia Digital Art Platform will be established and We Are Visual will offer a reflection of the current state of Europe.

A generation of digital natives is already starting to make its mark in the creative industries. We believe that openness and collaboration are what will turn a technological capability into a social asset. We will therefore explore the potential of video gaming in Video Gaming and experimental music in OffChart Music.

Another starting point is our desire to facilitate the cultural engagement of “art abstainers”, while enlivening in-between spaces with pop up structures and programs in Pop Up. We believe the best way to ride the wave is to share the ride.

SOFIA DIGITAL ART PLATFORM

COMPUTER GAMING

There is a huge need to further develop this contemporary art in Sofia. There are few arts organizations that have such expertise at present in Bulgaria. The new platform will aim to unite such scattered initiatives, the expertise and experience of many active artists and show the potential of digital arts.

The EU Commission acknowledges the extremely positive economic and social impact of video games, and for 2014-2020 provides record funding to support innovation in this area. The Bulgarian gaming ecosystem has traditionally been strong. Only for the last two years the sector increased its GDP share by 124%.

The core participants in the platform will be the National Art Academy and its MA in Digital Arts program, the Digital Art Fest, the Computer Space Festival, and the Water Tower Art Festival. The project will also include independent curators and artists.

Starting in 2015/2016 Sofia DAP will establish cooperation with arts organizations and festivals to present leading European digital artists, including Stelarc, Maurice Benayoun, Roy Ascott, Carsten Nikolai, Ubermorgen, Christophe Bruno, Tony Ousler, and Scott Snibbe.

From 2017/2018 curators will select works of Bulgarian digital artists like Krasimir Terziev, Petko Durmana, Venelin Shurelov, Kalin Serapionov, Ivan Mudov, Ergin Chavushoglu, Daniela Kostova, HR Stamenov, to form large-scale exhibitions in major locations and present Bulgarian digital art.

Sofia DAP will also establish a collection of Bulgarian and European digital artwork - as an archive and resource centre. The centre will offer ongoing programs of workshops, lectures and live events/ presentations for emerging artists and curators, and for the broader audience.

In 2018 the City will invest in 2-3 digital facades and in 2019 a number of works will be commissioned for a program. The program will culminate in Autumn 2019. This will also be part of the Digital Facades program, initiated by Susa Pop, director of Public Arts Lab, Berlin. The Connecting Cities project, supported by the EU, will be partner in this project.

Main organizer: Sofia City Gallery Location: Various locations around the city Indicative budget: € 1,300,000

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Sofia has a clear potential to build on this resource and to launch an extensive program to underpin emerging designers and producers in a sustainable cluster computer and video gaming model.

The project will comprise of several modules, developed successively over four years: a retrospective program The Art of Video Games in the 80’s and 90’s; a current view of European Video Gaming; a European eSports championship, bringing tens of national CS:GO teams to create interest, expand the market and encourage entrepreneurship; a series of productions commissioned to link with other contemporary art industries like dance, film, and design - creating a full week of activity and opportunity for the games industry.

Young generations will use video games in the future as a tool for acquiring knowledge, rather than pure entertainment. The strong participation in the project will be beneficial to both cultural and educational institutions.

The project will be curated by Martin Kadinov, founder of On!Fest.

Main organizer: Creativity – Foundation for Culture and Education Location: Arena Armeec Hall Indicative budget: € 650,000

POP UP

WE ARE VISUAL

Temporary is the new normal, allowing the city to change its rhythm constantly. In the era of DIY culture, we need to revitalize densely populated highrise residential districts, while activating dead space and in-between spaces. Sofia 2019 will commission the design and construction of five pop up structures for creative activities - temporary galleries, performance and interactive spaces, which will bring no cost to the young independent artists, but will drive traffic to the city’s “lodging locations”.

WE ARE VISUAL will be a wide platform for celebrating young European documentary storytelling, with a number of special events and a curated selection of around 100 documentary shorts made by students from schools in film/media/TV from all over Europe. The selection will be made by a European team of film experts: Boris Mitic (award-winning filmmaker, Serbia), Dimitra Kouzi (festival programmer and media expert, Greece), Sirkka Moeller (curator, Germany), Rada Sesic (festival programmer, The Netherlands), Kumjana Novakova (festival director, Macedonia), Melody Gilbert (director/ producer and film professor, USA) and Martichka Bozhilova (producer, Bulgaria).

Each structure will be mobile, built in inner city and suburb districts, in programs conceived for and with the local communities. The structures will be created specifically for the city locality and will be made by young local designers/artists in design processes in 2017/18. The teams will be led by experienced producers of temporary structures: Marco Carnovacci & Plastic Fantastique, Torino/Berlin with beautiful inflatable spaces; Raumlabor, Berlin, who are at the core of the temporary movement with performative constructions; Bureau Detours, Aarhus, with their mobile container do-it-yourself workshops; Fantastic Norway with their cardboard structures which can be placed in old warehouses and garages.

The project will give exposure to young documentary filmmakers with daring and critically-minded points of view, whose films can provoke debate and social inclusion through high-quality visual elaboration. The advisory board of acclaimed professionals: Cristian Mungiu (Palm d’or Winner), Andrey Paounov (Silver Wolf Winner), Claas Danielsen (DOK Leipzig Director), Veton Nurkollari (DokuFest), and

Main organizer: Sofia 2019 and local partners Location: Residential areas in Sofia center and suburbs, touring Europe Indicative budget: € 600,000

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Pop Up installation, Madrid 2013

Dana Budisavljevic (AnimaDoc Zagreb), will appoint the themes for the selection of European documentary shorts – contemporary, provocative, on important European topics.

The main event is a week of screenings in Sofia, accompanied by workshops, doc hackidemia, case studies, master classes, and a children’s doc program. The web platform will receive a Europeanwide visibility and can engage new audiences for documentary cinema. It will contain a monthly-curated film program out of the selection, debates, a blog, and videos from the master-classes.

The showcase will be a convertible product shown at Bulgarian student film and documentary festivals (New Wave, Sofia Biting Docs, Filmini, Early Bird) and will travel all around Europe to a number of partner festivals.

Main organaizer: Balkan Documentary Center Location: National Palace of Culture Indicative budget: € 400,000

OFF-THE-CHART MUSIC The fast growing community of off-the-chart music makers and lovers will set its outlet platform – a week-long event devoted to experimental electronic music, including Trance, Techno, Dubstep, Breakbeats, and Techhouse.

The former refrigerator plant will host playzones, day and night concerts and parties, VJ battles, processing, squat galleries, jamming, and video projections. Confirmed artists include Molly Nillson, Hiroshi Hassegawa, Luca Massolin. However, the event will bring European artists and musicians who would otherwise be unlikely to perform in Sofia.

Main organizer: National Music Academy Location: Former Refrigeration plant in Sofia Indicative budget: € 350,000

ART INVASIONS As all large cities, Sofia contains a significant share of relatively closed spaces or isolated communities.

Art, when delivered effectively, has the power to facilitate social interaction. It can also enable recipients of social care to pursue creative interests. Sofia 2019 will spread around numerous art invasions with that goal in mind.

Yana Genova together with Nadhezda Radoulova, translator and poet, and Dessislava Morozova, artist and therapist, will hold creative writing sessions behind bars. In Sofia’s central prison and the prisons in Kazichene and Kremikovtsi, currently there are over 1,600 male prisoners, 112 of whom foreigners. 25% of them are engaged in labour activities. On-site and distantly, volunteer writers will mentor convicts in literary self-expression and publish the work that results. Exceptional writers like Georgi Gospodinov will lead the process. At the same time, the film festivals in Sofia and Lecce will make a joint selection for screenings behind bars in the two cities.

From installing wheels on the rear legs of chairs to colourful visual signature system, the senior citi-

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zens in public residential homes – around 1,500 at the moment – will benefit greatly from the work of design students, mentored by experts from leading European design centres. This international group will team up with IKEA to creatively recycle and transform damaged furniture items in the Bargain Corner, and improve the living environment of the elderly, while also offering support to future designers and innovators.

The underfinanced and constantly reformed hospital care system needs outside help to provide a positive healthcare and healing environment for patients, staff and visitors. Art is here to help. Punkt Workshop will curate a program including visual arts and crafts, interior design, events, performances and workshops, external arts and design, sculpture, seating and gardens.

Starting this summer, in cooperation with shop owners along the main pedestrian area Vitosha Blvd., Sofia 2019 will be transforming shop windows into showrooms for new prototypes and design items from young designers who have no easy access to markets.

Stimulating perceptions through art and combating social isolation, the Pro Rodopi foundation, together with Lecce 2019 and Trans Europe Halles, will create an audio, visual, color and light theatre play to work with children with mental disabilities, neurodevelopmental and motor disorders and autism, in 30 health centres in Sofia and the region.

Main organaizer: Sofia 2019 and partners Location: Prisons, homes for elderly people and health centers around the region, shops Indicative budget: € 700,000

EUROPEANA FOR CITIZENS In a society that is becoming ever more reliant on visual media, the visual connections between European citizens is an area with enormous potential for international cultural participation. Based on the European research implemented by Sofia and 11 partners in 7 member states under the FP7 funded SMARTCULTURE project (running from 2012 to 2015), the partners will create a new sharing digital platform EUROPEANA for Citizens, as a specific European project culminating in 2019.

Images, videos, paintings, drawings, maps, photos and pictures will be collected thematically as of 2017. The project combines elements of the rationale and technologies of Wikipedia, Facebook, Photobucket, and blog technology, but adds layers of specially designed network analysis, digital archiving, editing and curating tools to facilitate visual storytelling on different levels.

This form of cultural heritage/memory will be generated not by European cultural institutions, but by the citizens themselves.

Selected themes will all conclude with a series of virtual exhibitions of the generated content. Provided with extensive curatorial information, the exhibitions allow citizens to learn and discover about personal meaning and experience in relevant European narratives. Themes include Proms & Graduations, Urban Kid’s Games, City Elements.

All exhibitions will be available in English. Translations into other languages will be done with the help of volunteers.

Main organizer: Sofia Cluster for Innovation in Culture Location: Online Indicative budget: € 1,025,000

SHARING DREAMS

URBAN EXPLORERS

The final program is designed to anticipate the future, testing possible directions for our city and European metropolises in general.

Utopia, with its daring dream of a just and beautiful society, is given a new chance in From U-topia to You-Sofia, where the goal would be to found utopian ideas on sustainable and inclusive bases. Sofia will act as a laboratory for designers, architects, artists, scientists, leaving ample room for experimentation. This will be a laboratory in which cultural and societal innovation will be generated, resulting in a new creative ecology, new imaginative policies, a new dynamic between artists and communities with Project 11:11 and New European Drama.

Walltopia, a leading designer and producer of climbing walls, with over 200 projects in 150 cities, is based in Sofia. The company creates urban lifestyle playgrounds and activity centres, which attract thousands of users dissatisfied with traditional sports clubs or commercial fitness centres. Young people who would not be seen in an opera house or a library get together in places for social, cultural and physical innovation. The urban activity collider planned for Sofia Tech Park will become a pivot for less competitive and non rule-bound urban sports.

This natural youth hub will be the basis for Urban Explorers. The zone will host street music, street lifestyle, rollerbladers, skaters, street ball and urban climbing. It will form a series of urban camps with participants from Walltopia’s network of urban sites

With our Urban Explorers project, we want to define a clear role for cultural and social practices for Sofia’s young generations and their European counterparts.

We plan to celebrate the innovation in art and culture, also by bringing groundbreaking European artists to mentor and encourage co-productions with upcoming Bulgarian talents, as in The Sofia Wave and Solutions.

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Pop Up installation, Madrid 2013

in often similar urban areas in other countries. Walltopia’s network will come alive with exchanges between urban youth groups acting as hosts. The cities already committed to this program include Stuttgart and Paris.

The project is an alternative, user-driven, informal European cultural exchange program, where issues and themes are given both body and life. It is doing democracy, rather than talking democracy. Driven by young kids and students, as part of a more open urban social framework, the project will try to create cultural zones in urban spaces, balancing autonomy with social inclusion and subculture involvement.

Main organaizer: Walltopia Location: Walltopia in Sofia Tech Park, Sofia parks and streets/lanes Indicative budget: € 500,000

FROM UTOPIA TO YOU-SOFIA

SOLUTIONS

The urban is a continuous search for utopias. One could say that we live in a well reasoned post-utopian era, but we feel the lack of our utopian spirit in many ways. History has taught us that Utopias can easily become dystopias. We will revisit the legitimacy of thinking utopias and dare to challenge our city to be utopian. Rather than just follow or let ourselves be led, we will take the responsibility for our vision. At the same time, utopias have no meaning without individual change.

Social innovation can be the renaissance of problem solving in addressing social issues like poverty, social isolation, aging, and homelessness.

From Utopia to You-Sofia is intended to be an annual gathering and a source of continuous search for different trajectories, based on cities and citizens as its main driving force.

The program includes discussions and talks from world-class speakers, but also performances, exhibitions, temporary installations and interactive experiences. Sofia is an ideal place for such a platform – indeed, Sofia is a place where both past utopias have misfired and where utopian vision is sorely needed.

As our main European partner, we have invited Culture Action Europe, a key platform for arts and cultural organizations in Europe, concerned with ensuring cultural engagement in the future of Europe. We will invite European networks such as Eurocities, Rencontres, Nordic City Network, The European Green Cities Network to engage.

From Utopia to You-Sofia will also be the theme of school teaching programs in the autumn, projects and essays in collaboration with the City Education Department. We have invited the Schools of Architecture Design and Media to use the theme as a starting point for student projects. At the core of the project, there will be a clear artistic multidisciplinary program; it will be curated by a team of both local and European artists and will involve creators with a clear visionary perspective.

Main organaizer: University of Architecture Location: Sofia galleries, cultural centers, universities Indicative budget: € 1,250,000

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The American University in Blagoevgrad, in partnership with the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (a network of 20 universities worldwide), will launch a large-scale Social Innovation Gathering and invite Balkan/European students to look beyond tried solutions to today’s critical issues. Instead, students will try to design new approaches and ways of thinking about the issues’ root causes. The aim is to create, innovate and celebrate.

Each edition of this annual “open source” event will have a special focus and will issue an international call for participation. The project will be tested/developed from 2016.

For ten days, two hundred international students will gather to be a part of a “young version of Davos”.

Partner universities will contribute with lecturers and mentors for the project. External partners and specialists will be invited to attend. We have also asked the EuropeanDaily newspaper to become a media partner for the project. Solutions will feature TEDxAUBG and will change the way young talent interacts with the business community and with public bodies.

Main organaizer: American University in Bulgaria Location: American University in Bulgaria Indicative budget: € 725,000

EUROPEAN MAKERS: THE SOFIA WAVE The spotlight will fall on the next generation of Bulgarian creators. This is a program of commissions for Bulgarian and European co-productions, which will be developed in 2016-2018 for the next generation of talented artists working with European mentors/curators/creators.

An open call for proposals will be made in 2015/16, and workshops will be set up with the selected artists, and eventually staged as co-productions launched in Autumn 2019. The Sofia Wave supports, promotes and produces up-and-coming artists and facilitates their first European creative collaborations.

In The Sofia Wave, we will work with a number of our contemporary visual arts, performing arts and film/media institutions, national art schools and festivals.

We will invite experienced and leading European artists/creators as mentors in the process to guide and support the projects. We are also in contact with a number of European producing centres/festivals regarding co-productions. The project is designed for 20-30 mentoring collaborations.

Potential mentors we have contacted include Jan Lauwers, Jan Farbre, Katie Mitchel, Tim Etchells, Thomas Ostermeier, Deborah Warner, Joseph Nadj, Sacha Waltz, Sidi Larbi, Jo Strømgren, Wayne McGreggor, Bjork, Alexander Opitz, Matthias Lilienthal.

Mentors will be associated with the project for three years and will clearly strengthen not only relations but also the artistic product. Sofia Wave will be developed in collaboration with the art universities in Sofia and their festivals for students/young artists.

Main organaizer: 3 Sofia schools of performing arts Location: 5 art schools in Sofia Indicative budget: € 2,200,000

NEW EUROPEAN DRAMA Within an area of 2 km2 in the city, between Rakovski Blvd. and Zaimov Park, one can find over 10 theatres with 19 stages and almost 4,500 seats. This theatre habitat, a place of unmatched energy at the heart of a cultural metropolis, will collectively produce a new European drama season for the autumn of 2019. All theatres have agreed to participate. New European Drama will be at the heart of the city.

Working with a group of European playwrights and directors, and theatres/festivals specializing in contemporary drama e.g. Kaai Theatre, Bruxelles, Royal Court Theatre, London, Traverse, Edinburgh, Kotars Contemporary Drama Festival, Budapest, Neue Stucke aus Europe, Wisbaden, Sofia 2019 will gather a collection of new European theatre texts published between 2016 and 2018.

The starting point will be texts on the human condition, seeking new guidelines in the context of more than a decade of unrest, of continual natural and societal shocks. Each theatre will select one of the plays, and in the autumn season, the 10 theatres will have consecutive premieres.

The series will be the first opportunity for all theatres in the city to work together. Hopefully, the stage will come at the centre of future-orientated civil debates, featuring some of the most exciting European playwrights of our time - some undoubtedly for the first time in Bulgaria.

Main organaizer: Sofia 2019 and 10 theatres Location: 10 theatres in Sofia Indicative budget: € 1,100,000

11:11.

The first national exhibition of contemporary unconventional art “11.11.89”, which was an alternative to the national art exhibition, was held in Blagoevgrad’s city gallery, literally on the eve of the fall of Todor Zhivkov’s socialist regime in November 1989. The “coincidence” has acquired a highly symbolic value.

The symbolic appearance of the Bulgarian avantgarde was “rediscovered and re-enacted” in May 2014 by a group of cutting-edge Bulgaria artists, who staged installations, happenings and site-specific interventions in the city.

Inspired by the event, the curatorial team of Svilen Stefanov, Dimitar Grozdanov, and Elena Panayotova is now proposing to expand it. Thirty years after ´89, they will “re-enact” the original 11.11.89 exhibition and invite European artists whose works stand clearly outside mainstream institutions and conventional identity-based aesthetics.

Main organaizer: Blagoevgrad City Gallery Location: Blagoevgrad City Gallery & outdoor Indicative budget: € 750,000

LET THERE BE LIGHT As one of the concluding projects of the year, we will work with light as a symbolic but also a highly necessary element in the context of the city and invite citizens to experience Sofia transformed with images, messages, references, colors and shapes as another layer or mantel commenting on the city and looking towards the future.

The issue of light and lighting in the city of Sofia is a key policy area in urban development. In 2010 Sofia collaborated with the international lighting network LUCI (65 cities are members) on assessing and reviewing lighting in the city (infrastructure, service levels, sustainability, design, public satisfaction), which resulted in a city decision to invest in the sector over a five-year period 2012-2016. This first phase is concentrating on street lighting.

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On that basis Sofia 2019 has invited international partners to support a long-term creative lighting strategy which will develop a series of major lightbased projects in the city. The format will be a biennale launched in Autumn 2015, with different focus for each edition. With three biennale in 2015-17-19 the focus will be on “façade lighting and architectural lighting”, “media and interactive lighting” and finally “performative lighting” in December 2019.

The biennale will engage lighting architects, designers, artists and also involve art, architecture, design schools with projects commissioned and designed for both city centre spaces/buildings as well as suburban housing estates.

We will be working with experienced European partners: Susa Pop/Mirrjam Struppek from Public Arts Lab/Media Facades Festival, Aarhus Biennale of Architecture and Media, Tallinn Light Biennale, Eindhoven Biennale and Lighting Guerilla festival Ljubljana.

Among the artists already contacted are Guerilla Lighting, Jenny Holz (USA), Olafur Eliassen (Iceland/DK), Dean Skira (Croatia), United Visual Artists (London), Luzinterruptus (Madrid), Bruce Munroe (USA). We will select artists and designers who not only use lighting in the urban context but are also both socially and politically involved, many reuse material, engage the public in their work directly and many work with text or messages to focus on relevant issues. However, the works are always compellingly uplifting, original and engaging.

Each Biennale will be preceded by a season long workshops with residencies to prepare the basis for commissioning site-specific work. The projects will be used to inform and support a more adventurous and innovative long-term lighting strategy in the city.

Main organaizer: Sofia 2019, Sofia City, LUCI network Location: 50 locations throughout the city Indicative budget: € 1,200,000

3. How does the city plan to choose the projects/events which will consttute the program for the year?

The overall structure of Sofia 2019 has already been decided. The three themes and nine programs form a distinct framework for making and presenting culture and art, and for generating significance.

