Bulgaria

From Public Diplomacy

[edit] Bulgaria's Public Diplomacy Efforts

Since the fall of communism in 1989, Bulgarian public diplomacy has taken on a very important role in projecting Bulgaria’s new image as a democratic country and in helping its Euro-Atlantic integration. Appropriately, the government’s and private organizations’ public diplomacy initiatives aim at the country's two key priorities - the role of Bulgaria as a full NATO member and its accession to the European Union. An interesting characteristic of Bulgarian public diplomacy is that it utilizes the millions of Bulgarian immigrants outside the country’s borders as genuine representatives of Bulgaria to the world and as active initiators of numerous types of cultural events. Another feature of the government’s public diplomacy efforts is the conduct of cultural diplomacy at a regional level. The goal is to promote stability and robust cultural interactions in the Balkans and to project a unified democratic image of the entire region.