Last week (October 21 and 22, 2024), our representatives attended a meeting of project partners from Bulgaria, Italy, and North Macedonia in Ruse, Bulgaria, as part of the "History of People - HOP" project (no. 1001098484), funded by the Creative Europe Program.
At the event, a pilot project was presented within Work Package 5, created by the main partners, the Association for Social Capital Development. The project applies the three pillars of the HOP methodology: scientific truth, storytelling, and user experience. A new cultural product was also introduced, the song “Song for the Duke Filip Totyu,” authored by Koicho Penchev, with music and arrangement by Andrey Petkov and video production by Plamen Simeonov.
A link to the song is available on YouTube.
The Association for Social Capital Development engaged the local community and other associations from the municipality of Dve Mogile to produce a video about the Bulgarian national hero Filip Totyu (1830–1907), a well-known freedom fighter against the Ottoman Empire. Totyu, born near Veliko Tarnovo, became a symbol of resistance and a protector of the people, whose courage inspired later revolutionaries. After Bulgaria’s liberation in 1878, he remained a symbol of patriotism and resistance.
At the meeting, we also evaluated the second part of the project, dedicated to climate change, which included the event "Mothers’ Stroller Protest" from 1987. On September 28, six mothers from Bulgaria held the first environmental demonstration against chlorine from the factory in Giurgiu, part of a protest against harmful industrial practices during the Ceaușescu regime.
The program also included a literary tour of the Regional Library “Lyuben Karavelov” and an interactive tour through the State Opera of Ruse. We thank our hosts, and the next meeting is planned in Dubrovnik, where the Museum of Red History will present its project.
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