Study visit focusing on the creative and cultural ecosystem in Ruse, Bulgaria

BIC Innobridge and Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a two-day study visit on July 3rd and 4th 2023 in Ruse, Bulgaria. The meetings with representatives of the creative sector were organized under the project “SPECTRA – Stimulating Performance of Ecosystems in Creative Territories and Regional Actors”, funded by EISMEA, within the Horizon Europe programme.

The purpose of the visit was to get the project partners closer to the local ecosystem and policies in order to gain a real insight into the level of development of the creative and cultural sector in the region. The delegation met with both active companies working in the field and local policymakers developing various programs to stimulate it.

The two-day programme included visits to the Ruse Creative Center, Ruse Municipality offices, as well as “Angel Kanchev” Ruse University, where the guests had the opportunity to see concrete products and initiatives. Part of the visit also included talks with representatives of the Bulgarian Fashion Association, the Professional School of Clothing and Fashion Design “Nedka Ivan Lazarova” – Ruse, media company Arena Media and meeting an entrepreneur from a local company for the production of mobile houses “Koleliba”, who shared valuable information related to the work, opportunities, problems and prospects in the sector.

The SPECTRA project brings together a series of initiatives that are aimed at developing the CCI sector, engaging over 1,000 stakeholders through 30 workshops, experiments/challenges, workshops and roundtables and will provide support to over 100 start-ups. The study visit to Ruse was part of the activity dedicated to the preparation of a large-scale analysis of the state of the creative industries, including up-to-date data from Bulgaria, Ireland, Denmark and Germany, identifying specific challenges for the young and emerging ecosystems in Bulgaria and Ireland and possible solutions drawn from the best practices of the already developed sector in Denmark and Germany.

The project is implemented in partnership with WESTERN DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (WDC) — (Ireland), Creative Business Network — (Denmark), MEDIA DEALS UG — (Germany), Creative Enterprise West —  (Ireland) and BIC Innobridge (Bulgaria).