Municipalities today

The UNESCO Regional Center for Southeast Europe in Sofia is part of the network of centers of the world organization with the main task of protecting and helping countries to build their policies regarding the protection of living heritage. "This is a recognition of our long-standing cultural policy, which supports and protects our heritage, and for this reason Sofia, Bulgaria has been chosen as the center of this process," Mirena Staneva, an expert at the center, told Radio Blagoevgrad. She said that in partnership with the municipalities of Bansko and Yakoruda, the implementation of a project for international youth exchange of experience in the field of preservation and storage of intangible cultural heritage has begun. In the week from May 13 to 20, 2024, Bansko hosts the first of a series of meetings with the participation of 25 young people from five countries - Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Serbia and North Macedonia. "This is a shared mission for the preservation of cultural heritage and we hope that more young people will be involved," wished Mirena Staneva.

On May 17, 1956, Bulgaria was accepted as a member of UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Our country is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List with unique cultural monuments and natural sites. In the period 2009-2017, the Director General of UNESCO was the Bulgarian Irina Bokova.