Cultural Collaboration: The Future Of Countries and Communities

I attended a beautiful cultural collaboration in the community of Plevna, ON, on January 28, 2023. It was jointly organized by the Bulgarian and Romanian Consulates and the community and Mayor of Plevna, Gerry Lichty. As a result, I felt compelled to share a true story of how connectedness and collaboration have the potential to inspire communities across the globe to support each other and leave a positive footprint for generations to come.

The excitement for the event spread across the room under the national anthems of three countries and the rhythm of Bulgarian national folklore music and songs. The natural beauty of the Plevna (Ontario) area welcomed a full room of attendees with a gentle winter landscape and untouched layers of snow. The nature's embrace sent us away with a spectacular sunset and smiles of happinness that carried until we reached back Toronto three hours later.

The initiative was led by the Bulgarian Consul General Velislava Panova and her Romanian counterpart Oana Raluca Gherghe. The beautiful collaboration was inspired by the fact that Pleven is a city in both Bulgaria and Romania, having historical and cultural significance during the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. Local historians and academics traced the origins of Plevna to community members of the now Plevna area, who followed the events in 1877 that took place in Bulgaria and chose the name inspired by them.

Pleven is a town in northern?Bulgaria. It lies a few miles east of the Vit River, which is a tributary of the Danube. At one time a Thracian settlement called Storgosia, the town was destroyed by Huns and was restored by the emperor?Justinian I?in the 6th century. Renamed Kajluka by?Slavs, it became Hungarian in 1266, and the name Pleven was used from 1270 onward. As a key?fortress?of the?Ottoman Empire, it became an important trade centre in the 15th–19th century.

Pleven is now a service town for an agricultural hinterland and also has food-processing, textile, engineering, cement, woodworking, rubber, and tobacco industries. Pleven has good road and rail connections. Innumerable monuments and eight museums in the area are devoted to the?Siege of Pleven, a lengthy and important engagement of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. There is also the Liberation Museum, which was established in 1905–07. The fertile agricultural area in which Pleven is located is well irrigated by the Danube and several tributaries. Grains, grapes, fruits, and cattle are the area’s major products. Pop. (2004 est.) 115,354.

The name of this city, Pleven, connected three cultures and people, who danced traditional Bulgarian dances, tasted wines and food from both Easter European countries, learned important history from a part of the world that often gets overlooked and laid the foundations for strong artistic and community collaboration.

Some attendees shared their beautiful vacation stories from visiting Bulgaria, and others enthusiastically asked more questions and were inspired to visit.

As a Bulgarian-Canadian marketing and innovation entrepreneur, and arts and culture advocate, my heart was touched deeply. Three communities beautifully demonstrated how our social connections need a vision and passion for flourishing into lasting impressions on our cultural, artistic and community evolution.

Many sad and disturbing events and news circulate our business and personal domains, but spreading stories of collaboration, beauty, arts and empowerment through connectedness is a beacon of positivity that we can all learn and inspire from.

I was honoured to attend and witness the power of opening our hearts to others in an authentic way to strengthen our bonds as countries, communities and people.