Core program: 62 projects are included and we estimate only a further 15-20 additional key projects to make the core program. These will be developed by the team in consultation with partners and communities and outline plans already exist for these after the bid process. The Artistic Director and his/her team will lead this process.

Individual projects: We estimate around 150-200 smaller scale projects linked to the themes and core program. These individual projects will be selected through one-round of open calls, for each of the nine programs.

For the open calls, a clear set of criteria will be established to evaluate proposals. The latter will be evaluated by the program team and the program director will present to the Steering Committee proposals for inclusion in the program and for support.

Associated projects: We will include a number of associated projects in 2019 only. These will be major events/festivals which will link to Sofia 2019 themes, but will be self-financed. These will be identified by a separate logo as “Associated Sofia 2019”.

Apart from the general goal of achieving a balanced agenda, we have set the following objectives for the project selection process: Year-round balance.

We plan to allocate 30% – 40% – 30% of the program budget to each of the three thematic seasons respectively.

Geographical spread.

We aim to strike a balance between the city and the

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region. We have committed to have one main project/event in each thematic season hosted in the three SWR cities, building on their strengths and specifics: Pernik in Past Imperfect, Kyustendil in Present Continuous, Blagoevgrad in Future Reflective. We plan to have 75% Sofia-based and 25% regional/national program.

Thematic balance.

For all thematic calls, the application procedure and review forms will be designed to elicit the information needed to judge the overall thematic balance and integrative value of each proposal; the artistic team and the call managers will weigh up these aspects, as well as artistic quality, when making acceptance decisions. The series of open calls also allows for appropriate targeting in response to evidence of misbalances that need to be corrected. We plan 35% activity in the spring program, 40% in the summer program, and 25% in the autumn program.

Balance between pre-2019 – title year – post-2019 programming. We plan to allocate 20% – 70% – 10% respectively.

Free and ticketed events.

We plan to maximize accessibility to programs with 75% free events and 20% ticketed events (most at price of €5).

Balance between established events and artists on Sofia and Europe’s cultural scene on the one hand, and emerging talent and art forms on the other.

This balance is needed to address existing tensions between generations and between the institutions and the independent art sector.

APPENDIX 1.1.1 PROJECT PARTNERS AND CALENDAR

SEASON ONE: PAST IMPERFECT

SHARING HERITAGE

OPERATION MUSEUM REBOOT CULTURE ZONE POWERED BY ART

ROMA LIVING SURVA OPEN CITY OPEN MIND

SHARING MEMORIES

FUTURE FROM THE PAST

ANIMATE CITY MEMORY UNDER THE RADAR

100% SOFIA RECONCILING THE PAST

30 YEARS ON SCREEN

SHARING ROUTES

PICNIC OF FREEDOM

Federation European Carnival Cities (over 100 member cities), Univ. of Cagliari (IT), Nat. Academy of Art (BG), Nat. Academy for )Theater and Film Art (BG), Academy of Fine Arts, Venice (IT Orthodox, Protestant, Muslim, Catholic, Jewish and Armenian communities, Duychev Centre for Slavo-Byzantine Studies (BG), Bulg.

Nat. TV, Christianity and Culture magazine BG Organizer: British Council BG. Partners: Bulg. Ministry of Education, Sofia Municipality, Sofia Tech Park, Perugia Science Festival (IT), Int. Fame Lab, Bulg. State Railways, Sofia Univ., Old Sofia (BG), Archaeological Mus. BG C. A.P. C. (ME), Research Center in Social Science, MA Progr. in Cult. Anthropology, MA Progr. in Urban Studies (Sofia Univ. ), Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Mus. (Bulg. Academy of Sciences), Int. Festival of the Ethnographic Film – Sofia, Muzej spominov , Maribor (SL), Center for Cult. Interactions „KulturKlammer“, Belgrade (RS), Anadolu Kültür (TR), Center for Sust. Spatial DVPT EXPEDITIO, Kotor (ME), Assoc. for Building with Natural Materials (BG), Assoc. for Sust. Arch. ArTUR (SK), Compote Collective (BG), Studio Nagledna BG Fondazione CRT (Torino, IT), Odin Teatret, Holstebro (DK), Th. Spira, Jonkoping (SE), Atalaya TNT, Sevilla (ES); P.A.K.T., Berlin (DE), M.O.D.A.V.I. Onlus Rome (IT), KIBLA, Maribor (SL), Minority Studies Society “Studii Romani” (BG), Sofia City Library, New Bulg. Univ., CEU (HU), 10 community centres and museums Rimini Protokoll, ACT Association Organizer: Vaska Emanouilova Gallery. Partners: Mus. of Socialist Art (BG), Sofia Arsenal – Mus.for Contemporary Art, ICA - Sofia, Nat. Academy of Art (BG), ATRIUM Project partners (IT, SL, HR, HU, SK, RO, GR, AL, RS and BG), Mus.of Modern Art, Warsaw (PL), Memento Park Budapest (HU), National Mus. of Contemporary Art (RO), Museo Del Prado Madrid (ES), Gallery for Contemporary Art Leipzig (DE), Urbane Künste Ruhr (DE), PAKT Zollverein DE Organizer: SIFF. Partners: FFs of: Karlovy Vary (CZ), Moscow (RU), Warsaw (PL), Tallinn (EE), Sarajevo (BIH), Transilvania Cluj (RO), Cottbus (DE), Bratislava (SK), Odessa (UA), Belgrade (RS), Ljubljana (SL), Zadar (HR), Vilnius (LT), Tbilisi (GE), Golden Apricot Yerevan (AM), t he informal network of CentEast PL EUNIC Network in Bulgaria

EXPLORING REGIONAL ROUTES

Local authorities in the region, BATA, the Assoc. of Rural Tourism and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism to further develop cooperation networks and regional thinking, community participation and micro-enterprise development

RE-ORIENT EXPRESS

UnderGara, Sofia (BG), Arts Admin (UK), Point Ephêmere, Paris (FR), WUK, Vienna (AT), Centre for Cultural Contamination, Belgrade (RS), Trafo, Budapest (HU), Casa Galbena, Sinaia (RO), Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Centre, Istanbul TR

VOICES OF THE SPIRIT

SHARED BALKAN MOMENTS SOFIA SENSES CARTOGRAPHY ART DIASPORA

72

Sofia City Mus., Underground Mining Mus., Pernik, Historical Mus. of Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad, Belgrade City Mus. (RS), Pera Jan Feb Ma Apr May Jun Jul Au Sept Oct Nov Dec Mus., Istanbul (TR), Archaeology Mus., Edirne (TR), Sopron Mus. (HU), Savaria Mus.(HU), Ptuj Reg. Mus. (SL), Celje Reg. Mus. (SL), Vojvodina Mus. (RS),Thermen Mus., Heerlen (NL), Thermes imperiaux, Trier (DE), The Roman Baths, Bath (UK), Communa di Sienna (IT), Lecce Historical Mus. (IT), AIESEC BG, Student Media World (BG), Alternativi Int. (BG), AUBG Journal of Humanities (BG), AEGEE )IT), Erasmus Student Network in Lecce IT Organizer: City of Sofia, Sofia 2019. Partners: Sofia Breathes (BG), UnderGara (BG), Destructive Creation (BG), NE fest (BG), Urban Art Factory (BG), La Friche Belle De Mai Marseille (FR), Ufa Fabric Berlin (DE), Les Halles Bruxelles (BE), Village Underground London UK Organizer: Dauhaus Fdn., Partners: eXAF Fdn. (BG), Antepriz Ltd, Sofia Underground (BG), Union of Bulg. Artists, Bulg. Nat. Film Archive, Nongrata (EE), Gallery Remont (RS), Water Tower Art Festival (BG), Art in Action Assoc, Sofia (BG), The Fridge (BG), Month of Photography (BG), Bulg. Assoc. of Communication Agencies, 10 private owned former factories (BG), Discoteca Flaming Star (DE), GlogauAir DE Int. Romani Art (RO), Golden Wheel (MK), Romano Čhon (SL), FAGIC (ES), Muse (HU), Roma Voice (FR), CEU Center for Art and Culture (HU), CEU Roma Access Program (HU), Diverse and Equal Fdn. (BG), Health and Social Development Fdn. (BG), Open Society BG

Sharing Sofia

Nat. Philharmonic Choir Svetoslav Obretenov (BG), The Great Voices of Bulgaria, Jan Kukuzeli Vocal Ensemble (BG), Rustavi Choir (GE), Dogu Turkey (Turkish Musical Choir), Marta Sebestyen (HU), Tenebrae Choir (UK), Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Igantius Loyola Choir (FR), Berlin Radio Chamber Choir (DE), Masters of the Psaltic Art (GR), Sofia Music Weeks, Bulg. Nat. Radio, European Music Festival, St. Nevsky Cathedral Choir (BG), Sofia Boys Choir, Male Choir of St. Petersburg (RU), Greek Orthodox Seminary Choir, European Broadcasting Union Th.Labyrinth, Sofia (BG), Teatro Calypso Sociale, Pavia (IT), Incubator 107, Bucharest (RO), UG-RAFT, Belgrade (RS), Media Artes, Ohrid (MA), Th. FERDA, Bugojno (BIH), Th.Cynefin, Cardiff UK Tendzhera pod naliagane (BG), Institute for Silence Research, (BG), the Syndicate (BG), Atelier Plastelin (BG), the Thursday Movement, Momo Th., Center for Creative Behaviors (PL), Danish Arts Council in Copenhagen (DK), Lothringer 13 Munich (DE), Soho in Ottakring, Wien AT Nat. Endowment Fund "13 Centuries Bulgaria”, Nat. Art Gallery (BG), Nat. Agency of Bulgarians Abroad, Bulg. Nat. TV, 10 international and local art blogs

APPENDIX 1.1.2 PROJECT PARTNERS AND CALENDAR

SHARINg SPACES

SEASON TWO: PRESENT CONTINUOUS SOFIA BACKYARDS INSTANT ARCHITECTURE OPEN AIR CITY GRAFFITI SOFIA LEVELS DANCING SOFIA sharing is caring

SHARING GREEN

SHARING SECRETS

BALKAN BEAT

73

Cultural Center of Sofia Univ. , ICA - Sofia (BG), Iakov Chernikhov Int. Fdn., Moscow (RU), Nat. Mus. Complex in Sofia (BG), Patias Festival, Cordoba (ES), Univ. of Architecture and Civil Engineering (BG), Union of Landscape Architects (BG), Union of Sofia Community Centers, 10 Sofia municipal culturаl institutes Grupa Grad (BG), Destructive Creation (BG), InSitu network (Meta Project), 72 Hours IL Sofia Breathes, Nat. Opera, Sofia Soloists, Sofia Philharmonic, Cantus Firmus, A to JazZ festival, Elizabeth Kostova Fdn., Varna Summer Th. Festival, Balkan Entertainment Company, Artishock Productions, Salsa Caliente, Water Tower Festival, Kinomania, ACT Association, BINAR Radio, Bulg. Book Assoc Organizer: Urban Art Foundation. Partners: Nat. Academy of Art (BG), City of Sofia, Etam Cru (PL), Natalia Rak (PL), Tone and M-city (PL), Borondo (ES), Google and 15 Bulg. and European artists Curiosita (BE), NL Architects (NL), studioBasar (RO), Div Roshkov (BG), Transformatori (BG), Haha Impro Th. (BG), Union of Bulg. Actors, Haspel, the Fridge (BG), Mesechina Music BG Derida Dance Centre (BG), Assoc. of Contemporary Dance in Sofia, Antistatic Festival (BG), Iliev Dance Art Fdn. (BG), Arabesque Ballet (BG), Heteropodi Dancing Group (BG), Aerowaves network 18 local informal groups BraZZobraZZie Festival (BG), Sofia Brass Band, Jazz FM Radio (BG), Dixie Jazz Fest BG

THE REFLECTIVE CITY

Organizer: Sofia City Gallery and Videoholika Association. Partners: ArtUP! – Media Art in BG, Greece and Turkey, Runabout Project (BG), Open Art Fdn. (BG), ProTechnica EVENT (BG), ICA - Sofia, Nat. Academy of Art (BG), New Bulg.

Univ., Blister Magazine (BG), Cultura newspaper BG

MY SOFIA CITY TOURS

Free Sofia Tour, Time Heros (BG), Sofia in Your Pocket Guide, Sofia Guide, Peika.bg (BG), Municipal Enterprise Tourist Service

STREETS OF EUROPE

EUNIC network in BG

EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP DNA

Agora Central Europe, Prague (CZ), CIDOB Barcelona (ES), Coolpolitics Amsterdam (NL), Eur. Cultural Fdn (NL), deBuren Brussels (BE), Depo Istanbul (TR), Depo Vienna (AT), Free World London (UK), Krytyka Polityczna Warsaw (PL), Project Forum Bratislava (SK), Sacharov Centre Moscow (RU), Pozor Company (BG), Informbureau Assoc. BG

I came to SOFIA

Sofia City Library, A25 Cultural Fdn., Friends of the Refugees (BG), Forum for Arab Culture - Bulgaria, Arabis Association for Development of Arab-Bulgarian Initiatives and Collaboration, Kareem Gallery (BG), Multi Kulti Collective (BG), Lebanese School Gibrah Khalil Gibran BG

TASTE THIS

City of Kyustendil (BG), Vladimir Dimitrov gallery (BG), History Mus. (BG), Union of Bulg. Artists, Slow Food Convivia in BG, Institute of Agriculture, Kyustendil BG

EARTH, WIND AND WATER

Rila Nat. Park (BG), Sapareva Banya Municipality (BG), Culture/Futures (DK), DutchCulture/TransArtists NL

SMALL - AND - GREEN IS BEAUTIFUL

City of Sofia, Parks and Gardens Municipal Enterprise (BG), Univ. of Forestry (BG), ELASA

URBAN GARDENS AND FARMS

Slow Food Convivia in BG, Hrankoop (BG), South Markets Municipal Enterprise (BG), Univ. Botanical Garden (BG), Harmonica (BG), Agrolink Assoc. (BG), Regional Inspectorate of Education - Sofia

GREEN DOT animation

Compote Collective (BG), Ecoobshtnost (BG), Golden Kuker - Sofia, CEEweb for Biodiversity

IT’S A PAPER WORLD

Organizer: Sofia Paper Art Fest. Partners: School of Architecture and Design (BG), Cardboard Cities (UK), the UN Refugee Agency in BG, Caritas (BG), Bulgarian Red Cross

CODE FIRE

Pancharevo Municipality (BG), Nat. Sports Base (BG), Irrigation Systems Sofia, Int. Munich Art Lab (DE), Povod Assoc. for Mind Recreation (SL), Magma Firetheatre (HU), Firebirds (HU), EUROMEDinCULTURE(s) Network

Sharing Sofia

Jan Feb Ma Apr May Jun Jul Au Sept Oct Nov Dec

APPENDIX 1.1.3 PROJECT PARTNERS AND CALENDAR

sharing possibilities

SEASON THREE: FUTURE REFLECTIVE sofia conversations

Over 40 European institutions and organizations

EXPERIMENTARIUM and ARS ELECTRONICA MUZEIKO

Sofia Tech Park, ARS Electronica, Linz (AT), Sofia 2019, Ministry of Education (BG), Ratio Forum (BG), Teach for BG Fdn

REPORTEEN EMERGING MAKERS

European Youth Press, European Parliament init Lab Hackerspace (BG), SoHo (BG), Betahaus (BG), European Cultural Fdn., Chercheve (BG), Bazart (BG), Marabu Atelier (BG), 10 fingers (BG), Bazarino BG

WORLD-WIDE ART DIARY

State Cultural Institute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BG), 11 Bulg. cultural institutes abroad, 20 organizations of Bulgarians abroad, Trud Daily and Darik Radio BG

TRANSLATION LAB

Next Page Fdn. (BG), Sofia Univ.’s MA Program on Translations, Zanet-45 (BG), Ciela (BG), Paradox (BG), Bulg. Translators Union, Elizabeth Kostova Fdn. RECIT, CEATL, Int. Alliance of Independent Publishers, EUNIC, Trinity College Dublin (IE), The Languages Company (UK), School of Oriental & African Studies, Univ. of London (UK), Faculty of Education, Univ. of Osijek (HR), nat. agencies for promotion of literature across Europe, Language centre, London School of Economics UK

THE WORLD IN PHOTOS

SHARING CREATIVITY

SOFIA DIGITAL ART PLATFORM computer GAMING POP UP WE ARE VISUAL

OFF-the-CHART MUSIC ART INVASIONS

SHARING DREAMS

europeana for citizens

74

URBAN EXPLORERS FROM UTOPIA TO YOU-SOFIA SOLUTIONS EUROPEAN MAKERS: THE SOFIA WAVE NEW EUROPEAN DRAMA

Bureau Culture Fdn. (BG), EasyArt Fdn. (BG), On the Move network, Res Artist platform (NL), TransArtists (NL), San Francisco Exploratorium USA

AP Photographers, Reuters, AFP, DPA, ITAR-TASS, 50 Sofia high schools, Photographic Observatory, Ravenna (IT), La Fabrica (ES), Les Rencontres d’Arles-Photographie FR Nat. Academy of Art and its MA in Digital Arts program (BG), Digital Art Fest (BG), Computer Space Festival (BG), Water Tower Art Fest (BG), Transmediale, Berlin (DE), Arts and Media Center, Karlsruhe (DE), HKMV (DE), Public Arts Lab, Berlin (DE), Student Society for Computer Art, Sofia Creativity – Fdn for Culture and Education, Sofia Technical Univ., Turtle Entertainment (DE), European Games Developer Federation Plastic Fantastique (DE), Bureau Detours (DK), Fantastic Norway (NO), Raumlabor, Berlin DE Int. Student Film Festivals New Wave (BG), Sofia Doc Bites (BG), Early Bird (BG), European Documentary Network, DocuMentor (RO), Pravoljudski FF (BIH), DokuFest Prizren (AL), Goethe-Institutes in Europe, DokuFest Prizren, DOK Leipzig (DE), Anima DOC Zagreb (HR), Transilvania FF (RO), MakeDox Skopje (MA), Trieste FF (IT), Doc Point Helsinki (FI), Tempo FF (SE), Vienna Short FF (AT), Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen FF (DE), Visions Du Reel Nyon CH Nat. Music Academy (BG), New Bulg. Univ., Dispatch Festival RS Writers in Prison Fdn. (UK), SIFF, Lecce European FF (IT), New Bulg. Univ., Aha Moments (BG), Nat. Academy of Art (BG), Design Flanders (BE), Int. Design Center, Berlin (DE), Barcelona Design Centre (ES), IKEA (BG), Pro Rodopi Fdn. (BG), Baraka Design Lab (BG), Trans Europe Halles Network, Roda Stan Konsthalle (SE), Centre Socioculturel Regional Prabelli (LU), Tou Scene (NO) and over 20 European and over 40 Bulgarian artists and artistic groups Sofia Univ., EuraTechnologies (FR), MAC (ES), EIKEN (ES), Univ. of Birmingham (UK), Comune di Siena (IT), IULM (IT), Geemeente Eindhoven )(NL), Design Cooperatie Brainport UA (NL), Region Midtjylland (DK), Aarhus Universitet (DK), Meaning Making ExperienceDK Walltopia (BG), Walltopia sites in Stuttgart (DE) and Paris (FR), Veloevolution (BG), Assoc. of Skaters BG Univ. of Architecture, New Bulg. Univ., Architects for Sofia Assoc., Sofia Chamber of Architects AUBG, Global Liberal Arts Alliance, City of Blagoevgrad, TEDxAUBG (BG), EuropeanDaily newspaper 3 Sofia schools of performing arts, New Dramaturgies Platform (BG), Art Office BG Kaai Th., Bruxelles (BE), Royal Court Th., London (UK), Traverse, Edinburgh (UK), Kotars Contemporary Drama Festival, Budapest (HU), Neue Stucke aus Europe, Wiesbaden (DE), Sofia 2019, Ivan Vazov Nat. Th. (BG), Theatre 199 (BG), Bulgarian Army Th. (BG), Satirical Th. (BG), Sofia Th. (BG), Th. Laboratory Sfumato (BG), Th. off the Channel (BG), Academic Drama Th. (BG), Salza i Smyah Th. BG

11:11.

Blagoevgrad City Gallery (BG), Union of Bulgarian Artists

LET THERE BE LIGHT

LUCI association with 65 members, Tallinn Light Biennale (EE), Eindhoven Biennalle NL

Sharing Sofia

Jan Feb Ma Apr May Jun Jul Au Sept Oct Nov Dec

APPENDIX 1.2.1 PROJECT ART FORMS, PUBLICS, GOALS

1

MUSEUM REBOOT

X

2

CULTURE ZONE

X

3

POWERED BY ART

4

ROMA LIVING

5

SURVA

6

OPEN CITY, OPEN MIND

X

7

FUTURE FROM THE PAST

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

ANIMATE CITY MEMORY

2

UNDER THE RADAR

X

3

100 % SOFIA

X

4

RECONCILING THE PAST

5

30 YEARS ON SCREEN

6

PICNIC OF FREEDOM

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

2 000

200 000

X

X

2 000

100 000

X

X

X

27

27 000

X

X

X

100

2 000

X

100

25 000

50

10 000

100

15 000

1 903

275 000

500

50 000

250

25 000

X

50

30 000

X

1 000

150 000

100

15 000

3

5 000

2 700

215 000

2000

100 000

300

45 000

100

30 000

X

100

10 000

X

100

10 000

100

20 000

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X X

X

X

SGARING ROUTES 1

EXPLORING REGIONAL ROUTES

2

RE-ORIENT EXPRESS

3

VOICES OF THE SPIRIT

X

4

SHARED BALKAN MOMENTS

X

5

SOFIA SENSES

6

75

ART DIASPORA

Sharing Sofia

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

NURTURE CREATIVITY & RETAIN TALENT

COHESION & PARTICIPATION

EUROPEAN INTERACTION

RENEW CULTURAL SECTOR

OPENING UP THE CITY

LONG-TERM CULTURAL DVPT

379 000

X

X

X

X

4 377 X

SHARING MEMORIES 1

EST. AUDIENCES

SHARING HERITAGE

NO EVENTS

PARTICIPATORY

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

MARGINALISED AND MINORITIES

YOUNG AUDIENCES

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

VISITORS AND TOURISTS

GENERAL PUBLIC

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PUBLIC AND AUDIENCES

ENVIRONMENTAL

ARCH, DESIGN, URBANISM

PHOTOGRAPHY FILM AND MEDIA

VISUAL ARTS, INSTALLATION

MUSIC, THEATRE, PERF. ARTS

LITETATURE, DEBATE, LANGUAGE

PROGRAM FORMAT AND ART FORMS

WALKS, TOURS, SPORTS, URBAN

SEASON 1 PRESENT PERFECT

APPENDIX 1.2.2 PROJECT ART FORMS, PUBLICS, GOALS

1

SOFIA BACKYARDS

X

2

INSTANT ARCHITECTURE

X

3

OPEN AIR

X

4

CITY GRAFFITI

X

5

SOFIA LEVELS

X

6

DANCING SOFIA

X

7

SHARING IS CARING

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

200

40 000

100

100 000

X

1 500

75 000

300

30 000

X

200

10 000

X

200

50 000

2 500

180 000

50

10 000

X

X X

X

SHARING SECRETS 1

BALKAN BEAT

2

THE REFLECTIVE CITY

3

MY SOFIA CITY TOURS

X

4

STREETS OF EUROPE

X

5 6

X X

X X

X

X X

X

X

X

EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP DNA

X

X

X

I CAME TO SOFIA

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

1 000

100 000

X

X

X

X

X

600

15 000

X

X

X

X

250

25 000

350

17 500

250

12 500

4 460

112 000

X

60

12 000

X

210

21 000

X

X

X

X

X X

SHARING GREEN 1

TASTE THIS

X

2

EARTH, WIND AND WATER

X

3

SMALL - AND GREEN – IS BEAUTIFUL

4

URBAN GARDENS AND FARMS

5

GREEN DOT ANIMATION

6

IT’S A PAPER WORLD

7

76

CODE FIRE

Sharing Sofia

X

X X

X X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

2 000

10 000

X

X

2 000

50 000

X

120

6 000

X

50

10 000

20

3 000

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

NURTURE CREATIVITY & RETAIN TALENT

X

COHESION & PARTICIPATION

10 000

EUROPEAN INTERACTION

200

RENEW CULTURAL SECTOR

X

OPENING UP THE CITY

315 000

SHARING SPACES

LONG-TERM CULTURAL DVPT

EST. AUDIENCEES

4 500

PARTICIPATORY

NO.EVENTS

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

MARGINALISED AND MINORITIES

YOUNG AUDIENCES

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

VISTORS AND TOURISTS

GENERAL PUBLIC

SCENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PUBLIC AND AUDIENCES

ENVIRONMENTAL

ARCH, DESIGN, URBANISM

PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM AND MEDIA

VISUAL ARTS, INSTALLATIONS

MUSIC, THEATRE, PERF. ARTS

LITETATURE, DEBATE, LANGUAGE

PROGRAM FORMAT AND ART FORMS

WALKS, TOURS, SPORTS, URBAN

SEASON 2 PRESENT CONTINUOUS

APPENDIX 1.2.3 PROJECT ART FORMS, PUBLICS, GOALS

250

50 000

3

MUZEIKO

250

50 000

4

REPORTEEN

10

5 000

5

EMERGING MAKERS

100

10 000

6

WORLD-WIDE ART DIARY

365

365 000

7

TRANSLATION LAB

100

10 000

8

THE WORLD IN PHOTOS

100

25 000

SHARING CREATIVITY

1 570

250 000

1

SOFIA DIGITAL ART PLATFORM

200

15 000

2

COMPUTER GAMING

100

10 000

3

POP UP

600

120 000

4

WE ARE VISUAL

100

15 000

5

OFF-THE-CHART MUSIC

20

5 000

6

ART INVASIONS

300

60 000

7

EUROPEANA FOR CITIZENS

250

25 000

SHARING DREAMS

1 195

240 000

1

URBAN EXPLORERS

120

24 000

2

FROM UTOPIA TO YOU-SOFIA

150

15 000

3

SOLUTIONS

15

6 000

4

200

40 000

5

EUROPEAN MAKERS: THE SOFIA WAVE NEW EUROPEAN DRAMA

360

90 000

6

11.11.

100

15 000

7

LET THERE BE LIGHT

250

150 000

77

Sharing Sofia

NURTURE CREATIVITY & RETAIN TALENT

EXP. and ARS ELECTRONICA

COHESION & PARTICIPATION

2

EUROPEAN INTERACTION

5 000

RENEW CULTURAL SECTOR

EST. AUDIENCES 520 000

30

OPENING UP THE CITY

NO.EVENTS 1 205

SOFIA CONVERSATIONS

PARTICIPATORY

SHARING POSSIBILITIES 1

LONG TERM CULTURAL DVPT

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

MARGINALISED AND MINORITIES

YOUNG AUDIENCES

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

VISITORS AND TOURISTS

GENERAL PUBLIC

SCENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PUBLIC AND AUDIENCES

ENVIRONMENTAL

ARCH, DESIGN, URBANISM

PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM AND MEDA

VISUAL ARTS, INSTALLATIONS

MUSIC, THEATRE, PERF. ARTS

LITETATURE, DEBATE, LANGUAGE

PROGRAM FORMAT AND ART FORMS

WALKS, TOURS, SPORTS, URBAN

SEASON 3 FUTURE CONDITIONAL

APPENDIX 1.3.1 DETAILED PROJECT BUDGET PROJECT BUDGETS

PROJECT COSTS

PROJECT FINANCING

SEASON 1

ADMIN & MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL & PRODUCTION

PROGRAM

MEDIA & COMM.

TOTAL

EVENT INCOME

EXTERNAL FUNDING

SOFIA 2019

SHARING HERITAGE

1000

1950

3550

600

7100

400

2600

4100

MUSEUM REBOOT

500

1000

1000

250

2750

250

1250

1250

CULTURE ZONE

150

250

550

50

1000

100

150

750

50

150

500

50

750

50

200

500

150

250

500

100

1000

0

250

750

POWERED BY ART ROMA LIVING SURVA

50

100

300

50

500

0

250

250

OPEN CITY, OPEN MIND

50

100

400

50

600

0

250

350

FUTURE FROM THE PAST

50

100

300

50

500

0

250

250

SHARING MEMORY

475

850

2225

350

3900

500

850

2550

ANIMATE CITY MEMORY

150

200

400

50

800

100

200

500

100% SOFIA

50

100

150

50

350

50

100

200

UNDER THE RADAR

50

150

350

50

600

100

100

400

100

200

800

100

1200

150

250

800

30 YEARS ON SCREEN

75

150

400

75

700

100

200

400

PICNIC OF FREEDOM

50

50

125

25

250

0

0

250

SHARING ROUTES

900

2675

4125

400

8100

450

3400

4250

REGIONAL ROUTES

200

1000

700

100

2000

0

750

1250

RE-ORIENT EXPRESS

250

750

1000

100

2100

100

1000

1000

VOICES OF THE SPIRIT

150

325

1300

75

1850

100

1000

750

BALKAN MOMENTS

100

100

375

25

600

100

250

250

SOFIA SENSES

100

200

500

50

850

100

250

500

ART DIASPORA

100

300

250

50

700

50

150

500

2375

5475

9900

1350

19100

1350

6850

10900

RECONCILING THE PAST

SEASON 1 TOTAL

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APPENDIX 1.3.2. DETAILED PROJECT BUDGET PROJECT BUDGETS

PROJECT COSTS

PROJECT FINANCING

SEASON 2

ADMIN & MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL & PRODUCTION

PROGRAM

MEDIA & COMM.

TOTAL

EVENT INCOME

EXTERNAL FUNDING

SOFIA 2019

SHARING SPACES

650

2050

3650

550

6900

100

2550

4250

SOFIA BACKYARDS

100

200

400

50

750

0

250

500

INSTANT ARCHITECTURE

150

250

300

50

750

0

250

500

OPEN AIR

150

700

1500

150

2500

0

1000

1500

CITY GRAFFITI

50

50

150

50

300

0

50

250

SOFIA LEVELS

50

100

400

50

600

0

100

500

DANCING SOFIA

50

350

500

100

1000

100

400

500

SHARING IS CARING

100

400

400

100

1000

0

500

500

SHARING SECRETS

500

650

3150

300

4600

400

900

3300

50

50

550

50

700

100

100

500

0

BALKAN BEAT THE REFLECTIVE CITY

75

75

700

50

900

150

750

MY SOFIA CITY TOURS

75

50

125

50

300

300

STREETS OF EUROPE

75

200

525

50

850

100

250

500

I CAME TO SOFIA

75

75

850

50

1050

50

250

750

EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP

150

200

400

50

800

150

150

500

SHARING GREEN

600

1450

3025

475

5550

350

1450

3750

TASTE THIS

150

300

500

150

1100

100

250

750

EARTH, WIND AND WATER

150

500

850

100

1600

100

500

1000

SMALL - AND GREEN

50

200

400

50

700

0

200

500

URBAN GARDENS

50

150

350

50

600

100

250

250

GREEN DOT

50

100

175

25

350

0

100

250

100

150

550

50

850

50

50

750

50

50

200

50

350

0

100

250

1750

4150

9825

1325

17050

850

4900

11300

IT’S A PAPER WORLD CODE FIRE SEASON 2 TOTAL.

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APPENDIX 1.3.3 DETAILED PROJECT BUDGET PROJECT BUDGETS

PROJECT COSTS

PROJECT FINANCING

SEASON 3

ADMIN & MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL & PRODUCTION

PROGRAM

MEDIA & COMM.

TOTAL

EVENT INCOME

EXTERNAL FUNDING

SOFIA 2019

SHARING POSSIBILITIES

625

1650

2500

425

5200

400

1350

3450

SOFIA CONVERATIONS

100

100

200

50

450

50

100

300

EXP.and ARS ELECTRONICA

100

500

350

100

1050

100

250

700

MUZEIKO

100

300

500

50

950

100

400

450

REPORTEEN

50

50

125

25

250

0

0

250

EMERGING MAKERS

50

250

375

25

700

100

100

500

WORLD-WIDE ART DIARY

50

50

225

25

350

0

100

250

TRANSLATION LAB

75

200

375

50

700

50

150

500

THE WORLD IN PHOTOS

100

200

350

100

750

0

250

500

SHARING CREATIVITY

480

1250

1950

320

4000

150

850

3000

SOFIA DIGITAL ART

150

500

600

50

1300

50

250

1000

COMPUTER GAMING

100

300

200

50

650

50

100

500

POP UP

75

150

300

75

600

0

100

500

WE ARE VISUAL

50

150

150

50

400

50

100

250

5

50

250

45

350

0

100

250

100

100

450

50

700

0

200

500

1025

2100

4275

700

8100

500

2250

5350

75

150

225

50

500

50

150

300

UTOPIA TO YOU-SOFIA

200

200

750

100

1250

50

250

950

SOLUTIONS

100

200

325

100

725

25

200

500

OFF-THE-CHART MUSIC ART INVASIONS SHARING DREAMS URBAN EXPLORERS

EUROPEAN MAKERS

150

300

1050

100

1600

100

500

1000

NEW EUROPEAN DRAMA

100

350

550

100

1100

100

500

500

11:11.

100

250

350

50

750

50

200

500

LET THERE BE LIGHT

100

400

350

50

900

100

200

600

EUROPEANA FOR CITIZENS

200

250

675

150

1275

25

250

1000

SEASON 3 TOTAL

2130

5000

8725

1445

17300

1050

4450

11800

TOTAL 2019 CORE PROJECTS

6255

14625

28450

4120

53450

3250

16200

34000

80

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APPENDIX 1.4 NEW EUROPEAN DRAMA SMALL-AND GREENIS BEAUTIFUL

SOFIA

SOFIA AND SWR: DESTRIBUTION OF THIRTY SELECTED PROJECTS IN MORE THAN ONEHUNDRED LOCATIONS

POWERED BY ART OPERATION MUSEUM REBOOT CULTURE ZONE

OPEN CITY, OPEN MIND

URBAN GARDENS AND FARMS

CITY GRAFFITI

PICNIC OF FREEDOM

INSTANT ARCHITECTURE

EXPLORING REGIONAL ROUTES

EUROPEAN MAKERS: THE SOFIA WAVE

GREEN DOT ANIMATION

OPEN AIR

RECONCILING THE PAST (16 SOFIA BACKYARDS)

CODE FIRE

BALKAN BEAT

EXPERIMENTARIUM AND ARS ELECTRONICA

MY SOFIA CITY TOURS

SURVA ART INVASIONS

MUZEIKO

STREETS OF EUROPE

REGIONAL ROUTES (20 LOCATIONS)

I CAME TO SOFIA TASTE THIS EARTH,WIND AND WATER

11.11.

SOLUTIONS

PERNIK POP UP (VARIOUS PLACES)

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KYUSTENDIL

BLAGOEVGRAD

III. OrganiSation and financing of the event

1. Organisational structure

1.1. What kind of struture is envisaged for the organisation responsible for implementing the project? What type of relationship will it have with the city authorities?

Sofia Development Association (SDA) was commissioned by Sofia City Council (SCC) to provide an efficient and independent management of the bidding process.

SDA was established in 2010 as a non-profit foundation with a remit to design and manage sustainable development projects and programs for and with the SCC; to organize international events e.g. EDUC Commission of the Committee of the Regions, the conference “The Role of Culture in the Development of Europe’s Regions and Cities”; to manage major projects for the City of Sofia e.g. Municipal Strategy for Cultural Development “Sofia – Creative Capital 2013 - 2023”, as well as projects in the social, environmental, economic and art spheres, e.g.

“Innovative Art Festivals in the Urban Environment: Sofia Contemporary and Outdoor Festival Zapaden Park”.

SDA has sufficient financial independence and has built solid capacity to run European projects and large-scale events.

On the basis of the recommendations made by the jury during the first meeting, we present a plan to transform SDA into SDA 2019.

The legal statutes of SDA are now being adapted to allow it to have a larger board and to become completely independent from the city.

Other existing tasks of SDA will be phased out as projects/programs are completed or transferred to City Departments. This will be accomplished by 2015-16, as the capacity of SDA is increased. The process will ensure that the organisational capac82 Sharing Sofia

ity, network, knowledge gained in the preparation phase is sustained and transferred to the implementation phase of Sofia 2019.

The objectives of the proposed organisation: • To ensure continuity from the bidding process, based on the high level of trust and engagement of the general public and the cultural media.

• To guarantee solid relationships with the City of Sofia, regional stakeholders and other government and civil structures.

• To establish a neutral and independent structure maintaining a clear focus in the 2019 project.

• To ensure that the program and artistic decisions are made on the basis of the agreed program policy and that the artistic team is given the necessary independence and support.

• The City of Sofia will appoint 11 representatives.

Based on the proposal of the Initiative Committee “Friends of Sofia 2019”, 6 appointees will represent a variety of independent stakeholders: NGOs, Media, Academia, Businesses, Artistic and Creative sectors.

5 appointees will be political/administrative representatives from the City of Sofia: the Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Culture, the Chairperson of the Committee on Education & Culture, the Chairperson of the major political opposition group in the Council and a Director of a city cultural institute; • 6 members will represent the SWR; each city in the region (Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik) will be represented by one appointee with an arts/cultural background and one politician from the council; • The Ministry of Culture - 1 member;

• To safeguard the decision-making process and the transparency of the different areas of responsibility, and to provide full accountability to stakeholders, the media and the general public.

• SWR Council for Development – 1 member.

• To ensure that the team is made up of motivated, skilled individuals with diverse backgrounds and skillsets, from the public, private and third sectors, plus individuals with a high degree of international competence.

The SDA 2019 Management Team

• To guarantee that the organisation can build on the existing competences with regard to Sofia’s major urban and cultural strategies and projects.

Sofia 2019 organisation key elements: We propose a simple three-level structure with clear leadership and strong horizontal links, based on the principle of sharing.

The SDA 2019 Board: 19 members representing independent experts and local, regional and national authorities:

We will present the Board members to the Jury during their visit to Sofia.

The team will consist of 6 people. All final decisions & responsibility will be taken by the Executive Director and the Artistic Director. They will be supported by 3 managers and 1 program coordinator.

The team will bring creative, administrative, financial, legal and strategic perspectives in the decision making. See the organization chart.

The SDA 2019 Project Team The 2019 team consists of an estimated 44 people, organised in five teams to meet all the key requirements for the successful implementation of the project. Teamwork and horizontal links between the units will be a fundamental principle of work. See organization chart.

Initiative Committee “Friends of Sofia 2019”: Forum 1, 2,3

SOFIA CITY COUNCIL, REGIONAL PARTNER CITIES, MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND CIVIL SOCIETY

SOFIA CITY COUNCIL

REPRESENTATIVES

Sofia Development Association Board

INDEPENDENT MONITORING AND EVALUATION

SDA STAKEHOLDER BOARD 2019 19 MEMBERS

Transform into

Transform into

THE MANAGEMENT TEAM SOFIA 2019 SOFIA 2019 BUSINESS NETWORK – Sofia 2019 Fund

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

SOFIA 2019 FORUM SOFIA 2019 AMBASSADORS

STRATEGIC MANAGER

STRATEGY & POLICY (1) HUMAN RESOURCES (1) SOFIA 2019 VOLUNTEERS

EVALUATION & MONITORING (2) SUSTAINABILITY RESOURCE PERSON (1)

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FINANCE MANAGER

ACCOUNTS, FINANCIAL(2) (2) PROJECTS BUDGET (1) PERSONNEL, LEGAL ISSUES (1) OFFICE & TECHNICAL ASSISTANT (2)

COMMUNICAT -IONS MANAGER

DESIGN (1) SOCIAL MEDIA & WEB (1) PRESS AND MEDIA (2) INTERNATIONAL (2) SPONSORHIP AND FUNDRASING (3) COORDINATOR VOLUNTEERS (1)

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

INTERNAT. RELATIONS (2) REGIONAL PROJECTS (3) AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT (2) PRODUCTION & SUPPORT (5) AUDIENCE (OPEN/CLOSE EVENTS) (2)

CURATOR THEME 1& SUPPORT (3) CURATOR THEME. 2 &SUPPORT (3) CURATOR THEME & SUPPORT (3)

Appointing

Responsibilities

LEVEL 1: SDA 2019 BOARD LEVEL 2: SDA 2019 MANAGEMENT TEAM 19 members 6 members Following the municipal council decisions, the SDA The Executive Director (ED) will be appointed by BOARD 2019 will be legally registered in accordance the SDA 2019 BOARD. The Artistic Director (AD) with the Bulgarian law for non-profit organisations. will be appointed after an open call. The ED and AD will appoint managers and Program Coordinator.

