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DEAR COLLEAGUES,

We are pleased to invite you to participate with your group in “Ethnic Folklore – Roma Folklore” in the 11^th  Edition of Children’s Roma Festival “Open Heart” – Veliko Tarnovo.

The festival will be held on 06,07 и 08 June 2014 in Veliko Tarnovo in the park „Marno pole” and is organized by Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance “Amalipe”. It will include more than 1500 pupils with different ethnic backgrounds from throughout the whole country, participating in the groups in “Ethnic Folklore - Roma Folklore” or in extracurricular activities aimed at educational integration. Each school may perform up to a 6 minutes program.

In parallel with the stage program, the festival organizes a Workshop of extracurricular activities, aimed at educational integration where each school may present activity in the form of exhibition, posters and other materials that are made by the pupils during the school year.

We would prefer to produce in site part of the things, which you will take with you. Our desire is that the groups would not only present their performance, but also attend a greater part of the festival program. For this purpose, we are going to organize various workshops, in which children and teachers will be able to produce hand-made gifts, workshops, where they can try costumes from different ethnic groups, training workshops and much more surprises.

We expect participation of children from neighboring Balkan countries, such as Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Hungary. We hope that the Bulgarian participation will be so much colorful as before and even more rich!

The festival aims to give children from different ethnic groups chance to show their creativity and to encourage lasting interest in the learning process in general. The program will include elements of the traditions, crafts, fairy and musical folklore, history, lifestyle and culture of the Bulgarian, Roma, Turkish and other ethnic groups in Bulgaria.

Special craft workshops will be organized, in which various traditional crafts will be presented. For this purpose, each school-participant in the festival should send us materials, which will be exhibited in a separate craft room, presenting each school. There will be special children’s workshops where children will hand-made different materials.

As every year and this year we announce a traditional competition, titled "Veliko Tarnovo - intercultural capital of Europe". The competition is open to the students of the schools participating in the Program ‘Decreasing the Dropout Rate of Roma Children from School- Every student could be a winner". Students may participate in the contest with drawings, essays, stories and photos representing traditional crafts of different ethnic groups.

The deadline for sending the materials is 25th of April 2014 on the address:  Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance Amalipe, 4 Samuil St. ap. 16,  Veliko Turnovo 5000, Bulgaria.

The winners will be announced during the Festival. The most successful essays and drawings will be showed at a special exhibition. 

Centre Amalipe will cover the expenses for food and accommodation during the festival for 10 schools, which will be considered the best at the contest "Veliko Tarnovo - intercultural capital of Europe"  and which received the best evaluation for the work done within the Program “Decreasing the Dropout Rate of Roma Children from School” in general.

For participation in the festival, you need to send us:

1. An application form including a number of children (up to 10 participants from school) with a attached form and a description of the group’s planned participation in the program (up to 6 minutes). Each group can present itself with songs, dances, dramatization of a story, restoration of a custom or a combination of the above-listed elements.

2. Description of the school’s activities within the Programme ‘Decreasing the Dropout Rate of Roma Children from School - Every student could be a winner’ (established student parliament, parents clubs, peer to peer approach, Board of Trustees)

3. Materials, which illustrate the activities of the group participating in the Program "Ethnic Folklore - Roma Folklore" during the year (materials, press releases, records of its participation on DVD or CD etc.).

Applications and supplementary materials may be submitted by mail:

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS: 25th of April 2014

Application Form can be downloaded from here.

Checklist of important dates:

1.     Festival – 6th, 7th - 8th June 2014

2.     Deadline for submission of applications – 25th of April 2014

3.     Deadline for submission of accompanying works– 15^th May 2014. Supplementary materials may be submitted by mail: Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance Amalipe, p.o.box 113 Veliko Turnovo 5000 Bulgaria; OR by courier service: Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance Amalipe,   4 Samuil St. Veliko Turnovo 5000 Bulgaria

Due to limited funding, Center “Amalipe” can cover the expenses for food and accommodation only for up to 10 groups participating in the contest "Veliko Tarnovo - intercultural capital of Europe". Center “Amalipe” can book places for accommodation and food for the groups that will participate at their own expenses in the festival, if they request this in advance by the deadline (25.04.2014). Because of the large number of participants, vacancies can be quickly occupied. Center “Amalipe” DOES NOT COVER costs for transportation of the participants in the festival.