Etudes balkaniques is a quarterly peer-review journal, which has been publishing research since 1964. Research papers related to the Balkan countries in French, English, German, Russian and Italian have appeared in it, thus making them available to a wide scientific community across borders.
‘EUROPE’ AND THE ‘BALKANS’ IMAGES AND NARRATIVES IN THE CULTURAL STRATEGY OF “PLOVDIV – EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2019”
Zlatina Bogdanova
Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum
(Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
Bulgaria
Abstract: The paper reviews leading narratives and practices that construct specific images of the ‘European’ and the ‘Balkan’ in the intercultural program of ‘Plovdiv – European Capital of Culture 2019’. The argument is based on studied models in intercultural communication: building images of ‘native’ and ‘foreign’ in narrative strategies. The campaign “Plovdiv – European Capital of Culture 2019” was conceived and implemented as an intercultural interaction between Europe and Plovdiv (Bulgaria). Therefore, at a collective level, narratives can stabilize the identity as well as emphasize belonging to a particular cultural and social space (but they can also mark boundaries – ethnic and cultural). The paper draws particular attention to the role of the cultural industries in representing the city as the European Capital of Culture. The research methodology includes observation and participation in specific trainings, projects and events related to the campaign.
Keywords: Plovdiv, European Capital оf Culture, Creative Industries, Kapana, Intercultural Communication
