Bulgaria in the eyes of foreigners
An interesting video dedicated to Bulgaria or rather to the idea that foreigners have about us has been uploaded for several days in the world wide web. It shows young people shot in different parts of the globe sharing with a smile what they like in this country. The video is part of a campaign to promote the Bulgarian identity abroad and was made by a group of young enthusiasts. But, unlike other similar campaigns launched mostly by state institutions to attract investment and tourists, this initiative stands out for its youthful spontaneity and immediacy. This makes it emotional and easy to digest.
"What do you like in Bulgaria?" – the answer to this question was sought by dozens of our compatriots living abroad and communicating every day with their foreign peers. Volunteers were asked by the Identity for Bulgaria Foundation to shoot short video clips of their friends or colleagues containing their impressions of Bulgaria. And feedback was quick to come. The main office of the Identity for Bulgaria Foundation in Sofia began to receive video messages from near and remote points of the globe.The team selected 15 of these video messages. "We did the selection over six months and finally we chose the most emotational and unusual messages that will most easily reach people's hearts," says excitedly Nousha Spirova, project manager of Identity for Bulgaria Foundation. The selected videos were assembed in one video, which has been spread in social networks and video sharing channels over the past few days. It is aimed not only at foreign audiences, but also at young Bulgarians who have been living for years abroad and are gradually cutting off from their roots and national identity.
So what do foreigners like about Bulgaria?
"I love the lyutenitsa," "I love Bulgarian cheese", "I love the nightlife" - read some of the answers. Yes, we Bulgarians also love these things greatly as they are part of our life and culture. But most of us enjoyed the fact that respondents are foreigners who express themselves in fluent Bulgarian without any difficulty. Young people from the USA, France, India, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Peru, Romania, Lithuania and other countries share their impressions in a very relaxed and smiling manner. Some of them have been in touch with our culture through their Bulgarian friends, others were already in Bulgaria and were very impressed by our country. The idea of the video is to reach young people aged 15-30 years - roughly this is the age of the participants in the video.
"Our efforts resulted in a colorful and positive video because they are people of different nationalities, with different values, but united by their positive attitude towards Bulgaria", said Nousha.
"There was a girl in Paris who said she liked the Bulgarian rocks", Nusha went on to say. "She is a climbing champion and for her this is the best thing she has seen here. In general, we noticed during these six months while collecting the video messages that a lot of foreigners love the Bulgarian cuisine. This is one of the first things that, once stepping on Bulgarian soil, they want to try. Another thing is simply people! They likes Bulgarians for their openness and easy communication between young people. Overall, they liked the very atmosphere in Bulgaria. For example, people who have had the opportunity to see the Bulgarian nature and countryside say that they liked it a lot, etc."
"What I love about Bulgaria" is only the first part of a series of initiatives of the Foundation. The idea is to generate a so-called "video wave" of feedback on various topics related to Bulgaria and to spread it on the Internet in an effort to touch the hearts of as many people around the world as possible.
Source: bnr.bg
(08.11.2012)