•Take strategic decisions, define annual action plans The Executive Director will be responsible for overall planning, organisation, budget, financing, and annual budget staffing, relationships to the stakeholders, marketing and communications. He/she will be supported •Monitor the achivements of the Sofia 2019 project by three key managers: •Oversee the responsibilities and results of the SDA 2019 in accordance with the goals, policy and strat- • A Strategic Manager (SM), responsible for process development, evaluation, monitoring and proegy of the project ject’s alignment to city and regional strategies.

•Overall responsibility for the finances and implementation of the program year and the pre-program phase; •Responsibilities for making decicions in case the Di• A Finance Manager (FM), responsible to provide rectors fail to fulfill their duties transparent and accountable finance management •Hold regular meetings – at least once every quarter. and for legal matters.

The directors will participate in these meetings •Formal feedback/links with City/Regional/local councils/Ministry of Culture /EU

LEVEL 3: SDA 2019 PROJECT TEAM 44 members The members of the team shall be appointed by the Executive and Artistic Directors in close cooperation with the 3 managers and the Program Coordinator (PC).

Strategic Team of 5 persons: Appointment procedures, human resources and staff/ management training.

Ongoing relations with partners and stakeholders Ongoing monitoring measurements, indicators and milestones Management of evaluation plans and reporting Finance team of 6 persons : Ongoing financial management and cash flow, payments, six monthly accounts Payment/control of grants to external projects and financial monitoring of external projects Legal issues, contracts with partners, projects, etc.

General internal office management and logistics

• A Marketing and Communications Manager (MCM), responsible for communication at national and international levels, fundraising and design services.

Communications team of 10 persons: Design formats/development and production of print, programs, flyers etc.

Developing and maintaining press and media relations Management of advertising and marketing plans Development of int. relations and tourism initiatives Business and commercial partners, management of sponsorships relations to foundations and international institutes Development and coordination of volunteer teams

The Artistic Director will be responsible for the development and implementation of the program 2019. He/she will be assisted by a Program Coordinator who will be responsible for coordination and support in the implementation of the projects.

Curator Team of 9 persons: Management of open calls for each theme Developing links to international partners and artists Development and delivery of SDA 2019 programs and special events Program support team of 10 persons: Technical production of all SDA 2019 events and projects and technical support to external projects incl. liason with city/public space owners, etc.

Collaboration and management of regional projects Develop/maintain international relations Management of audience development initiatives

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Decision-making process

LEVEL 1: SDA 2019 BOARD 19 persons

LEVEL 2: SDA 2019 MANAGEMENT TEAM 6 persons

LEVEL 3: SDA 2019 PROJECT TEAM 44 persons

The decision-making process is done by the SDA 2019 BOARD, led by the Chairperson of the Board.

The Board will seek to make decisions by consensus and if this is not possible - by majority of those present.

The management team will take operational deci- The AD and PC will share responsibilities with the three sions, led by the ED. The ED has overall responsibil- main curators who will develop and implement the artistic program in each season. The core artistic team ity. will consist of 5 people. The Sofia 2019 program must The members of the management team report to the be agreed by the AD, ED and the Board.

ED. All other positions in the program, dpt. international Both the ED and the AR take part in board meetings relations, regional projects, audience development, production and support will report to the PC and AD. and report to the Board.

Positions related to strategic issues such as human resources and development will report to the SM. Positions related to financial issues will report to the FM. Positions related to marketing and communication issues and fundraising will report to the MCM. The 3 managers report to the ED.

Timing

Competence

Sustainability:

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June – July 2014: Appointment of 11 Board members October 2014: Appointment of 8 Board members First session December 2014: Legal Registration of the SDA 2019 BOARD The Board will meet at least every 3 months

September 2014: International call for Artistic Director October 2014: Appointment of Executive Director November 2014: Appointment of 3 Managing Directors December 2014: Appointment of Artistic Director January 2015: Appointment of Program Coordinator

We estimate that the size of the team will develop as follows ( See Staff Overview 2014-2020): 2015 – 15 staff; 2016 – 25 staff; 2017 – 29 staff; 2018 – 28 staff; 2019 – 44 staff; 2020 – 21 staff (numbers represent full year appointments).

•Excellent communication skills •Strategic thinking •Local, regional and national experience with governance of large public, cultural /business organisations, or projects •International experience •Strong cultural management experience •At least one member must have expertise covering legal, financial, communications, HR

General skills: •Excellent communication skills •Team players •Coaching / people management skills •Network abilities at local, national and international levels. Individual competences are described in question 1.3

The 3 program curators will have special competence in the following areas: cultural heritage projects and community involvement; contemporary urban projects, sustainability, and public art; contemporary art, performance and media.

The SDA 2019 BOARD provides continuity and partnership on three levels: between bidding phase and implementation stage; between city of Sofia and SWR, between key stakeholders at the local, national and international level.

The management team of the bidding process will transform into the management team 2019. Thus, continuity will be ensured and the team will be able to start work immediately if the city is selected. Established regional and international connections will be maintained and further developed.

The current regional coordinators from Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik will be part of the program team 2019.

All staff will have general skills: team players, creative thinking, solution seekers, pro-active, service oriented, excellent communication skills.

The staff members will come from different countries in Europe with special focus on the Italian elected city and other candidates. We are planning to involve people form the teams of the other Bulgarian candidates.

SOFIA 2019 ORGANISATIONAL PLATFORMS The ECoC project involves many partners at different levels. The creation of an open network-based structure also fulfils one of the main goals of Sofia 2019: to engage the city and citizens in a common project. We propose 4 platforms to structure these relationships with key sectors/partners: Business Network, Citizen Forum, Ambassadors and Volunteers.

THE SOFIA 2019 BUSINESS NETWORK: Main platform to engage with the business sector. It will form the basis for specific business-driven initiatives, sponsorship development, communications and other participatory schemes.

SOFIA 2019 AMBASSADORS: The ambassadorship will be tailored t0 each individual but its main goal is to help spread knowledge about the Capital of Culture year, before and during 2019.

THE SOFIA 2019 FORUM: We see this civil society platform as key to establishing relationships with many different communities, organisations and sectors, including educational and cultural institutions as well as neighborhood communities. We will use the open forum to test ideas, to create debate and to recruit for particular initiatives.

THE SOFIA 2019 VOLUNTEERS: The volunteers will act as our frontline in 2019 at events/ticket and information centres. They will support individual projects, act as guides to visitors, artists and partners and support the team. Our aim is to engage 10 000 registered volunteers by 2019.

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First bidding stage

Second bidding stage

Implementation

Post 2019

The Initiative Committee (Forum for Financial Sustainability) was developed into a business network.

Presidents of the leading employers’ associations became members of the Forum. There were approx.

33 businesses involved.

The Fund for Innovation in Culture was created and has started its first annual program. The fund works with the financial support of leading businesses and individuals. Total 10 in-kind and 7 financial businesses are involved.

We expect at least 100 business members to be actively involved.

The Fund for Innovation in Culture will continue to exist as a sustainable model for partnership between the business and creative environments, encouraging the development of entrepreneurial models in the arts.

We have created the Initiative Committee “Friends of Sofia 2019” with key figures in the arts, sports, diplomatic circles, and academia in Sofia and abroad. We have received support from world famous Bulgarian and Italian artists.

We focused our attention on artists from other EU countries apart from Bulgaria and Italy.

More than 50 world famous artists, athletes, academics and diplomats will support Sofia 2019’s communication strategy and the program’s sustainable achievements.

The Ambassadors platform will play a role in the long-term cultural development of the city and the region.

The open web platform Sofia 2019 had 23,000 registered users who generated content.

The number of registered users has increased to 26,000.

More than 50,000 users will contribute with ideas and discussions.

The Sofia 2019 Forum as a web platform will continue to operate as a social media for cultural and urban discussions, civil evaluation and monitoring of future Smart Culture development.

200 registered volunteers were active in the first bidding stage.

We created thematic working groups through which volunteers contributed to the preparation of the second bid book. Among these were creative, logistic, media, research, translation, and photography groups.

Training courses for particular volunteer groups in necessary skills and competences, such as social media, foreign languages, and logistics.

We will create a volunteer task force for cultural services. Volunteers will provide personal cultural routes in Sofia and the SWR.

1.2. If an area around the city is involved in the event, how will the coordination between the authorities of the relevant local and regional authorities be organised?

Based on our excellent relationships at various levels in the SWR and on our sustainable results we are confident that the regional partnerships will guarantee the successful implementation of the project. Each of the regional centres (Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik) had originally raised its candidacy for the ECoC. In the bidding process, the cities decided to join efforts and support Sofia’s bid, thus making the most of the opportunities provided by participation in the contest, and ensuring the implementation of the Sofia 2019 program and its proposed budget.

First bidding stage Regional involvement decision making level Goal: Decision-making support at local and regional level in order to secure the proposed budget and implementation of the Sofia 2019 program

Regional involvement artistic level Goal: Increase the capacity of the cultural sector and stimulate cooperation at regional and European level Regional involvement citizens level Goal: Active citizen participation in culture

Regional involvement in the working group: each of the 3 districts were present with 2 members a coordinator and an artist

Second bidding stage

Implementation

Declaration of support from the Regional Councils for SWRal development (all 52 municipalities of the SWR)

The SWR will be represented in the Board 2019 with 7 members (3 of them will come from the independent sector)

Statement from the mayors of district cities in the SWR (Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik)

One full-time staff from each district will act as part of the 2019 team.

Decisions of the Municipal Councils, whereby the budget for the event was formed on the basis of a minimum of € 40 per capita.

The local budget for the events is integrated in the whole budget and the Artistic Director and the Board 2019 will take decisions.

Regional Academy for Cultural Managers

The first class successfully completed the Academy and obtained certificates of specialization from Sofia University.

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Commission for Culture and Tourism at the SWRal Council for Development.

Regional strategy for cultural development

International Summer Academy with module: Web-based Open Academy for Culture

Regional Academy for Cultural Managers (annual) Public discussions Information campaign

Campaign: Have an idea Campaign: Tour for Ideas, a bus tour in the SWR Web platform Sofia 2019 that integrates cultural events throughout the region

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International Summer Academy on cultural issues with the Universities of Guimarães, Pilsen, Siena and Sofia (annual)

Post 2019

7 major projects will be organized and held in the region.

25% of the Sofia 2019 program is spread throughout the region which will encourage active citizen participation. 50% of all projects will be held in public spaces and 50% will be free events.

Regional cultural routes managed by local communities

1.3. According to which criteria and under which arrangements has or will the artistic director of the event been chosen? What is or will be his/her profile? When will he she take up the appointment? What will be his/her field of action?

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Extensive experience in delivery of art activities and programs, preferably in both international urban and community-focused environments; Quality of artistic vision for realizing the Sharing Sofia concept; Ability to provide strategic leadership for the artistic team; Ability to develop and foster relationships with both international and external stakeholders; High level communication skills, both written and oral, and strong business acumen; incentive, integrity, and a passion for the arts; Ability to work both autonomously and as a member of a creative team.

How? Open international call in 2 stages: First selection: the candidates send CV and artistic concept on Sharing Sofia. The concepts will be evaluated by an independent art committee, elected by the Initiative Committee.The art committee will present the results to the SDA 2019 BOARD. Final selection: Public hearing and SDA 2019 BOARD decision.

When? September - October 2014: Open call. First part of November 2014: independent art committee session; From 1 to 10 December 2014: Board meet selected candidates; 10 December 2014: Final decision; Contract from 1st January 2015 Way? We decided to choose an artistic director after being elected, because we believe that the most qualified candidates are interested only when the job is really available. The candidates will apply with a concept based on the artistic program Sharing Sofia.

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The election of the city would mean that the concept would have received strong public support and the candidates will be motivated to give their best and show how they would develop and implement the program.

Thus the committee and the SDA 2019 BOARD will not only be able to select the best candidate, but will also be able to offer other positions in the 2019 team to some of the candidates according to strengths shown in the competition.

What? The Artistic Director will work with the Sofia 2019 Executive Director and the SDA 2019 BOARD to: 1) develop and implement the whole artistic program for Sofia 2019; 2) strengthen and enrich the cultural programming strategy, which encompasses the 2015-2020 period, including issues concerning co-production, education, research, training, the organisation of residencies and questions of practical implementation and delivery; 3) develop detailed projects, based on active citizen participation, European cultural co-operation and/or co-production.

FINANCING OF THE EVENT

funds” and framework budgets to ECoC. Key points in our budget and financial strategy:

has increased from €9,850,000 in 2004 to over €17 mln. in 2014.

2.1: What has been the usual annual budget for culture in the city over the last 5 years excluding expenditure for the present ECoC application? Please fill in the table below.

• Sofia and our partners Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik are guarantors for the basic funding of our program. This is established in binding agreements among the partners and in the decisions of our Municipal Councils, whereby the budget of the event is formed on the basis of a minimum of €40 per capita.

This increase mostly results from new grant-making programs which will support the 2019 initiative:

In this revised bid, we have kept the operating budget for Sofia 2019 at approx. €90 mln., which we believe is both a realistic budget and a necessary budget given the size of the region, the scope and ambition of the project and the existing levels of cultural budgets in the city and region. This equates to around €40 per citizen in the region. We have also maintained the same model of financing as in the preliminary budget.

Sofia City Council and other regional partners have already allocated funding of approx. 30% of this budget.

• We are planning to spend € 89,566,700 for cultural programs (operational costs). 65% of this sum will come from extra financial investment in culture and will not come at the expense of the existing budget for arts and culture.

• At least 15% of the budget will come from corporate partners and sponsors. To achieve corporate support, we have already established the Fund for Innovation in Culture.

In addition, the SCC has also decided (10 July 2014) to guarantee the amount of €26 mln. in case that the national government has not taken a final decision on the level of national funding.

• The funding is a long-term investment for the 2014 – 2020 period, peaking in 2018 and 2019. Long -term investment makes possible the preparation process and guarantees the continuity of the program after 2019 based on Sofia’s long-term strategy for cultural development Sofia – Creative Capital 2013 – 2023.

A special sponsorship program has been developed to secure approx. €14 mln., which is 15% of the budget from the corporate sector, foundations, etc. and we will present concrete sponsorship agreements.

• The responsibility for investment in cultural infrastructure will lie with the relevant public authorities or cultural organizations and will not be part of the responsibility of Sofia Development Association.

The level of projected EU structural funds of approx. €17 mln. has been tentatively agreed to by the City & Regional authorities.

• Funds will be spent with great care, with the aim of investing at least 65% of the budget in sustainable projects and activities.

We plan to apply for the special Melina Mercouri Prize. The money will be used for greater interaction and the founding of long-term cooperation between young artists from Bulgaria and Europe.

• The City of Sofia and the SWR is financially well prepared to be Bulgaria’s host of the European Capital of Culture 2019.

Between 2014 and 2020, the public authorities are providing a structural budget which will contribute 65% (€58.2 mln.) of entirely new cultural funding for the ECoC operational budget of €89.5 mln.

The remaining 35% are allocation of existing “open

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• Despite the economic crisis, Sofia’s municipal cultural budget has increased considerably over the last 10 years since Sofia City Council decided in 2004 to nominate Sofia for ECoC. • The provision of the Cultural Department of Sofia

•Program Culture (€1 mln. per year since 2007) •Sofia City Cultural Calendar (€1.2 mln. per year) •Program Europe (€210,000 per year since 2009) •Program Youth and Sports (€650,000 per year since 2005) The City of Sofia is the largest sponsor of artistic projects via open calls at national level with more than €2 mln. annually.

Sofia has invested 10 times more funds annually for civic cultural projects compared to the Ministry of Culture National Fund during the last 7 years.

Together with the 3 partner cities of the SWR, it is a political priority to secure sustained increases in the budget for cultural and artistic activities in years of economic recession and budget cuts.

In addition to this and to stimulate cultural events in the public space, the City of Sofia provides in-kind free public spaces, electricity, technical equipment, venues, parking space for artistic projects which have support from municipal grant programs. In the City of Sofia, this in-kind contribution was €3 mln. for 2013, and €5 mln. for 2014. This will be maintained to 2019.

Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Usual annual budget In % of the total anfor culture in the City nual budget for the of Sofia (in euros) City of Sofia 11,462,277 2,22% 13,538,255 2,18% 14,676,219 2,18% 14,645,400 2,25% 14,775,906 3,25% 17,800,000 3,49%

Furthermore, resources from communal investment and major infrastructure projects (as Metro) are allocated for co-financing projects that enhance the attractiveness of Sofia in the field of communication, culture and tourism.

Most infrastructure projects in the city are funded

by European programs. For example, reconstruction of the City Museum was financed by €1 mln. from the Regional Development Fund. During the last four years, the City of Sofia multiplied the available funds for culture (for cultural infrastructure and cultural events) by these European programs. These funds are not included in the above table and are shown below:

2.2 Please explain the overall budget for the European Capital of Culture project i.e. funds that are specifically set aside for the project This table summarises the overall budget for ECoC 2019 and includes both the operational expenditures for the event and the related capital expenditures, relevant to the project in Sofia and other partner cities in the SWR.

Total Expenditure (in euros) in the budget

657 536 697

Operating expenditures (in euros)

89,566,700

Operating expenditures (in euros)

13,62%

Capital expenditures (in euros)

*567,969,997

Capital expenditures (in euros)

86,38%

*The capital investments are explained in part IV.

Sofia and the partner cities will invest €89,566,700 specifically for operational expenditures (cultural program) from 2014 to 2020.

34% has already been secured from Sofia Municipality and partner cities; 29% has been budgeted as support from the National Government, 19 % is envisioned to be provided by the Structural Funds (European programs), and 15% from sponsorship and event revenue.

Sofia and the SWR are planning to fund 35% via existing annual “open” budgets for culture to cofinance the ECoC projects, whilst €58 mln. (65%) are new budget commitments for ECoC cultural and artistic projects.

Funding from EU structural funds to programs and projects will come from both allocations to the City of Sofia and the SWR. There are 2 European territorial cooperation programs related to Sofia and the SWR with total budget of €53.5 mln. for 2014 – 2020. 40% is allocated for projects in the area of culture and tourism.

As regards the budgets and financing of infrastructure projects related to 2019, the responsibility for them lies with the relevant public authorities and not with Sofia 2019 (See Part IV).

Total income in the budget ( in euros)

89 566 700

From the public sectors ( in euros)

75,429,000

From the public sectors (in %)

84,22%

From private sectors (in euros)

14,137,700

From the private sector (in %)

**15,78%

**Expected sponsor in-kind and financial contribution and revenue of ticket-sales are included in the category “From the private sector”.

Income from the public sector National Government City of Sofia Regional partners EU (Structural Funds) other (Melina Mercouri) Total

in euros

(%)

Please specify amount planned, secured

26,070,000 34,56% ***Planned, unspecified 27,070,000 35,89% Committed/ secured 3,757,000 4,98% Committed/ secured Planned (Integrated

for Local develop17,032,000 22,58% Plans ment) 1,500,000 1,99% Not detailed

75,429,000 100%

*** Funds have already been guaranteed by the City Council in case that the National Government does not take a decision in time to the submission of the application form.

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EU structural funds related with Sofia and the SWR 2014 - 2020

European Territorial Cooperation Programs: Bulgaria – Serbia (€34,102,252 – 40% for tourism and culture). Eligible 6 BG municipalities including Sofia, Pernik and Kyustendil; Bulgaria – Macedonia (€ 19,461,687 – 40% for tourism and culture). Eligible 2 BG municipalities – Kyustendil and Blagoevgrad; Bulgaria – Greece (€129,695,569).

Eligible 4 BG municipalities including Blagoevgrad.

The 2014 – 2020 framework for the EU funds administered by the Bulgarian government envisions as one of its investment priorities the preservation, promotion and development of the cultural and natural heritage. 4% (€63.5 mln.) of the financial resources of the Regions in Growth Operational Program will be allocated to culture, while 17% will go to urban infrastructure development. The Competitiveness Operational Program plans to provide €125 mln. for the creative and cultural industries.

2.3 Please explain the operating budget for the ECoC project. А) Overall operating expenditure The operating budget is close to €90 mln.

We believe this is a realistic budget consistent with wages & costs (relatively low costs in Bulgaria) and the scope of the program. We are also confident that this can be ensured by the City of Sofia/Sofia 2019 even in the event of emergencies, such as non-financial commitments from partners, financial crisis, inability to gather funding from businesses and other crisis situations.

We have allocated up to €8.5 mln. (9,75% of the budget) for wages/admin/overheads for the project preparation and execution.

The basis for this is a 2014 – 2020 staffing plan with 8 staff members in 2014 and 50 in 2019. (See Appendix 2, Table 2).

This includes a significant budget for local and interProgram Timetable for spend- expenditure (in euros) ing

Total

2014

0

0,00%

235, 000

1,90%

130, 000

1,49%

365, 000

2015

895, 000

1,31%

311, 000

2,52%

162, 000

1,85%

1, 368, 000

2016

1, 945, 000

2,84%

600, 000

4,85%

383, 000

4,38%

2, 928, 000

2017

5, 620, 200

8,21%

1, 798, 500

14,54%

1, 442, 300

16,51%

8, 861, 000

2018

13, 366, 500

19,52%

3, 711, 000

30,01%

2, 768, 000

31,68%

19, 845, 500

2019

37, 142, 200

54,25%

4, 570, 000

36,96%

3, 255, 000

37,26%

44, 967, 200

2020

9, 496, 000

13,87%

1, 140,000

9,22%

596, 000

6,82%

11, 232, 000

Total 68, 464, 900

76,44%

12, 365, 500

13,81%

8, 736, 300

9,75%

89, 566, 700

Operating expenditure ( in euros) 2014 - 2020 Program expenditure ( in euros) Program expenditure (in %)

The budget for programs and projects is set at approx. €68 mln. which is up to 76% of the total budget. (See Appendix 2, Table1). This covers both core projects included in this bid plus budget for open calls, etc.

Promotion and marketing (in %)

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We have allocated €12.3 mln. (approx. 14%) for promotion and marketing. It should be noted that the City/Region, the tourism sector, cultural operators, and national institutions will also support the marketing and promotion of the projects. (See Appendix 2, Table 3)

(in %) from Wages, over- (in %) from (in %) from Marketing and heads, total for wagtotal for promotion total for Marketing and administration es, overheds Program expenditure (in euros) and admin. promotion expenditure (in euros)

B) Planned timetable for spending operational expenditures

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national meetings/R&D plus budget for monitoring and evaluation.

Promotion and marketing (in euros) Wages, overheads, administration (in euros) Wages, overheads, administration (in %) Other (please specify)

89 566 700,00 € 68 464 900 76,44% 12, 365, 500 13,81% 8, 736, 300 9,75% N/A

2.4. Overall capital expenditure As regards the budgets and financing of infrastructure projects related to 2019, the responsibility for them lies with the relevant public authorities and not with Sofia 2019 (See Part IV).

2.5 Have the public finance authorities already voted on or made financial commitments?

1. Sofia City Council and the Councils of Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil and Pernik have passed decisions to allocate the amounts described above in their long-term budgets: Sofia City Council (Decision №430/18.07.2013), Blagoevgrad City Council (Decision № 216/26.07.2013), Kyustendil City

Council (Decision №386/25.07.2013) and Pernik City Council (Decision № 537/18.07.2013).

2.Declaration of support from the Regional Council for Development of the SWR (52 municipalities) 18.06.2014.

around 30% national contribution. Sofia undertakes to negotiate with the government to contribute not less than 30% on the basis of practices from other ECoC capitals and to ensure the importance of the ECoC initiative.

3.The national government has not yet made any financial commitment to the ECoC 2019 as of 1.07.2014.We expect that the national contribution we have budgeted will be negotiated. However, in this situation, and to ensure the Sofia 2019 budget for the implementation of the program, the City Council of Sofia has made a decision to guarantee this budgeted financing in case that the national government does not decide on the amount of financial assistance to the selected city. Sofia and other Bulgarian candidates have planned in the first bid book

2.6. What is the plan for involving sponsors in the event?

In general: We are budgetting with €13,495,000 from sponsors: €5,398,000 in-kind and €8,097,000 financial. The contribution from regional sponsors will be about 12% which is €1,619,400 financial and in-kind. In-kind sponsorship will only include contributions which in fact directly correspond with administrative/communication or project costs for Sofia 2019.

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Main 2019 sponsors: between 6 and 10 from different sectors: transport, media, hotels, communications, restaurants, technical equipment.

€3,000,000

Project sponsors: at least 40 sponsors will contribute to both own cultural events in line with Sofia 2019 and to specific key projects.

€2,000,000

International foundations and cultural institutes: at least 10 international cultural institutions will support specific projects.

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€600,000

Local sponsors: at least 10 businesses from the SWR will be involved to support events in the region.

€1,600,000

Sofia 2019 suppliers and in-kind partners: large number of supporters including media outlets, local transportation, restaurants, and technical equipment.

€5,400,000

Individual involvement and contribution: starting at €1 (max €5), and offer at least 350,000 individuals by SMS, online and payroll giving.

€750,000

Cultural patrons of the events: start at €1,000 and offer at least 250 patrons (individuals and organisations).

€250,000

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2.4. Overall capital expenditure Capital expenditures ( in euros)

567, 969, 997

Funding of new cultural infrastructure or upgrading existing facilities (including museums, galleries, concert halls, art centres, etc.) (in euros) *for details see p.100

Urban revitalisation (renovation of squares, gardens, streets, public space development etc) (in euros)

Infrastructures (investment in the underground, rail stations, roads, etc.) (in euros)

*192, 026, 290

265, 943, 707

110, 000, 000

2.8. Which amount of the usual overall annual budget does the city intend to spend for culture after the ECoC year in Euros and in of the overall annual budget?

We intend to spend for culture after the ECoC year 4,5% - estimated €23 mln. (and 5% in 2023) of the overall annual budget based on Sofia Municipality’s long-term cultural strategy.

2.7. According to what timetable should the income be received by the city for preparing and implementing the ECoC project?

2.7.a Income to be used to cover operating expenses Source of income

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

ECoC year

2020

Total

%

10,000

336,000

588,000

2,076,000

6,355,000

5,420,000

2,247,000

17,032,000

19,02%

Melina Mercouri

1,500,000

1,500,000

1,67%

National Government

0

0

0

2,855,000

3,810,000

16,320,000

3,085,000

26,070,000

29,11%

200,000

600,000

1,200,000

2,500,000

5,780,000

14,100,000

2,690,000

27,070,000

30,22%

Regional partners

65,000

152,000

230,000

280,000

950,000

1,860,000

220,000

3,757,000

4,19%

Spnsors

90,000

280,000

910,000

1,150,000

2,790,000

5,490,000

2,785,000

13,495,000

15,07%

0

0

0

0

160,500

277,200

205,000

642,700

0,72%

365,000

1,368,000

2,928,000

8,861,000

19,845,500

44,967,200

11,232,000

89,566,700

100%

EU (Structural Funds)

City of Sofia

Other (Tickets) Total

2.7.b Income to be used to cover capital expenditure Source of income EU National Government City of Sofia

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

ECoC year

2020

Total

%

10,088,340

23,966,340

43,653,299

56,718,816

56,135,938

31,255,901

21,862,850

243,681,484

42,91%

6,850,100

18,174,540

13,538,569

28,910,114

29,998,241

14,567,070

13,830,340

125,868,974

22,16%

10,000,000

15,000,000

25,000,000

30,000,000

40,000,000

20,000,000

20,000,000

160,000,000

28,17%

1,834,500

2,756,270

4,105,956

5,664,003

6,886,300

9,129,810

7,980,000

38,356,839

6,75%

Spnsors

0

7,000

8,000

10,000

13,500

14,000

10,200

62,700

0,01%

Other

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

28,772,940

59,904,150

86,305,824

121,302,933

133,033,979

74,966,781

63,683,390

567,969,997

100%

Regional partners

Total

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APPENDIX 2.1.

PROGRAM BUDGET We present an outline budget of the 60 core projects. This is only indicative at this stage of course. This indicates that the total project budget is an estimated €68 mln. on the basis of the €31 mln. committed by Sofia 2019.

Similarly, we expect the total project budget for the selected projects via open calls, etc. of €20 mln. to be around €50 mln.

This is due to event/project income for projects, which is limited as most events (70%) are free and this also includes partners’ own contribution as well as external funding for the projects. Some of this may well be in-kind, e.g. provision of venues, planning and admin. support, etc.

The reserve of €6,8 mln. can both offset extra costs as well as compensate for any missing external income committed to core projects in the Application.

Program for core projects in the bid Open Call projects 2015-2016 Collaboration with Bulgarian cities Collaboration with Italian ECoC city

34,000,000 18,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000

Reserve for openings and official events

2,200,000

Pre-2019 capacity development

1,000,000

Event & technical support to projects

2,000,000

Contingency 10% of program budget

6,800,000

Total program allocation Sofia 2019

68,000,000

Event income, partnership/cultural operators contribution

49,000,000

Estimated total program budget (see detailed program budget)

117,000,000

APPENDIX 2.2.

ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANISATION BUDGET The overall budget for preparation, admin. and overheads is €8,736 mln., 9,7% of the budget.

Wages are calculated on the basis of a detailed organisation plan for the period 2014-2020.

The team will be around 50 people at the peak in 2019.

Costs for the admin. centre will facilitate the provision of minimum 1,000 m² space for projects since many projects will not have own premises and will be offered facilities to use office space/facilities of the Sofia 2019 centre. This is to be a key aspect of the project, engaging in particular many younger producers and community groups to work in a shared environment with service facilities, allowing their budgets to be allocated to programs and activity.

There is a considerable budget of around €1.5 mln. to facilitate participation in European networks and facilitate research and partnerships for Sofia 2019 project partners. We have allocated €2.5 mln. for meetings, conferences, residences, etc. with European artists/partners.

The evaluation and monitoring budget is set at €800,000. And, finally, €318,000 will be allocated to provide facilities, support, transportation, food etc. for Sofia 2019 volunteers.

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Sofia 2019 team : wages, consultants, etc.

Sofia 2019 Centre costs, with admin. facilities, facilities for projects, meeting, etc.

Travel, participation in international meetings, research, networking, etc.

Meetings, local travels, international guests in Sofia, etc. plus support for relevant conferences and seminars Telecommunications and media costs Evaluation and monitoring Volunteers Total

Total 2,885,500 500,000 1,500,000 2,232,500

500,000 800,000 318,000 8,736,000

APPENDIX 2.3 COMMUNICATIONS BUDGET The Communication & PR budget has been set at €12,365 mln. - some 14% of the total budget. Even though this is a considerable budget in Bulgaria, we aim to supplement this budget by: •Individual projects will have an estimated €6,5 mln. for target marketing for their particular project. Sofia 2019 has already some 120 local/regional partners and we expect some 300 partners in total to engage themselves in the project. These include all the main cultural organisations in Sofia/Bulgaria. Together they have a sizable communications budget which will also be activated to promote the program. Estimated value €3 mln.

•Activating our business and civil society partners to support by taking part in media initiatives and allowing Sofia 2019 to use them as platforms both online/digital and in the city. Estimated value €3 mln.

•The City of Sofia and the regional partner cities will provide important communication platform for Sofia 2019 e.g. access to free weekly newspapers (200,000 circulatation) which is already happening, access to city-wide billboards (180 key sites) , access to all visitors, facilities, etc.

Estimated value €2 mln.

•This the total budget will be around €26.8 mln.

In the overall allocation of the communications budget over the 5 years the priorities are: 50% allocated to general communications information / marketing of Sofia 2019 locally/nationally; 30% allocated specifically to international communications and marketing; 20% allocated to specific target groups and activities e.g. young people, elderly, immigrant population, socially deprived communities.

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COMMUNICATION & PR

PHASE 1 2014 - 2015

PHASE 2 2016-2017

PHASE 3&4 2018-2019

PHASE 5 2020

Total

Design/brand, etc.

Web/digital/social media Local/national press and media Information centres, guides, etc.

2019 programs, giudes, key event promotion (international/ local) Print/outdoor adv/city-regionalnational marketing campaigns Special target groups campaigns and cultural actions International press and media International cultural tourism campaigns and servicing

150,000

200,000

300,000

55,000

705,000

75,000

200,000

500,000

200,000

975,000

50,000

200,000

1,000,000

100,000

1,350,000

0

200,000

700,000

200,000

1,100,000

0

200,000

1,700,000

200,000

2,100,000

150,000

250,000

1,000,000

100,000

1,500,00

30,000

300,000

1,000,000

100,000

1,430,000

75,000

300,000

500,000

100,000

975,000

0

590,000

1,500,000

140,000

2,230,000

Total

530,000

2,440,000

8,200,000

1,195,000

12,365,000

APPENDIX 2.4

Sponsorship Strategy Our goal:

To attract at least 100 businesses that support Sofia 2019 not only financially and in-kind, but also participate in the process of decision-making. We believe that sponsors and businesses must have a strong link to Sofia, a desire to give to the city, optimism about the potential of the candidacy and its positive impact on Sofia and the SWR. Our achievements:

We have already established good relationships with the private sector at the local and national level.There is already significant participation of the business sector in our 2019 Initiative Committee (established in 2011 and with over 70 members). Particularly notable is its leading role on the Financial Sustainability Committee (including Bulgaria Air, Sofia Airport, Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, Bulgarian Association of Tourist Agencies and the three largest business and commerce organizations, which have more than 10,000 business members).

This is not only proof of the viability of the project, but also illustrates the basis for the development of relevant partnership and sponsorship involvement mechanisms. We are actively engaging the business sector in the process. Some joint activities include: the annual Volunteer Day of Corporate Businesses, joint participation in international tourist fairs, piloting new venues for art such as shopping malls and business parks.

We have also established and realized a number of key media partnerships on relevant initiatives with the BNT, BTV Radio, BTV, Jazz FM, Trud Daily, 24 Hours Daily, BNR, Radio Sofia.

Currently, the business sector in Sofia is supporting a variety of cultural and artistic events and projects.

Public-private partnerships are also underway. SDA is involved in these events and projects, and has good relations and partners with the business sector.

For example, in 2014 we organized for the first time the Culture Zone Fest, held in the huge industrial spaces provided by the businesses and financed by the City of Sofia.

According to our data, more than two hundred com-

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panies are at present involved in the cultural sector in Sofia, which underlines the potential. This involvement includes many different models: sponsorship, providing venues, supplies and services, media partnerships.

To structure this dispersed sponsorship pattern and to ensure the realisation of Sofia’s cultural strategy, SDA/Sofia 2019 established a legal public-private Fund for Innovations in Culture, which opens its first grant-making program in 2014. There is both public and private participation (with 50% - 50% contribution), and the city’s contribution is to stimulate private engagement (the model is known from the Arts and Business, UK).

This will be our major platform for involving the commercial sector in the ECoC, starting in 2014.

Our plan is to achieve financial sponsorship to the value of €13 mln. (60% cash and 40% in-kind) from both the public and the private sector, which is a challenging target.

In case Sofia wins the ECoC 2019 title, two sponsorship positions will be filled through a selection process: Fundraising and Grants Coordinator (primarily responsible for key sponsors, official sponsors and communication with the economic chambers of the region) and Fundraising and Grants Coordinator (primarily responsible for fundraising from medium and small companies, private entrepreneurs and physical entities).

The main sponsors will communicate directly with the Executive Director and the Management Team.

The sponsorship team will be four persons in total.

Our sponsorship model has seven categories & levels of funding and commitment: •Main 2019 Sponsors We aim to involve between 6 and 10 main official Sofia 2019 sponsors from different sectors: transport, media, telecommunications, banking and finance, hotel and tourism. Our target is to generate €3 mln. through this platform, as of 2015, with €500,000 contributions from each partner.

•Project sponsors Include both own cultural events in line with the concept that is part of the 2019 program, and contributions to specific key projects of interest. We plan to reach €3 mln. Contributions will range between

€10,000 and €50,000.

•Local sponsors Support events in the SWR, developed jointly with the regional partners and based on local business networks. We target €1 mln.

•International foundations and cultural institutes SDA already has extremely good relations with key institutes in Sofia: America for Bulgaria Foundation, the Norwegian Fund, Goethe Institute, British Council, the cultural institutes of the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, and France. Based on our cooperation and preliminary negotiations, we have set a target at €1 mln. to support specific projects in our bid and many of these have already been discussed.

•Sofia 2019 suppliers and in-kind partners We envision a large number of suppliers – including media outlets, local transportation, restaurants, and technical equipment. This strategy will also include companies providing facilities for local events, collaboration with design companies providing workshops and materials for design related projects, companies engaged in sustainable energy engaging in green projects with know-how, etc. We target for sponsorship, estimated at €5 mln. We already have around twenty partners in place.

•Patrons We will also implement a targeted strategy for wealthier individuals/patrons of the arts, which will start at €1,000 with 250 patrons as a minimum. Our target is €1 mln.

•Individual involvement and contribution We plan for a very low threshold, starting at €1, and offer a few easy and simple support options: SMS, online and payroll-giving. We intend to link this individual financial support to both programs and projects by public votes on priorities, crowdfunding and community schemes. We aim at 100,000 citizen contributions of €5 on the average.

APPENDIX 2.4

Exclusivity

Main Sponsors Project Sponsors Local Partner Sponsors Only 1 company per sector Only 1 company per sec- No exclusivity as official 2019 partner tor in each project

Foundations n/a

SPONSOR Product Sofia 2019 committed to Can be used as part of Can be used as part of n/a use product if relevant, e.g. payment. Max 50% payment. Max 50% bank & insurance; airline Profiling

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

Patrons Supply Sponsors Exclusivity can be agreed n/a if relevant Used as payment / value n/a set at 50% of retail costs

Company profiled with Company profiled at pro- n/a standard presentations for- ject venues / event mats at all locations / events

Foundation featured at n/a project / venue

n/a

MEDIA Advertising

Company featured on all Company featured on all Company feature in Foundation featured on n/a main advertising in press project advertising all project advertising local advertising and media. Min. 200.

n/a

Campaigns

Three major campaigns, n/a e.g. “We invest in Art and Culture� for Sofia

n/a

n/a

Tickets/Invitations

Official Events

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n/a

n/a

n/a

Foundation featured at n/a project

Company profiled at ven- n/a ue and events

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a 10-100 tickets and 10-100 tickets for event/ 10-100 tickets for event/ Invited to one special event Choice of 25 events/500 10-100 tickets for project invitations to local project project for patrons. tickets. events events % rebate for n/a tickets 4-10 invitations to all official 2-6 invitations to all ofInvited to official opening Invited to official events in year ficial events in the year Invited to official opening n/a and opening of project. opening and local opening

n/a

One special event

n/a

n/a

Membership of 2019 Sponsor Club

n/a

n/a

Special events or One special event / project One special project event One special per year for the company event outreach and staff/guests Sponsor Club

n/a

Company profiled on all Company profiled on all Company profiled as Foundation profiled on Company profiled in all Listing of pa- n/a publications of Sofia 2019 publications of project local partner in city/ all publications of Sofia publications of Sofia 2019 trons in key 2019 publica2019 region tions n/a Company features on all n/a n/a Company featured on n/a n/a billboard/city lights/media special city lights in screens of Sofia 2019 city/region

Locations

Projects

Individual Sponsors

Membership of Sponsor Membership of 2019 Club with ongoing program Sponsor Club

local One special event

Membership of 2019 Sponsor Club

Membership of 2019 Sponsor Club

IV City infrastructure

DIRECT EUROPEAN FLIGHTS TO AND FROM SOFIA

1h

1. What are the city's assets in terms of accessibility regional, national and international transport?

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International visitors

15,4 mln. people

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Sofia is the biggest transport hub and the most accessible city in Bulgaria. There are direct regular air flights linking Sofia directly with 47 international destinations, and 51 road and rail connections from/ to all different parts of the region and the rest of Europe.

34 mln. people

Sofia Airport has 3.6 mln. passengers per year – 91% of all passengers are on international flights to/from 47 destinations in Europe and the Middle East operated by 45 airlines and 2 low-cost airlines.

More direct connections with Balkans cities are operating since 2014 and this is already generating more visitors. The latest routes are to/from Belgrade and Zagreb, with expected average of 30,000 passengers annually.

Sofia is a real geographical and transport hub of the Balkans.

Moscow

MalmĂś

Manchester Amsterdam

London

Berlin Warsaw

Dortmund Eindhoven Frankfurt Brussels

The City of Sofia and Sofia Airport partner in upgrading the promotion of culture of Sofia. This will be developed, among other things, into a welcome centre with Sofia 2019.

There are regular international trains from/to Moscow, Istanbul, Bucharest, Belgrade and Thessaloniki. There are 46 direct bus lines also serving visitors from the Balkan region and Eastern Europe including Istanbul, Thesseloniki, Athens, Skopje, Ohrid, Strumica, Belgrade, Nis, Prague, Odessa, etc.

27,6 mln. people

Zurich

Paris Milan

Valencia Madrid

Barcelona Palma de Mallorca

Kiev

Prague Munich

Vienna

Zagreb Sibiu Belgrade Nis Bologna Sofia Pirot Rome

Skopje

Catania Malta

Ohrid

Bucharest

Istanbul

Athens Larnaca

Tel Aviv

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Domestic and regional visitors Sofia is accessible by air from the Black Sea cities Varna and Bourgas. 68 Bulgarian bus carriers provide regular and cheap bus connections from the entire country and all Bulgarian citizens can reach Sofia within maximum 4 h. 20 min. by bus.

There are also train connections from most Bulgarian towns. Visitors from/to the SWR can profit from the introduced regional ticket with unlimited stops in the region; a day pass Sofia-Pernik provides unlimited journeys. These will be developed to include access to 2019 events.

City transport Buses, trolley buses, trams and metro cover the whole city territory, including the outskirts and mountain recreation zones.

The major transport hubs such as Central Railway Station and Central Bus Station are now connected to the city public transport network by the metro.

Sofia Airport will be accessible by metro in 2015 and visitors will reach the dowtown area in 20 minutes for €0.5. The metro now connects downtown and residential districts with 675,000 residents.

Some 2 mln. people can travel by road/rail to Sofia within 1-2 hours, 4 mln. within 3-4 hours, 17 mln. within 5-6 hours.

2. What is the city’s absorption capacity in terms of tourist accommodation?

Our aim is to attract 30% more visitors in 2019, which amounts to 1.5 mln. visitors and to prolong the stay of SWR visitors from 2.1 to 2.5-day - counting additional €45 mln. tourist sector profit.

We certainly have the capacity to accommodate them. With a total of around 58 mln. available bednights in Bulgaria, Sofia/SWR has 20% of the hotel beds in the country, 15% of all tourist bednights and 18% of bednight profit. Of the 12 mln. bednights only 27% are used currently, with an average overnight price of €40, leaving ample capacity at all times of the year.

Sofia is one of the most affordable European cities according to TripAdvisor and is in the top-ten in the European backpacker index. In addition to commercial accommodation, visitors can choose to stay at Christian monasteries, mountain huts or farms.

Together with the tourist sector, Sofia 2019 will widen and renew the tourism and marketing of the city and region as a changing and innovative European destination. We will start launching joint cultural tourism projects from 2015.

Opportunities will partly be based on tapping into existing summer coastal and winter ski markets but it will also require a concerted effort to use ECoC 2019 more actively, in a broader strategy of cultural tourism.

We will primarily focus on attracting visitors from the neighboring Balkan cities. Secondly, we target more visitors from the countries with exisitng tourism links to Sofia:UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, France, Russia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium. Finally, we will try to attract visitors from the emerging travel markets of Israel, Japan, South Korea and China.

The weakest months for tourism in Sofia are December to January. The ski resorts in the SWR offer a great potential for additional visits and bednights and we will be focusing on that potential.

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We will develop art/culture package and weekend cultural offers for these tourists, as well as for business tourists in Sofia. We will also collaborate with leading European tour operators such as Thomas Cook, TUI, Neckermann, Dertour, etc.

Sofia will continue to extend its strategy to host key cultural conferences with clear international impact in collaboration with Sofia 2019: Sofia Meetings (Sofia International Film Fest); I.E.T.M, A Soul for Europe.

Examples of initiatives to help our visitors discover Sofia 2019: Mobile multilingual information centres, online maps and apps with 2019 program information in 5 languages (Bulgarian, English, French, Italian, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian).

Tourist info centres serving as regional cultural embassies, which showcase selected cultural programs /destinations in SWR. Sofia Pass – 3-day cultural sightseeing package, with free public transport and access to 6 municipal museums and art galleries; 2-hour city English guided tour; tickets reduction to more than 20 museums and galleries. The Sofia Pass will evolve within the coming years and in 2019 it will be dedicated to 2019 programs.

2019-designed Pop Up structures in Sofia Airport, Sofia Central Bus and Central Railway Stations to provide information, gather feedback and encourage photo and story sharing via terminals and free Wi-Fi. New urban and regional routes to transform the experience of the city and offer new tailor-made customized city and regional breaks.

Sofia 2019 low budget diary, starting in 2017 to attract more backpackers and young visitors. The diary will include a low-cost guide to the city and free 2019 program events.

3. What projects are to be carried out between now and the year for which the city is applying for the title of European Capital of Culture in terms of urban and tourism infrastructure, including renovation?

What is the planned timetable for this work?

The City of Sofia is committed to a major program of integrated infrastructural investment in cultural and city development. The projects are a result of an extensive consultative process with stakeholders and citizens during the preparation of the Sofia Cultural Strategy 2013 – 2023 and the Sofia Integrated Plan 2014 – 2020.

URBAN AND CULTURAL TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS These projects will make our city and region more visitor-accessible and residents-friendly. They will improve city livability by revitalizing public areas that support positive community interaction, and green spaces that offer new recreational activities.

The 10 projects we briefly describe are all relevant to the 2019 program.

• Conservation and exhibit of key Sofia cultural heritage sites: the early neolith Slatina settlement (6000-5500 B.C.E.), the antique Serdika city walls, Roman amphitheatre, the Roman military barracks, the Western Gate, and Triangular Tower, medieval churches.

Completion: 2014 - 2018. Budget: €7.3 mln.

Related 2019 projects: Future from the Past, Sofia Levels, Museum Reboot.

• International architectural competitions for the redesign of areas with socialist monuments: the area of the iconic monument “1300 Years Bulgaria” by the National Palace of Culture; the area of Knyazheska Gradina with the Soviet Army Monument.

Completion: 2014 - 2016. Budget: €0.1 mln.

Related 2019 Projects: Animate City Memory, Reconciling the Past • Regeneration in Sofia’s downtown area: a series of renovations and restorations of public buidings and spaces, including the National Palace of Culture gardens, Doktors’ Garden, the main pedestrian streets, including pavements, outdoor lighting schemes, outdoor furniture, urban landscaping and greenery.

Completion: 2014 - 2017. Budget: €10 mln.

Related 2019 Projects: Streets of Sofia, My Sofia City Tours, Open Air. • Reconstruction of city markets: the Women’s Market, Ivan Vazov Market, Gotse Delchev Covered Market will all be reconstructed to strengthen the city’s economic, social and environmental viability and also provide cultural places. Borovo Market will

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become the first organic farmers market in Sofia.

Completion: 2014 - 2016. Budget: €5 mln.

Related 2019 projects: Urban Farms and Gardens, Animate City Memory, I came to Sofia, Taste This.

• Renovation of urban parks: Knyazheska Garden, Zaimov Park, Borisova Garden and South Park are major public parks in Sofia, which will be redesigned with new landscaping, playgrounds and facilities for urban sports and events. In addition, revitalization of public parks in Pernik, Kuystendil and Blagoevgrad with cultural facilities is also planned.

Completion: 2014 - 2018. Budget: €12.3 mln.

Related 2019 Projects: Urban Explorers, Open Air. • Construction of bicycle lanes: 114 km bicycle new lanes in Sofia.

Completion: 2014 - 2017.

Related 2019 project: My Sofia Tours.

• Multilingual Public Signage will be installed in the city centre with cultural/heritage/arts focus, including key 2019 locations and public transport.

Completion: 2016 - 2019. Budget: € 2 mln.

Related 2019 projects: My Sofia City Tours, Streets of Europe.

• Regional routes: Building of support infrastructure – multilingual signage, design of specific viewing points in the SWR, parking lots, restroom facilities, directly linked to the Regional Routes project.

Completion: 2015 - 2019. Budget: €10 mln.

• Extension of Metro line 1 to Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport (5 km). It is expected that the number of metro passengers will increase by 170,000 daily from the current 674,290.

Due date 2015. Budget: € 70 mln.

• Visitors’ information centres: the Tourist Department of Sofia Municipality is constructing a series of visitors’ centres in Sofia. Additionally, we will create mobile info points.

Completion: 2014 - 2018. Budget: € 5 mln.

Total budget Urban Projects: 265,943,707.

CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE These 16 projects are an integral part of the 2019 program. Despite the wide variety of cultural venues in the city, young Sofia artists face an acute need for new contemporary art and culture facilities and spaces. There is also a need for facilities for underrepresented communities, emerging artists and art forms, e.g. contemporary dance and design.

At the same time, there is an abundance of derelict unused pedominantly industrial buildings. We have decided rather than building new infrastructure to rerpose and refurbish these existing buildings into interactive creative spaces for new cultural production.

showroom for new products and technologies, office space, urban activity collider.

Completion: 2015. Budget: €15.9 mln.

Relevant 2019 projects: Sofia Tech Park and Ars Electronica, Urban Explorers.

• Zone Culture: a major transformation of the old industrial zone in the city centre into a creative hub for artists, cultural organisations and the creative sector. A long-term project, initiated with Sofia 2019 support in 2014 and driven by independent artists/ groups. Highly relevant for Sofia 2019 as production base/venue for the independent sector. 22,000m² is allocated to arts at present.

Completion: 2014- 2018. Budget: €10 mln.

These reclaimed venues will provide a key platform for 2019 projects and will provide the opportunity for both renewing arts/cultural institutions and giving space to new initiatives and projects.

• Undergara: Facilities for Creative Industries Cluster in the semi-open space under the Sofia Central Railway Station (2,000m²), providing a hub for some 40 creative companies/artists.

Completion: 2015. Budget: €2.1 mln.

• Sofia History Museum: the old city mineral baths (7,000 m²) will be transformed into a city museum with temporary exhibitions and community curatorial programs.

Completion: 2014. Budget: € 3.7 mln.

Relevant 2019 project: Museum Reboot.

• Underground theater: 900 m² space will be converted into a underground theater and a gallery in the metro station James Bouchier, managed by Union of Bulgarian Actors and Musiz Foundation.

Completion: 2015. Budget € 0.5 mln.

Relevant 2019 project: Sofia Levels

• Regional History Museum – Pernik: reconstruction/redesign of the museum (1,730 m²), including the Mining Museum.

Completion: 2014 – 2015. Budget: €1.9 mln.

Relevant 2019 Project: Museum Reboot.

• Muzeiko: interactive exploratory children’s museum (3,500 m²) is a key project in Sofia 2019 with artistic residencies and travelling edutainment projects.

Completion: 2015. Budget: €10 mln.

• Regional History Museum - Blagoevgrad: Reconstruction of the adjascent amphitheatre to be used as a cultural venue in 2019.

Completion: 2015. Budget: €1.5 mln.

Relevant 2019 project: Open Air.

• Tramway Depot Klokotnitsa: a key investment by the city aimed at supporting Sofia 2019, transformating the old tramway depot (14,000 m²) into contemporary arts centre with multifunctional halls, artistic ateliers.

Completion: 2016. Budget: € 10 mln.

• TagTag hotspot: transformation of Heating Plant (1,000 m²) in the Students’ district into Sofia 2019 team/project workspace and lab for projects.

Completion: 2015. Budget: €2.5 mln.

• Sofia Tech Park: renovated military facilities (20,000 m²) will accommodate applied research laboratories, business incubator, training centre,

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• Mobile open-air stages: multifunctional openair stages will be designed, produced and temporarily constructed in the large residential areas.

Completion: 2016. Budget: €14 mln.

Relevant 2019 projects: Pop Up, Open Air, Instant Architecture.

• Intercultural centres: Sofia is redesigning 2 venues for cultural centres of the Roma community and the migrant community. They are located in the Sofia Women Market and will be managed by public private partnerships.

Completion: 2015 - 2016. Budget: € 2 mln.

Relevant 2019 projects: Roma Living, I Came to Sofia.

• Sredets Municipal Cultural Institute: repurposig of an existing cultural institute into a centre for contemporary performing arts.

Completion: 2017. Budget: €4 mln.

Relevant 2019 projects: Dance Sofia, 100% Sofia.

• Multifunctional centre for science and culture restoration and reconstruction of an old heating plant (1,233 m²) into a multifunctional centre for science and culture in Iztok district.

Completion: 2017. Budget: € 2 mln.

Relevant 2019 project: Reporteen • Sofia City Art Gallery: renovation and revitalization of the gallery.

Completion: 2016. Budget: € 6,1 mln.

Project: Reflective City; Sofia Digital Art Platform.

• National Palace of Culture: renovation and revitalization of the largest cultural facility in the country (123,000 m²) with 12 halls.

Project Reconciling the Past; Voices of the Spirit.

Completion: 2017. Budget: € 51 mln.

The total budget for 16 major projects presented here is 137.2 mln. Sofia 2019 program includes 30 smaller infrastructure projects in Sofia and the partner cities of the SWR, which are associated with the transformation of abandoned spaces in contemporary art venues, outdoor scenes, and repair of existing cultural infrastructure. The total budget for them is € 54,8 mln.

V COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 1. What is the city's intended communication strategy for the ECoC event?

We have identified three major commmunication strategy tasks: Sofia 2019 as integrated marketing of a cultural event: the goal of achieving maximum attendance and participation in the projects and events, leading up to 2018, and particularly during 2019. This is the main objective we will pursue with our partners. Sofia 2019 aims at more people enjoying more culture more often. We are ambitious but realistic, estimating some 5 mln. visits to cultural events as part of Sofia 2019.

Sofia 2019 as social communication: secondly, the task of involving citizens and establishing ongoing platforms for debate, reflection, skill-building and engagement in the city and the region on issues relevant to the project but also to society as a whole.

The preparation for ECoC can provide platforms for such involvement, but the input and content will be largely driven by the whole community. We are therefore, committed to establishing communication platforms which can be maintained and which have a high degree of citizen engagement.

Sofia 2019 as long-term city and regional branding: thirdly, creating greater international awareness of Sofia and improving the city’s international

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reputation as a recognizable creative place. This will help us attract cultural and artistic content and co-production, host large-scale international conferences and events, promote investment and stimulate student exchanges and mobility.

A prerequisite for this will be a changed self-perception of the city and the citizens’ self-esteem, pride and renewed confidence.

BASIC PRINCIPLES We will structure our communications around the “sharing” program concept and themes. We will create open knowledge platforms that provide project information but also go beyond to other aspects relevant to our nine program themes. That way our communication platforms can become a driving force in the emerging social information and learning hubs in the city.

We will develop targeted and diversified communication channels based on communities, both in socio-cultural terms as well as in terms of territories.

We will focus specific efforts towards the different segments.

This is in particular relevant not only for niche communities but also to engage “passive” communities which at present do not participate in the city public cultural life.

Thirdly, we will focus our marketing strategy on accessibility. 75% of the events will be free. Therfore we will go where people are and we will be proactive in our decentralized communications.

Thus we will continue to design in partnership with artists initiatives to engage the elderly, disadvantaged groups and youth groups, Roma communities, social institutions. We will work with a network of contacts in these communities which we have already established and will develop further.

Fourthly, we will also focus on action-based communication, participatory events, mobile information centres, etc. as well as outreach programs with events.

Our communication will continue to be interactive and participatory and with many artistic-based initiatives which will engage the audiences with soft provocation, fun events, projections, installations, urban games. We will use the language and the formats of contemporary art in a series of infiltrations in Sofia and the SWR to stimulate interest.

The communication and information will thus be part of the program. We will invite artists, designers to create integrated strategies and actions to inform/ stimulate debate and engage in the public space and public media.

We believe the networked and integrated approach will multiply what Sofia 2019 team can do single-handedly. Collaborating with different stakeholders - the business sector, the academia, the cultural sector and the city of Sofia - and utilizing their communication platforms results in natural outreach to broader and more diverse audiences.

15% of the Sofia ECoC budget has been reserved for communication.

COMMUNICATION INITIATIVES 2010/2014 We have already been spreading the news of the Sofia 2019 project at all levels and at the same time both forming and testing strategies and concrete actions.

A 2013 poll shows that 75% of all citizens know Sofia is a candidate city, 67% support the initiatives 71% want to take part as audience, and 15% want to participate. For a region of 2.5 mln., this is a good starting position and shows that Sofia 2019 has a real relevance for many media and citizens.

• Over 200 public discussions, creative workshops and face-to-face meetings in Sofia and the SWR and 2 international conference on ECoC initiative with A Soul for Europe and the Committee of the Regions. Over 5,000 individuals and cultural operators participated.

• Bilingual web platform, launched in 2011, with 26,000 registered contributors generating content.

• International logosystem competition in 2012 with 76 projects from 6 countries; the international jury selected 4 finalists and the citizens voted online to choose the winner.

• Nearly 300 Sofia 2019 volunteers in more than 100 events and festivals. We have engaged directly more than 70,000 citizens in these initiatives.

• Facebook with 6,500 direct contributions and more than 33,000 likes from 44 countries reaching more than 100,000 people per month. Recently we launched a Twitter account numbering more than 500 tweets. Youtube with more than 100 videos and more than 15,000 views. More than 100 artists, journalists, politicians, and citizens shared their support for Sofia in 2-minute videos.

• A series of campaigns to encourage involvement: 2011-2013 postcard campaign Have an Idea?; Share your Idea campaign at the beginning of 2014; 2014 On Tour for Ideas Roadshow for generating ideas and support in the SWR and Sofia residential ­areas; 2014 OpenDays in Sofia and the SWR with workshops and performances in the sites intended for transformation; 2014 I Support Sofia campaign launched during the International Sofia Film fest engaging the foreign guest of the Fest, etc. We reached and involved over 60,000 citizens.

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• Consistent work with national and local media: Sofia 2019 has been mentioned in more than 750 national and local media and in 90 foreign media with minimum audience of 3.5 mln. Specific joint projects include: Sharing a Book with the Bulgarian National TV and the Trud Daily and 24 chasa Daily in 2013; weekly Sharing Sofia radio show on Bulgarian National Radio started in 2013; projects with the Bulgarian News Agency; Radio Binar, etc.

• Several creative youth initiatives: competition for bookplates of Mario Vargas Llosa’s literary works, juried by him; live art event by Albino Pitty and school children on a trolleybus; launch of SDA annual award for innovative ECoC project; Young Lions national competition on video presenting Sharing Sofia, etc.

• Cultural events and actions 2010-2014 , e. g. The Night of Museums, Volunteer Day, exhibitions in the public space, celebrations of the European Solidarity between Generations Day with artists in the elderly care institutions, International Roma Day celebration in the municipal cultural centres with Roma artists, etc. We estimated that 600,000 people participated.

TARGET AUDIENCES AND COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS In the table below we aim to present our communication platforms at local, national and international levels. They are also structured according to the four main public/ audience groups for cultural participation: the cultural elite, the culturally selective, the mass cultural consumers and the culturally inactive.

PUBLICS and AUDIENCES GROUP 1: THE CULTURAL ELITE

15% of our citizens are very culturally active.

These are well educated, young or middleaged people who are often self-engaged in the arts or creative sector, academics and teachers, professionals of many kinds.

This group is the backbone of an ongoing cultural life and we want to involve them but also challenge them and provide new opportunities for closer engagement and participation; we will also seek to challenge them aesthetically and introduce them to new artists and new venues.

Estimated 500,000 Target: 2.5 mln. visits to 2019 program.

5 visits each on average.

GROUP 2: THE CULTURALLY SELECTIVE

CITY and REGIONAL LEVEL

NATIONAL LEVEL

2019 web platform and social media viral marketing though existing communication platforms of the different professional associations/networks and cultural institutions Cross marketing with cultural institutions in Sofia and the SWR - via a micro website – part of the 2019 platform, with sharable signage, background video, ads, brochures.

Professional organisations/networks: publications in the official websites, newsletters, promotion through common events via relevant national networks, e.g. Union of Bulgarian Artists, Union of Architects in BulTo support this, there will be capacity building for garia, Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers, Union these relevant institutions. of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers, Chamber of Architects.

Common database and email marketing.

Media: Video streaming/marketing materials distribution art blogs; culture broadcast programs on the during cultural events.

Bulgarian National TV, BTV , NovaTV, Bulgarian National Radio, Darik Radio, BTV Radio; cultural online and offline editions such as kultura.bg, litvestnik, etc;

International events platform: joint events, distribution of information and materials through a network of ECoC cities; events in partnership with the 11 Bulgarian cultural institutes abroad in Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, London, Moscow, Paris, Prague, Rome, Skopje, Vienna and Warsaw; the EUNIC network; Sofia 2019 international partners.

Media: publications in foreign art blogs; partnership with specific broadcasting media such as the European Broadcasting Union, Mezzo, ARTE.

2019 web platform and social media viral marketing, open communication events and cultural actions, site-specific events

Media: We estimate that some 25% of our resi- Digital personalised experience: dents are irregular and selective cultural mobile apps. “make your own program”, texting specialized media broadcasting programs participants. such as Classic FM, Jazz FM, N-Joy, Z Rock, tools, social media status updates.

