The cozy house in the village of Karabunar /South Bulgaria/ will soon miss its people. Goethe Institut’s Country Director Dr. Rudolf Bartsch is finishing his term in Sofia, replacing Bulgaria with Turkey, along with his wife Lucia. Though he has been constantly moving since his childhood across the entire globe, Mr. Bartsch finds it hard to leave Sofia and Bulgaria. “I am a huge fan of Bulgaria,” he says, admitting that he never got used to travels and goodbyes.

After 7 years spent as a country director of Goethe Institut Rudolf Bartsch leaves behind a series of successful and impressive cultural projects. Cultural exchange is one of the most precious opportunities for getting acquainted with each other, concerning all the members of the European family.

“Culture is a really good tool for influencing different spheres. A certain topic can be developed at a scientific congress, but it would be something quite dryly, compared to a cultural project. Besides that culture is really precious, as it is a universal communication tool for people from different countries. Music is the best example.”

Besides a communication tool, culture is most often an economic factor. Different and various cultural events mean a city, attractive to any tourist, but also suggest bigger investments. Sofia is a candidate for European Capital of Culture 2019, but how can culture become a profitable economic factor?

“Interesting events attract audience, which means money. The European Capital of Culture guarantees also greater publicity, media coverage across the continent and EU funding too. People often think that culture means unnecessary luxury, an expensive decoration that one can easily do without. It is hard to calculate the profit and lot of people have struggled with that task. Many politicians think they can spare money from culture, underestimating its significance for the state economy.”

Bulgaria’s economy has been toddling for a long time and we’ve been living in a state of political instability for a year. Last summer’s protests are still echoing under the windows of Mr. Bartsch’s office. How does he see Bulgaria a year later? Was it truly the birth of a civic society?

“I find it hard to answer, as I do want Bulgaria’s civic society to get back on its feet again, especially young people. The young Bulgarian generation is open to the world and monitors its country through the prism of global events. We hope that they will be the engine of long-term changes, being active and involved citizens. That is where I see Bulgaria’s lagging behind. I hope that young people won’t leave Bulgaria, but will take its destiny in their hands. The past 25 years of transition are not such a long term, historically speaking. We are witnessing a really tough period, which will obviously require more patience. However, patience doesn’t mean just standing there and not doing anything.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev