Bulgarians are part of existing migratory processes in the world, caused in recent years by economic and political issues, natural cataclysms and other troubles. Researchers from the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with the Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Science joined forces to conduct a large-scale study of the Bulgarian communities abroad. For three years, scientists have visited 17 countries and met with representatives of 305 Bulgarian organizations, focusing on the new Bulgarian emigrant communities in Europe and the United States. In the results of the survey, the team brings examples of good practices in relation to maintenance of Bulgarian cultural life abroad. It has also identified problems and ways to solve them. Key elements that unite Bulgarians abroad are Bulgarian language, Orthodox Christianity, Bulgarian holidays, folklore, literature, food, etc., the study shows. In many parts of the world the initiative to create Bulgarian cultural centers comes from the emigrants themselves. Project manager, Prof. Vladimir Penchev, has pointed out that:

"Policies take place when social pressure exists. I want to believe that Bulgarian society will engage with the problems of Bulgarians abroad and that we will overcome a cliché that has been existing for many years: that we are heroes because we stayed here, while they have left to live better lives. Things are a lot more complicated than that. A large number of these people sometimes succeed in hostile environment and they are ready not only to help their relatives financially, but also to be helpful to the Bulgarian state."

The institutions that unite Bulgarian emigrants the most are Sunday schools. Bulgarian children abroad are part of the educational system of the host country and during weekends one out of five of them also attends a Bulgarian school.

This requires a lot of time and effort both from their families, who are driving their children to these schools, even though some of them can be situated in a different state or country. The Bulgarian education system abroad is most often created by teachers and parents, who establish an organization in order to support the development of children's sense of national identity, Dr. Maryanka Borissova says. In 2007 the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad was established. It connects Bulgarian educational institutions abroad but is also a link between them and the Ministry of Education. The Native Language and Culture Abroad National Program has also been launched. It supports financing of school activities. According to Dr. Lina Gergova, there are problems in this area waiting to be solved:

"One of them is the lack of promoting early language learning. Many Bulgarians abroad do not teach their children Bulgarian. They rely on the Bulgarian school for this task, but this is sometimes not enough. We call on state institutions to realize policies in support of kindergartens for early language learning, in order for children not to learn Bulgarian language as a foreign one."

Another institution of big importance in the life of the Bulgarian community abroad is the church. More about its role from Assoc. Prof. Katya Mihaylova:

"The role of the church for the Bulgarians abroad is slightly different from its role in Bulgaria. In the past, the churches created by the first emigrants were a kind of ‘community centers.’ The emigrants created a church, a church board, collected money, established a school and amateur bands. Everything revolved around the church, especially among emigrants to the United States. During the second half of the 20th century, this role declined, but now there has been a revival of this tradition. We have seen such good examples in Los Angeles, San Diego and other cities. There are other good practices in Europe. In Germany, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and believers cooperate with other Orthodox communities. Together they have services, cultural festivals, and there is a Week of Eastern Orthodoxy, too."

A problem, however, turns out to be the shortage of priests, Prof. Mihailova points out. In many places, emigrants are looking for ways to solve the problem themselves. In Milan and San Diego, services are carried out by young priests called by the community there.

Folk dancing and singing formations are also centers of preserving Bulgarian culture abroad. In 2016 an association of Bulgarian folk ensembles abroad was set up, thus enabling the launch of various support programs.

English: Alexander Markov