Melody, and internet platforms such as CapThey are often selective in their cultural Cultural community platform: ital Light; university newsletters and comhabits. For example, some of them are working with partners and representatives of the munication channels (National Art Academy, members of niche cultural communities, such as young people associating them- different communities and event producers, cre- Sofia University, New Bulgarian University, selves with hip-hop, street culture, anime ating joint promotion events reaching different National Academy of Music). specific groups, e.g. a “sharing green forum” will and manga, etc. engage with green civil associations, universities, Open calls and national projects: Another subgroup is the middle aged and schools, business companies. nine thematic open calls; national project the elderly who are mainly interested in calls folklore and are part of its living tradition. Media: There are other strata as well. at least 100 Internet-based specialized sites such as SofiaLive, programata.bg, Sofia City Guide, Estimated 500,000 etc; alternative city media outdoor advertizing.

Target: 1.5 mln. visits to 2019 program.

3 visits each on average.

Open calls: green fund, youth fund, community fund; nine thematic open calls

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INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

Media: link to established media brands and celebrity, in-flight/hotel magazines.

Networking platforms: communication channels of international 2019 program partners and Bulgarian artists living abroad.

Sofia 2019 at international tourism and trade expos, thematic conferences that attract European/Balkan media interest.

Open calls and travelling projects: nine thematic open calls; travelling and mobile European projects

PUBLICS and AUDIENCES GROUP 3: MASS CULTURAL CONSUMERS A large group of citizens participate in major mass cultural events and follow mass cultural trends, both traditional folk and pop culture in its broadest format. Participation is often by families, where children can also take part in the events.

CITY and REGION LEVEL

NATIONAL LEVEL

Mass media: TV and radio stations, newspapers, internet TVs, weekly magazines, internet platforms; outdoor specific branding on motorways, border checkpoints, public transport Frontline platform: Taxi drivers, waiters, hotel receptionists, ticketing office staff and the staff of museum and cultural institutions will all act as 2019 “gatekeepers”. In partnership with British Council Sofia we will train them to guide local residents and visitors. Mobile apps. are currently being developed.

Mobile networking platform: High visibility and/or travelling projects such as Pop-Up, Re-Orient Express, Instant Archtecture will have parallel mobile marketing and communication activities; workshops with art organisations organized in place as well as exhibitions.

2019 media platform: partnership with national media outlets for 2019 ECoC regular broadcasting/print coverage, also including transformation of TV studios into Sofia 2019 art exhibition places; 2019 information on their internet platforms, video and audio podCity digital platform: advertising through bus and metro information casts, etc. boards and free internet terminals, building on the existing 106 media screens, 300 outdoor advertisement boards and 20 km of public bus lines with free Wi-Fi;

Regional information centres platform: Therefore a strong social element is important. the centres in the SWR will serve as meeting points This segment is often open-minded and can be and venues for workshops, resource sharing, informaengaged in many projects. tion;

Estimated 750,000 Target : 1 mln. visits 1.25 visits each on average

GROUP 4: THE CULTURALLY INACTIVE

Local media platform: partnerships with 6 Sofia City radio channels, 4 local newspapers, and columns on Sofia 2019 in 2 free weekly magazines e.g. Life Today and 19 minutes. Region adds six local cable TVs, five radio stations, nine newspapers, as well as 2 regional daily newspapers.

International media platform: cooperation with Sofia-based correspondents of international media (Reuters, Deutche Wele, AFP, BBC and others) and foreign-language editions in Bulgaria (such as Daily News, the Sofia Independent, Nuovo Corriere); international journalists visit program in Sofia and SWR; partnerships with media centres in the neighbouring Balkan countries for supplying 2019 ECoC information to respective national media; fostering cooperation with the Association of the Bulgarian Media abroad: outreach to and activation of citizens, primarily the nearly 70,000 Bulgarian students studying abroad, and the 2 mln. Bulgarians permanently based abroad; GetLokal online platform in Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Romania.

Networking platform: joint events with and communication via the networks Sofia participates in such as EUROCITIES, Les Rencontres, BalCiNet, ATRIUM, AIMF, Metropolis Association, European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion, as well as Sofia’s 23 twin cities on 3 continents.

Mass media: TV and radio stations, free newspapers and weekly magazines, internet platforms participatory events in public spaces and community centres

“We are where people are” platform Mass media platform: 20% of Sofia citizens ‘never engage with culture artistic participatory life actions and free events in we have established solid relationships with sevin any formal way’. housing estates, elderly insitutions, prisons, etc. eral key national state and independent radio stations, TV channels and newspapers to broadcast This group comprises poor elderly, physically Creative provocation platform: our campaigns, such as the morning shows on Naand mentally handicapped, younger people liv- provocative campaigns with artists and 2019 volun- tional TV, National Radio broadcasting as well as ing in socially depressed housing estates in the teers interpreting the 9 themes in live art in markets, Trud daily and 24 hours daily. city’s periphery with little access to arts and roadshows for generating inspiration and talks on culture, and citizens in remote rural areas. En- culture, installations in the public transport, in the Cultural ambassadors platform: gaging these groups requires special strategies neighbourhoods, at unusual spaces to generate word well-known artists and celebrities will act as and concrete actions, e.g. decentralised cultural of mouth and engage people; city games. spokes people of Sofia 2019. programs, accessible events, low cost or free admission and participation, art forms beyond the Alternative city media platform: confines of the arts institutions. marketing materials in coffee shops and restaurants, advertisement panels in neighborhoods inner yards.

Estimated 500,000 Target: 500,000 visits Citizen 2019 guides platform: 1 visit each on average 2019 volunteers will build a team of guides to act as contact points in their schools, companies, local residential buildings, university classes, cultural centres.

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INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

SPECIAL COMMUNICATION PROJECTS 2014/2019 Sofia 2019 is initiating a number of successful cultural communication projects as a way to inform as well as to engage and provoke.

We present seven examples of art communication projects to support ECoC 2019.

Alternative city media: public space as cultural mediator Based on a project in 2013 to identify opportunities and develop prototypes for alternative city media for culture, 18 different media tools were developed and 5 prototypes designed. SDA has already tested most of them including interactive information boards in subways, audio instalation with cultural announcements, media screens in universities, art project stalls at marketplaces. We will continue to develop these and other media to saturate the city.

More space for art 2014-2018 To limit corporate control of the visual realm and reclaim the aesthetic of the city from commercialism Sofia 2019 started replacing advertisements with works of street art.

The campaign started in 2014 in partnership with the Sofia City Gallery, with original contemporary artworks presented on 30 large format advertising billboards. The next exhibition “Language in the City�

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presented 11 European writers with bilingual quotes.

We will invite artists from around the world to challenge the authority and legitimacy of commercial images within public space and plan to stage more than 200 artworks pieces in outdoor advertising facilities by 2019, while 50 strategically placed billboards will feature 2019 all year.

Design Class 2019 Sofia 2019 partners with students from the Poster and Visual Design & Communication Department of the National Academy of Art and the Design Department of the New Bulgarian University. The students will design comprehensive communication products for the ECoC 2019 projects and events as part of their study program. We have already tested this approach with the European Day of Languages and the Pride Parade - social and cultural initiatives with the potential to provoke debates but also assert European value. This project will also assit young designers in their career prospects in the fields of art and culture.

Taste ECoC 2019 We will create special 2019 Sofia and Italian menus in 100 restaurants in Sofia and the SWR. With the partnership of Euro Toques, Sofia 2019 will work with slow food/regional food restaurants and chefs from Bulgaria and Italy to create seasonal local 2019 menus that highlight regional culinary products and recipes.

The project is in line with our Sharing Green theme and we believe it will help ECoC promotion and contribute to a positive image of the region. The restaurants will also act as cultural meeting points – provide information on 2019 events, hold meetings and informal debates.

Photo Loan 2019 A crowdsourced photo-sharing platform will generate a pool of photos of the city and the region 2019 events and transformations. Photos will be provided on a loan free of charge on the condition that they will be used in materials referring to Sofia ECoC 2019 and there is a link to Sofia 2019 website. The photographers must always be credited.

Come, See, Write Starting in 2016, we will invite 50 professional travel journalist and bloggers to visit and experience Sofia and the SWR, and write about that, add photography, travel tips and insights. We will prioritize invitations, focusing on members of the press from countries that have large numbers of potential visitors to Sofia.

Adopt a School Sofia 2019 will invite art institutions, educators, creators and media professionals to turn around 100 local schools in a base for art and communications fieldwork. The project will infuse sustained arts programming into elementary and secondary schools to achieve a broad understanding of the arts and their potential to stimulate growth, learning and change.

Communication timeline Phase 1: Designing and building 2014-2015 Phase 1 will involve redesign of visual identity and communication tools to be launched as from January 2015. We have already selected and created a recognizable Sofia 2019 adaptable and flexible logo-system. The redesign will be a “toolkit”, easily adaptable to contexts ranging from buttons to stationary to games. The basic formats of web-based information will be maintained, adding new ones such as news bulletins, streaming, mobile applications. Web-based communication will be in five languages.

Currently we have conditional partnerships with 14 national media outlets (3 televisions, 2 radio stations, 7 newspapers, 2 press agencies), as well as four national tourist organizations. Media partnerships will be further developed.

Communication platforms will be developed and made operational.

Phase 2: Engaging and informing 2016-2017 At the local and regional level, the major task will be to inform and engage citizens, to involve them actively in programs, projects and institutions, and also to inform them of ongoing events, building up 2019 project participation. This is the “Sharing Sofia” workspace, as a place where active citizens, students and cultural operators can develop projects and receive support, suggest ideas, access networks and other resources.

We will start launching the 9 program themes every 3 months with international conference and pilot project. We will launch the green, youth and community fund.

We will start the cross marketing with cultural institutions: sharable signage, capacity building, video streamings, regular newsletters, mobile applications and maps, designed marketing merchanise, etc.

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Phase 3: Marketing 2017-2018 An international campaign will be launched in spring 2017 with the release of the preliminary pre- program. This strand of implementation will be maintained throughout the duration of the project.

The large-scale campaign will be intensified from May 2018, as the pre-sale and booking for major events will be launched nationally and internationally. This will also occur on a local, regional, national and international level with strategic marketing tools and media. City and regional information centres, as well as mobile information centres, will open and function from January 2018.

PHASE 4: Servicing the Public 2019 The year itself will be dominated by the program and hundreds of events throughout the city and region, with ongoing press, media coverage and the task of keeping up with servicing the public, visitors, sponsors, and the media at large. The demand will be generated by the users and the 2019 organisation will ensure that info points, web sites, posters, monthly calendars, newsletters, press agencies, points of contact, user-generated content platforms are kept fully informed. The role of local and regional partners is particularly crucial in this.

Sofia 2019 will commit to supporting all independent projects by providing both online facilities, print facilities, translations, contact to international media.

Phase 5: Telling the Story 2020+ We believe that the ECoC will create “a changed city” storyline as well as opportunities to follow up the year with media outreach, marketing and branding campaigns. SDA will manage the task of maximising the long term benefit and the legacy of 2019, including the communications, arts and business relations, international cultural relations, cultural tourism. The web platforms will transform into the CHANGING SOFIA site for the cultural and creative sector of Sofia and the SWR. International contacts will be taken over by relevant partners.

2. How does the city plan to ensure the visibility of the EU, which is awarding the title?

Sofia 2019 will spare no efforts to contribute to the excellence of the European Capital of Culture initiative - possibly the most prestigious and internationally visible cultural initiative of the EU. To achieve that, we will be building on the experience of the cities before us and our own preparation phase experience.

The visibility of the EU is fully and creatively integrated into the Sofia 2019 program and corresponds with our goal to become a true European city. The European projects, partnerships, debates and transnational cooperation for the program activities will contribute to the ECoC excellence and gain visibility over almost a decade both nationally and internationally. All graphic and other branding, marketing and communication channels and methods will lead to that as well, using the EU logo within communication materials in order to ensure the visibility of the European dimension.

We will make special efforts to promote the EU visibility among the young generation through our programs for the young audiences. Our pre-program and capacity building program will help us work with stakeholders to foster cross-marketing and cobranding, amplifying Sofia 2019 efforts.

We plan that at least 50% of all earned media will mention ECoC, and that at least 80% of all visitors will be aware of the EU as the initiator and awarding body of the title.

VI MONITORING AND EVALUATION 1. Does the city intend to set up a special monitoring and evaluation system: for the impact of the program and its knock on effects?

SDA 2019 will ensure the highest level of transparency, building on the already well-established participatory project planning and public reporting.

Sofia 2019 will base its brand on the strength of its reputation and the power of social networks and trust-based relationships.

SDA has considerable experience of setting up monitoring and evaluation models for large-scale development programs, including EU ones.

We see monitoring and evaluation as a core activity of the 2019 project. Our goal is to improve delivery against the objectives and to document the relevance of Sofia development “from the bottom up”.

We also believe that monitoring will improve the prospects of attracting additional funding to the program by providing evidence of the wider strategic impacts, as well as providing a national model for research into cultural policy and activity.

The monitoring will be implemented by an independent body, envisioned to include artistic and community organizations, businesses, city and regional representatives, universities.

It will be selected through a public tender. We will invite the ECoC Policy Group as advisors to commissioning.

We have allocated 1% of the program budget for monitoring and evaluation, as well as dedicated staff, responsible for data collection.

Monitoring will commence in 2015 with a baseline and intensify over a six-year period. We have set the framework of the monitoring process, based on the proposed common indicators of the ECoC Policy Group and the Guidelines for the cities’ own evaluations of the results of each ECoC (2020 – 2033), and also consulting with Leeuwarden and Valletta.

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Thus we hope to contribute to a coherent approach to the evaluation procedure.

The methodology will combine a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods for measurement: desk and document research, statistical data, mapping, surveys, focus groups, policy analyses, online tools.

To guarantee stakeholders involvement, we will hold an annual Sofia Talks conference, discussing publicly the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Sofia 2019 organization/program throughout its “life- cycle”.

We are prepared to look at the immediate (20152019), the medium (2019-2022) and the long term (2023-2027) since some of the impacts become visible years later, when the initiative realizes its full extent.

The immediate and the medium phases will be funded by the ECoC budget, while the long-term one will be held in a partnership between Sofia University and the city. SDA will be able to secure this important follow-up and also ensure that the results and recommendations can be incorporated into ongoing policies at the local, regional and state level.

To capture the cumulative program effects like retaining and attracting talent, opening up the city or strengthening the European identity we envision using stakeholders’ story collection and commissioning a series of critical essays and artistic reflections on the project, engaging the present, and imagining possible futures.

for financial management?

SDA has in place sound internal financial, risk management and management information systems including: management accounting systems to enable it to monitor and control its expenditure against the budget; to produce annual accounts; to produce and update its annual plan; and to evaluate progress towards key targets on financial performance, quality of service and efficiency and adjust those targets as necessary. They will form the basis for the financial management strategic plan and monitoring.

Each 2019 program season will be managed by a separate team, including an expert in finances. Each team will be in charge of the day-to-day financial management: cash flow, schedule of payments, conditions of payment, analytical accounting – under the supervision of the overall financial manager.

Large-scale operations and extraordinary payments should be authorized by the Executive Director. The Financial Manager and the Executive Director will be responsible for opening and closing the financing of the program themes.

The budget control system for projects/beneficiaries includes payment in installments to minimize financial risks. We will also be offering financial capacity building and ongoing support to smaller community organizations.

The staff will be reviewing budgets and finances biweekly, and the management team will report to the board every three months. Three of the SDA 2019 Board members will be elected to form a Financial Control Group, monitoring performance and ensuring that the financial management arrangements reflect the best public sector practices and are working effectively.

As at present, SDA will commission annual independent international financial audit to be publicized in two languages.

monitoring area

Frequency

Sofia 2019 evaluation and monitoring indicators

Sources and methods of data collection

Objective 1: to secure a clear cultural dimension to the city’s and the region’s long-term development strategy

Impact on regional cultural policies and networking

2015, 2019, 2022, 2027

20% increase of cross-sectorial projects in Sofia and SWR; 20% increase of joint projects in Sofia and SWR; 20% increase in cofunded projects by Sofia and the other municipalities in SWR

Documents reviews: networks of cultural operators and institutions, implemented projects; projects with tourist industries, etc. Statistics on cultural institutes’ activities: artistic content exchanges, co-production of events, etc.

2019

Sustained mobility of audiences for culture: 20% increase in audience attending a cultural event in a different city in SWR in 2019

ad hoc surveys during events

Min 10 new cultural routes in SWR

tourist statistics

50% of the core Sofia 2019 projects and 25% of all projects continue after 2019;

documents review: SDA activity reports; project mapping and fiches

30% increase in visitors to event in SWR from Bulgaria/abroad in 2019, from 2020 onwards – increase by 10% annually; 80% of the visitors state they would come back; increased average visitors stay in SWR with 0,4 days by 2019; increased income from tourist bednights by €45 mln. in 2019, and by minimum 15 mln. annually since 2020

tourism statistics review and analysis

2015 - 2020 annually

2019 budget realization as planned

2015 – 2019 annually, 2022, 2027

Gradual increase of municipal budget for culture: 4,5% in 2020, 5% in 2023

Overview of SDA management financial reports – public and private investment, earned income; number of sponsors; use of EU funds; independent audit report

2015 – 2019 annually

Minimum 5 new and repurposed cultural infrastructure implemented by 2019

2015 – 2019 annually

Sustainable commitment of the business sector: 10% increase of Sofia Fund for Innovation in Culture revenues yearly, starting 2015

2019 Program and cultural sustainability Delivering substantial economic impact:

Sustainability of cultural budget of the City of Sofia

2022 2015, 2019, 2022, 2027

Level of environmental sustainability

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Document review: % of the capital investment; number of design/architecture competitions; business plans; interviews with stakeholders regarding functionality and management satisfaction.

Annual reports of the Fund overview

Content analysis of earned international media: increase by 5% annually, 50% in the title year, and 10% annually after 2020;at least 90% of the media items are positive;at lest 50% mention ECoC

Press clippings, analyses of media coverage: positive vs. negative; break by type of media and target audiences

2015, 2019, 2022

Improved international image of Sofia and SWR in the field of culture and tourism

Feedback survey in Sofia airport special lounges; survey among foreign companies; survey during international expos; international survey

2020

Improved national perception of the ECoC and Sofia

Sociological survey of perceptions

2015, 2019, 2022

75% of all 2019 projects apply a model of reducing environmental footprint; awareness of slow food and slow travel increase by 20%; increased by 10% biodiversity in local/regional parks; minimum 10 new and operative urban farms and gardens

Special eco support 2019 staff annual reviews and recommendations; University and ecological NGO will conduct a research on % of public transport travels, biking and tracking 2019, increase/decrease of emissions; slow food acceptance, etc.

2015, 2019, 2022 Improving the City – SWR image

Annual budget of Sofia municipality overview;

Frequency

monitoring area

Sofia 2019 evaluation and monitoring indicators

Sources and methods of data collection

Objective 2: to support an opening up of the city to citizens and visitors and to stimulate both new audiences and stronger participation in culture.

Degree of cultural access and participation

2015, 2019, 2022, 2027

5,25 mln. visits in 20,000 events/event days generated by 2019 programme; 10% increase longterm increase in visits to cultural activities since 2020; 30% increase in the level of cultural activities in the city’s peripheries and residential areas; 30% increase of visitors to the open-air events.

2019 project level: curatorial teams reports; statistic analysis; data collection form cultural operators; survey of the population of the region Data collected on-site; projects monitoring; reports of the curatorial teams; statistics analysis.

2019

50% free 2019 events

Data collected on-site, statistics analysis, ticket reports

2015, 2019, 2022, 2027

20% increase in general cultural participation; specific target groups increase: Roma – to 20%; youth-50%; migrants-25%

2015, 2019, 2022

20% increase in touring mobile events in SWR

Statistics and administrative data; audience survey/general population sample survey to measure frequency and rate of cultural activity; case studies Data collected on-site; project fiches; geographic information

2019

5% of the city population participate in the project; 10 000 registered volunteers work for Sofia 2019 Increased multilingual offering: internet and marketing

Database on the 2019 web platform and activities

2019

5 languages; newsfeeds in 10 languages; 25% increase in cultural offering for groups with special language needs (hearing and visually impaired individuals)

2019 web platform; on-site data collections from the cul tural organisation; administrative data

2019

Audience satisfaction with 2019 events/project: On a 1 to 5 scale, min 50% assess events with 4 to 5, only 10% with 1

Audience survey at events; interviews with cultural operators; Sofia talks: summary of the discussions

Minimum 20% of the citizens experience new contemporary art forms

Audience survey

2019

2015-2019 annually

2015, 2019, 2022 Management and professionalization of the sector

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Objective 3: to renew the cultural sector Reformed cultural policies of Sofia municipality and SWR partners (potential areas: international competitions for management of municipal cultural infrastructure; grantmaking for the arts; ticketing policy, etc.): minimum 3 reformed policies by 2019

Municipal policy analyses; municipal councils documentation/decisions on grant-making, financing/subsidizing, etc.

