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Children Folk Dance Festival Peace of Tomorrow Begins With Friendship Today
Municipality of Silistra
Background
Silistra has always been a city with rich folklore traditions. Four amateur ensembles for folk songs and dances function on its territory. One of the priorities in the municipal culture policy is preserving traditions and bringing a contemporary meaning to children s folk dancing in the spirit of European practices. Thus the idea for a children s international folk dance festival which would encourage intercultural communication was born.
Silistra has always been a city with rich folklore traditions. Four amateur ensembles for folk songs and dances function on its territory. One of the priorities in the municipal culture policy is preserving traditions and bringing a contemporary meaning to children s folk dancing in the spirit of European practices. Thus the idea for a children s international folk dance festival which would encourage intercultural communication was born.
Practice
The festival was born in 1994. Three specialists with long term experience in the field of culture laid the foundations - Agripina Voinova, choreographer and chair of the Association for Children and Youth Dancing Art; Violeta Baleva, Head of Culture Department at the Municipality of Silistra; and Yordan Filipov, Artistic Director of the Children s Folk Dance Ensemble Dobrudganche .
The main organizer and host of the festival is the Municipality of Silistra. The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Association for Children and Youth Dancing Art, as well as the Center for Work with Children - Silistra have collaborated through all eight editions of the festival so far.
The Municipality of Silistra finances the international event from its own budget, as well as through the projects yearly developed by the Culture Department staff. Numerous local donors also help financing the festival.
In 2002 the UNESCO Council of Organizers of Festivals for Folklore and Traditional Arts proposed that the Children s Folk Dance Festival in Silistra Peace of Tomorrow Begins with Friendship Today be included into the official calendar of the organization.
An important advantage remained unchanged in the festival statute its noncompetitive character. This gives the children the opportunity to enjoy themselves, to feel more comfortable and get to know each other easily. The regular annual issue of the festival and the demonstrated desire of ensembles from all over the world to participate in the concerts have turned Silistra into a festival city.
Additionally, the statute of this event of great significance to the city allows the organizers to bring in new elements to the program, considering the current topics of each year. In this way, through a creative interplay of traditions and innovative ideas, out-of-stage interaction among the children is encouraged.
In 2002, besides the traditional workshop for learning dances of various countries, the festival featured a discussion We in Europe s tomorrow . Children speaking in five different languages (Bulgarian, Turkish, Russian, Polish, and Italian) were encouraged to communicate without borders through a variety of games. In groups or individually, they answered questions related to the present or the history of their own countries. They talked about each other s childhood, created headlines of pictures on environmental topics, and brainstormed about qualities needed in order one to be successful in United Europe. The games organizer was the Information Point of the Council of Europe, which also prepared the printed materials. The main goals were to stimulate the imagination and provoke creative thinking in the participants, to get them to know each other closely and to convince them that moral values are all the same anywhere in Europe.
The festival was born in 1994. Three specialists with long term experience in the field of culture laid the foundations - Agripina Voinova, choreographer and chair of the Association for Children and Youth Dancing Art; Violeta Baleva, Head of Culture Department at the Municipality of Silistra; and Yordan Filipov, Artistic Director of the Children s Folk Dance Ensemble Dobrudganche .
The main organizer and host of the festival is the Municipality of Silistra. The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Association for Children and Youth Dancing Art, as well as the Center for Work with Children - Silistra have collaborated through all eight editions of the festival so far.
The Municipality of Silistra finances the international event from its own budget, as well as through the projects yearly developed by the Culture Department staff. Numerous local donors also help financing the festival.
In 2002 the UNESCO Council of Organizers of Festivals for Folklore and Traditional Arts proposed that the Children s Folk Dance Festival in Silistra Peace of Tomorrow Begins with Friendship Today be included into the official calendar of the organization.
An important advantage remained unchanged in the festival statute its noncompetitive character. This gives the children the opportunity to enjoy themselves, to feel more comfortable and get to know each other easily. The regular annual issue of the festival and the demonstrated desire of ensembles from all over the world to participate in the concerts have turned Silistra into a festival city.
Additionally, the statute of this event of great significance to the city allows the organizers to bring in new elements to the program, considering the current topics of each year. In this way, through a creative interplay of traditions and innovative ideas, out-of-stage interaction among the children is encouraged.
In 2002, besides the traditional workshop for learning dances of various countries, the festival featured a discussion We in Europe s tomorrow . Children speaking in five different languages (Bulgarian, Turkish, Russian, Polish, and Italian) were encouraged to communicate without borders through a variety of games. In groups or individually, they answered questions related to the present or the history of their own countries. They talked about each other s childhood, created headlines of pictures on environmental topics, and brainstormed about qualities needed in order one to be successful in United Europe. The games organizer was the Information Point of the Council of Europe, which also prepared the printed materials. The main goals were to stimulate the imagination and provoke creative thinking in the participants, to get them to know each other closely and to convince them that moral values are all the same anywhere in Europe.
Results
Twenty-five countries with more than 3500 guest dancers have been represented at the festival throughout its six editions: India, Slovakia, Georgia, Israel, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Belarus, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Ukraine, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Turkey. Children from Georgia, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Ukraine have participated twice in the festival. On the Bulgarian side ensembles with international popularity from Gabrovo, Russe, Varna, Targovishte, Popovo, and Bourgas have danced in the city. Yearly presence of international children s groups in the city has stimulated the interest of local children towards different cultures.
The international festival in Silistra continues to be the only folk dance festival in Bulgaria, which gives to young people the opportunity to show their skills, to learn to communicate with one another and appreciate and share the idea that the peace of tomorrow begins with friendship today.
Twenty-five countries with more than 3500 guest dancers have been represented at the festival throughout its six editions: India, Slovakia, Georgia, Israel, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Belarus, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Ukraine, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Turkey. Children from Georgia, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Ukraine have participated twice in the festival. On the Bulgarian side ensembles with international popularity from Gabrovo, Russe, Varna, Targovishte, Popovo, and Bourgas have danced in the city. Yearly presence of international children s groups in the city has stimulated the interest of local children towards different cultures.
The international festival in Silistra continues to be the only folk dance festival in Bulgaria, which gives to young people the opportunity to show their skills, to learn to communicate with one another and appreciate and share the idea that the peace of tomorrow begins with friendship today.
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