The Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage in South-Eastern Europe in Sofia, Bulgaria was established in 2008 and recognised as a Regional Centre (category 2) by UNESCO in 2009. Its mission is to promote ICH by providing capacity building and raising awareness of issues affecting intangible heritage regionally. The Centre was inaugurated following an agreement between UNESCO and the Republic of Bulgaria – valid for 8 years and last renewed in 2017. Since the agreement is reaching an end, this evaluation aimed at providing information to UNESCO decision-makers to assess whether Centre’s affiliation is to be renewed.

Aleph was commissioned by UNESCO to conduct a renewal evaluation of the Sofia Regional Centre. The process included qualitative interviews, quantitative survey, literature review, case studies, and field mission to Sofia for in-person engagement with stakeholders and visits to the Centre. A wide range of stakeholders were consulted including Centre’s staff, UNESCO staff, Centre’s General Assembly, ICH representatives in Bulgaria, Member States focal points and beneficiaries. You can read the full report here.