Reformed municipal cultural institutes: implementation of new programs, audience development; staff exchanges

Qualitative research with staff and users; municipal council decisions, documentation and websites overview

2015, 2019, 2022

Increased opportunities for management training in the cultural sector - development of postgraduate programs, professional trainings, scholarships; Increased number of trained cultural managers by 20% by 2019

Statistics, interviews, administrative and academic reports

2019

High level of engagement by independent sector: minimum 50% of projects organised by independent sector

Project fishes analyses; annual reports

2015 – 2019 annually

Participation in pre-2019 capacity development by 50% of all project organisers and 25% of independent sector

Statistics, interviews, administrative and academic reports

monitoring area

Frequency 2019

Cultural vibrancy

Sofia 2019 evaluation and monitoring indicators Increased level of cultural program to include new art forms; increased level of contemporary work

Sources and methods of data collection Analysis of the positive/negative reviews of 2019 program; number of original art works commissioned by Sofia 2019

2017, 2018, 2019

Increased levels of original creations and projects with 50% or all projects delivering original work

Program and event/grants analysis from Sofia 2019

2015, 2019, 2022, 2027

Increased level of cultural activity in the public space. 50% in 2019 and 25% post 2019

Program and public event analysis from Sofia 2019 and City of Sofia

2015 – 2019 annually, 2022, 2027

Increased level of media coverage of arts and culture in the city and more positive attitude to arts/culture. 25% more coverage in 2019 and 10% post 2019

National and local media content analysis

2019

Innovative artistic collaborations which challenge formats, delivery use of new media etc.

Qualitative research: focus groups and observations

2019, 2022, 2027

Development of the creative sector with new locations for independent small scale enterprises, generation of projects and marketing support

SDA curatorial and financial team reports: analysis of the grants attributed to community sector; grants to artistic sector; survey of artistic operators

Objective 4: to promote a higher degree of international interaction between Sofia and Europe.

2015, 2019, 2022 Min. 50 mln. Europeans who hear about Sofia 2019;reachInternational marketing research, web/ social media; ing 5 mln. Europeans who take interest in Sofia 2019 protourism statistics on number of contacts /visits plus qualigram; changing perspective on Sofia and Bulgaria by Eurotative research of visitors; European awareness and pean decision makers;interest by Europeans to visit Sofia media content analyses. interest in Sofia increased by 20% by 2019 and 10% post 2019; increased media coverage by European media in Sofia, Sofia arts and culture by 30% in 2019 and 15% post 2019.

European interaction with Sofia

European dimension: networking and collaborations

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2019, 2022

Sofia City involved in more European projects & partnerships post 2019: increase by minimum 20%

Survey of all city departments/organisations

2015, 2019

2019 program with min. 30% European co-production projects, min. 20 longer term collaborations annually 2019 +

Thematic and country-by-country review; curatorial teams reports

2019

30% more EU funded arts and culture projects in Sofia

Statistics of Creative Europe and other relevant programs

2015, 2019

Min. 50 world-wide artists and artists who have never been to Bulgaria taking part in 2019 program

Curatorial teams reports

2015, 2019, 2022

Increased mobility 80 – 100 international artistic exchanges within pre-program and program

Reports of the Sofia municipality mobility fund Administrative data; interviews with stakeholders; networks reports

2015, 2019

30% increased memberships in European networks sustained after 2019; increased participation in European networks – 2 international conferences hostеd yearly,

2015, 2017, 2019,

Increased school exchanges through Erasmus +: min. 20 schools yearly

Erasmus + database, schools websites

2022

Stronger feeling of European citizenship by Sofia citizens

Biannual tracking sociological surveys; Eurobarometer

monitoring area

Stronger sense of common identity

Cultural diversity and social cohesion

Perception of Sofia

European dimension and knowledge transfer

Sofia 2019 evaluation and monitoring Sources and methods of data collection indicators Objective 5: to provide a meeting point for citizens and a free and safe environment for the manifestation of diversity Public survey of citizens in Sofia and SWR, 2015, 2019, 2022 Stronger sense of affiliation to the city and also to takmedia analysis ing part in public events and programs by citizens and increased level of citizenship Higher degree of diversity visible in streets/public space and in the media Frequency

2015 – 2019 annually, 2022

25% increase in financing cultural offering of the different minority groups (Roma, migrants, LGBT, disabled) by 2019 and 10% post 2019

Reports of the curatorial teams, City of Sofia statistics

2015 – 2019 annually, 2022

20% increased cultural participation and visibility of special groups by 2019 and 10% post 2019 (people with disabilities, socially deprived groups): capacity building programs available; joint projects with mainstream artistic groups; accessibility in terms of infrastructure and ticketing policy

Reports of the curatorial teams, statistics, on-site data collection, sample surveys

2015, 2019

New cultural infrastructure for underrepresented groups – a Roma cultural centre and a Migrants’ cultural centre functioning by 2015/16

On-site data collection: implemented projects, attracted audiences, partnerships, media coverage analyses

2015 – 2019 annually, 2022, 2027

Increased cultural participation in special institutions (prisons, senior-care institutions; hospitals and medical daycare centres) by 25% by 2019

On-site data collection, curatorial teams reports

2015-2019 annually, 2022

2015, 2019, 2022

20% increased two-way students’ mobility by 2019 and 10% post 2019

Erasmus+ reports; universities reports

2019, 2022, 2027

Increase of European artistic residencies to 30 per year with 100 artists in 2019 and 25 artists annually post 2019

Interviews with cultural operators; analysis of the residencies impact: new projects, reached audiences, genres; partnerships established

2019, 2022

Mentoring programs for young artists – minimum 20 European mentors working with minimum 200 young creators and continue with min. 50 per year post 2019

Curatorial team reports and analysis of the programs impact, you-tube channel views

2019, 2022

10% increase of art students who intend to continue with their professional realisation in the SWR by 2019

Sociological surveys: number of students; impact of 2019 on their intention to stay in the SWR

15% students involved in 2019 project preparation and implementation

Statistics; on-site data collection, SDA reports, 2019 closing event documentation

30% debut projects in 2019 program continue to develop post 2019; biannual art showcase set up as permanent forum for international collaboration

Curatorial team reports, interviews with artists and cultural operators: analysis of subsequent art works/projects implementation.

2019 2019, 2022. 2027

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Objective 6: to nourish creativity and retain talent More positive attitude and ambition to stay in Sofia/SWR Survey of students/young professionals, focus groups, meand engage in society by young graduates. dia coverage More positive impression of Sofia/SWR by international students, artists and young graduates

VII Additional information 1. What, in your opinion, are the strong points of the city’s application and the parameters of its success as ECoC and what on the other hand, are its weak points?

STRENGTHS Strong application development process, involving citizens, artists and the community as a whole, from the initial goal setting through the policies and concept to the final decision-making as a continuous process of democracy and securing authenticity.

• A strong mobilization and participation of stakeholders and citizens – of critical importance in a city with vibrant civil society. Ongoing cross-party political commitment of the City of Sofia over a course of nearly 10 years and proven regional commitment and support, which guarantees the shared regional vision, involvement and strong links with the longterm local and regional cultural development plan.

• A management structure (SDA) with proven capacity and experience in large-scale European projects and events.

• Broadly shared and owned goals to re-create the city, reflecting experiences, concerns and aspirations of people working in various sectors.

• A theme, which has engaged and which can be communicated, that is extremely relevant for Sofia and Europe.

• A growing independent arts and cultural sector, which is a motor of contemporary art production and which has engaged in the project.

• Local cultural specificity. The thermal springs, the old yellow trams, the backyards, the cherry trees are some of the peculiar cultural traits that are artistically interpreted in our program to provide memorable experience.

• Opportunity to achieve national impact with the ECoC project.

• A program which builds on using public space as the main cultural fora and which is developed to

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engage with the whole community with mainly free events and which challenges the existing cultural formats and hierarchy.

WEAKNESSES • Being a capital city, often resulting in more focus on national priorities vs. local issues.

• Lack of cultural tourism resulting from tourist marketing of the city mainly as a congress/business venue.

• The cultural sector is the least reformed one in the national economy. With 50% national cultural institutions of all in the city, Sofia faces the challenge of finding ways of synergy between local and national operators and securing a generational change.

• Unsatisfactory level of European cultural interactions: exchanges, mobility, participation in networks, partnerships, co-productions. .

• Sofia’s population grows in number and diversity at a much faster rate than the infrastructure and public services to support it, thus creating serious social tensions.

• Insufficient understanding and appreciation of contemporary art. Consecutive opinion polls show that to most citizens culture means mainly heritage and recycling.

• Sofia is the poorest EU capital city, and 21% of the population live below the poverty line and this impounds on cultural and urban issues.

We are also aware that the weaknesses can become opportunities as well. Our concept is not just eventbased. It envisions new ways of financing, organizing, managing, engaging audiences and communication – testing a new model of cultural delivery.

OPPORTUNiTIES • We see opportunities to engage and support the young creative professionals who will graduate from universities in the next 6 years. 48% of all students in the country study in Sofia and the region.

Sofia ranks 6th in Europe in educated human capital and 1st in language choice in schools. This creates unique chances to inspire the young, provide them with rich experience and career boost.

• Sofia is one of the three places in Europe offering specific teacher training in entrepreneurship education. Together with the almost 7% of the workforce engaged in creative industries, this establishes a basis for creative entrepreneurship and education strategies.

• Sofia is the home of emerging cultural environments in the translations from small languages, computer game development, paper art and architecture, contemporary dance. There are pools of professionals working in these fields to make them viable and sustainable, able to position the city strategically and achieve lasting impact.

• Bulgaria’s EU presidency in the second half of 2018 can facilitate marketing, communications and program launch. It is also an opportunity to include arts and culture more prominently in the EU agenda.

THREATS Finally, we are prepared to address potential threats to this application: • Financial instability, less national co-financing than expected and eventually following budget cuts.

Sofia Council has therefore voted a binding declaration to guarantee the budget implementation in July 2014!

• Political instability, which might cause new waves of mass street demonstrations, making the city less livable. We have, therefore, built from the start a candidacy on complete transparency, openness and participation.

• Decrease in enthusiasm in popular support in the preparation years. We have therefore planned the consecutive launch of the nine programs with attractive public events every 3 months, starting in 2015.

• Disappointment with the program – too many high/ elitist art projects or on the other hand participatory projects, discouraging new ideas, etc. due to lack of “mainstream and commercial cultural” events. The key response is intensive two-way communication, objectivity and expectations management.

• Growing anti-European sentiments, which can be countered only through collaborative cross-border work and shared responsibility, and by doing - not talking.

2. Does the city intend to develop particular cultural projects in the coming years, irrespective of the outcome of its application for the title of ECoC? We have already started a number of sustainable projects, which will go on and grow: the Regional Academy for Cultural Managers; Sofia Endowment Fund for Innovation in Culture; Culture Zone, a mobile UNESCO category II heritage centre for SouthEast Europe, to name a few. We have also developed the core of our Business, Volunteer and Ambassador platforms as key to our involvement and outreach strategy.

Without the title, we estimate that we will be able to implement around 30% of our core projects such as European Makers: The Sofia Wave, Bulgarian Arts Showcase, new cultural venues for Roma, migrants and contemporary dance, though some will happen on a smaller scale.

We are likely to miss out on three main areas: interaction with Europe (co-productions, exchanges, mobility of artworks and artists); synergy with national cultural institutions; safeguarding the strategic positioning of contemporary art.

Our Plan B would be managed by SDA as a permanent structure to prevent loss of skills and knowledge, with modest additional funding provided by Sofia Municipality.

3. Please add below any further comments that you seem necessary on the subject of this application.

We hope that, despite some rumors, media coverage and cases of questionable “conflict of interest� related to some key individuals in the bid process, the assessment of all bids and the final selection will set an example of fair play and objectivity.

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SOFIA AND THE SOUTH-WEST REGION ECOC 2019 ENGLISH, 2ND APPLICATION - July 2014 © Sofia Development Association

Editorial Team: Sevdalina Voynova, Trevor Davies, Svetlana Lomeva, Denitsa Lozanova Graphic Design and Illustration: Shenay Dauldji and Mateya Arkova Pre-print: Boiko Kiryakov SDA 2019 Team: Albena Nacheva, Aleksandar Politov, Galina Tsvetkova, Irina Toleva, Nia Avramova Program Advice and Support: Aiala Fernandez, Albena Baeva, Albino Pitti, Alek Popov, Aleksandar Kiossev, Alexander Opitz, Anthony Hughes, Atanas Maev, Bilyana Nesheva, Bina Haralampieva, Boris Misirkov, Boryana Zafirova, Boycho Delchev, Bozko, Casey Angelova, Denitsa Ezekieva, Desislava Gavrilova, Emil Dzhasim, Emmy Barouh, Galina Dimitrova, Georgi Iankov, Gergana Dimitrova, Gredi Assa, Hristo Mutafchiev, Ida Daniel, Ilya Mihaylov, Iriney Konstantinov, Ivan-Aleksandar Ivanov, Ivan Bogdanov, Ivan Mudov, Jasmina Založnik, Joseph Sivell, Kalina Wagenstein, Kiryakos Argiropulos, Kremena Hristova, Kristina Spasova, Liliya Popgancheva, Marco Canevacci, Maria-Alina Asavei, Maria Vasileva, Martichka Bozhilova, Martina Stefanova, Matthias Lilienthal, Michel Quéré, Miglena Gerasimova, Mila Santova, Milena Deleva, Milena Dimitrova, Mira Staleva, Nikola Venkov, Nikolay Davidkov, Niya Pushkarova, Pavlina Mladenova, Petar Tornyov, Pierre Sauvageot, Plamen Dzhurov, Radina Petrishka, Robert Yanakiev, Rozalina Laskova, Stanka Zheleva, Stefan Kitanov, Stoyan Nikolov, Svetlana Kazalarska, Svilen Svilenov, Suna Danadzha, Teodossi Spassov, Valeri Gyurov, Vasil Dimitrov, Vesela Dancheva, Vesela Nozharova, Veselin Dimov, Vladimir Petkov, Vladiya Mihaylova, Yana Genova, Yanko Apostolov, Yavor Dimitrov, Yovo Panchev, Yuli Damyanov, Yuriy Valkovski, Zlatina Toleva.

Sofia City Council Partnership: Yordanka Fandakova, Elen Gerdzhikov, Malina Edreva, Todor Chobanov, Lyubomir Hristov, Doncho Barbalov, Maria Boyadzhiyska, Nikolay Stoynev, Milka Hristova, Vladimir Kissyov, Iliyana Guginska, Irina Yordanova, Hristo Angelichin, Nikolay Belalov, Mita Georgieva, Maria Dimitrova, Borislav Borislavov, Lyubomir Datsov, Nina Chaneva, Teodora Delisivkova, Mihail Vladov.

Sofia Municipality Partnership: Antoaneta Makedonska, Bisera Licheva, Galia Bezhanska, Dimitar Petleshkov, Emilia Zheleva, Irena Dimitrova, Ivo Marinov, Krassimir Dimitrov, Maria Bozhkova, Maria Mincheva, Mariana Simeonova, Petar Dikov, Ralitsa Madzharova, Todor Todorov, Evgeniya Mihailova, Stefan Stefanov, Anna Damyanova, Liliya Tosheva, Nadezhda Kirova, Adelina Fileva, Costanza Ivanova, Simeon Arnaudov, Evgenii Ganchev and their teams.

Regional Partnership: Atanas Kambitov, Petar Paunov, Rositsa Yanakieva, Ilinka Nikiforova, Valeri Smilenov, Victor Yanev, Anelia Rabakova, Veska Milanova, Dima Ukalska, Elena Arnaudova, Kiril Gogov, Slavcho Chanev, Snezhanka Viktorova, Hristina Shopova, South-West Regional council for development.

Photo Credits: p. 2-3 photo by Elbert Ivanov; p. 4 photo by Zdravko Yonchev; p. 7 photo by Martin Radnev; p. 8 photo by Vesselina Nikolaeva, p. 11 photo by Vladimir Tashov; p. 12 photo

by Zdravko Yonchev; p. 14 Zone Culture Art Fest, Sofia 2014, photo by Iana Punkina; p. 17 photo

by Lieux Publics; p. 20 photo by Vihren Georgiev; p. 24 photo by Rayna Teneva; p. 25 photo

by Victor Troyanov; p. 26 photo by Nikolay Belalov; p. 29 photo by Destructive Creation; p. 30 photo by Zdravko Yonchev; p. 32 Sofia Breathes fest, photo by Sofia Breathes; p. 34 Photo collage, photos from 1st bid book, by Vesselina Nikolaeva, Mihail Georgiev, Destructive Creation, Martin Angelov; p.37 Ice skating, photo by Victor Troyanov; p. 38 Water Tower Art Fest, photo

by Galia Yotova; p. 39 In the Park, photo by Vesselina Nikolaeva; p. 41 Pernik Mine Museum, photo by Snezhanka Borissova; p.41 As the Time Flows conceptual art fest, Blagoevgrad 2014, photo by Yovo Panchev; p. 41 Water Tower Art Fest, Opening at SAMCA, photo by Galia Yotova; p. 42 Zone Culture, photo by Iana Punkina; p. 43 Calling Cards, exhibition opening at Gallery 8, London, photo by Andrei Stavila; p. 43 Surva festival, photo by Snezhanka Borissova; p. 44 Immigrants, graffiti in Sofia, photo by Zdravko Yonchev; p. 45 Monument Concert photo by Alexandre Todorov, Transformatori; p. 45 photo from www.GRReporter.info; p. 46 1300 Years Bulgaria monument, Sofia, photo by Assen Tonev; p. 47 Borissova Gradina, Sofia, photo by Victor Troyanov; p. 48 Flying Sunset, photo by Victor Troyanov; p. 49 Boris Godunov play by Mussorgsky, Sofia, June 2014, photo by National Opera and Ballet; p. 49 Orient Express, photo from internet; p. 50 Interactive Music Wall, project by Reactive, Sofia 2013, photo by Culture Department, Sofia City; p. 51 Zapaden Park, photo by Zapaden Park fest; p. 51 photo by Culture Department, Sofia City; p. 52 HaHa Impro Theatre on Serdika Center rooftop, photo by Victor Troyanov; p. 53 Transformation, photos by Destructive Creation; p. 54 Rhythm, photo by Martin Krastev; p. 54 Mirror of the Time, Arabesk performance, photo by Arabesk; p. 56 Multi Kulti map, by Compote Collective; p. 57 Panagiya fest, Kyustendil 2012, photos by Vladimir Tashov; p.

58 Harmonic Fields by Pierre Sauvageot; p. 58 Danovists in Rila mountain, photo from Internet; p. 58 European Mobility Week, photo by Credo Bonum; p. 59 SoBazaar Green Edition at SoHo, photos by SoHo; p. 59 Cooking Workshop, Kyustendil, photo by Iliana Kirilova; p. 60 Shigeru Ban Japan Pavillion at the Universal Exhibition, Hanover 2000; p. 62 Design models, Muzeiko, photos by Lee H. Skolnick Architects & Design Partnership; p. 63 Zone Culture Art Fest, Sofia 2014, photo by Zone Culture; p. 63 Beata Parvulova fashion show, Sofia 2014, photo by Factory for Urban Art; p. 63 Zone Culture Art Fest, photo by Zone Culture; p. 64 National Palace of Culture bridge, Sofia, photo by Victor Troyanov; p. 66 Pop Up installation, Madrid 2013, photo by Marco Canevacci, Plastique Fantastique; p. 68 Walltopia wall, Utah, USA, photo by Walltopia; p. 70 “Airport”, theater play by Youth theatre “Nikolay Binev”, photo by Simon Varsano; p. 88 Clown, photo by Boni Bonev; p. 100 Open Days in the tramway depot, Sofia May 2014, photos by SDA; p. 102 Follow Me to Sofia project, by Delyan Momchilov and Sandro Arabyan; Share Your Idea city light, design by Post Studio; p.103 photos by Sofia Film Fest and SDA; p. 106 photos by Iana Punkina, SDA, Sprite Graffiti Fest; p. 114 Which is the city project, Young Lions Cannes, photo by Mateya Arkova and Shenay Dauldji.

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