61, Nishava str., Entr. A, Fl. 3, Apt. 6
1680 Sofia
Bulgaria
- Arts
- International/Cultural relations
I3C is a non-governmental organization that is working in few supplement fields, such as culture, arts, heritage, social inclusion, social cooperation and social connection, education, voluntary work etc. It’s main and origin idea is to promote, renewed and unite the mission of the “Community Centers” – a form a civil initiative that has been established in Bulgaria during 1856. The organization, for that purpose cooperates with different international organizations, institutes, institutions, educational institutions as well as with scholars, professors, students, and independent researchers. I3C has developed new and innovative methodology that has been implemented, tested and further developed through the projects that is implementing. The methodology uses the bread as main object towards the organization philosophy is oriented. The bread is the one single thing that unites every nations and has strong symbolic of equality (we are all equal in front of the bread), sharing, understanding and openness and exemption from the prejudices. Also it imposes creativity, heritage, arts, communications and research while it has been prepared, teached hot to be prepared, baked and while it is eaten. This leads us to the main idea of the I3C – to equalize the differences in front of the bread, to encourage the people to create, develop, and understand the others and even to foster the entrepreneurship. This method has different target groups, but mostly they are the children’s, venerable groups, refugees, women, elderly people and etc.
The Bread Houses Network (BHN) (first website in Bulgarian, available at www.bread-art-house.org), as a major program of the International Council for Cultural Centers, has the mission to experiment with and develop a network of innovative culinary-cultural community-building programs and social enterprises that operate simultaneously as a bakery and cultural center. The BHN aspires to revive traditional bakeries and turn them into cultural centers, and to build community wood-fired ovens in particular in marginalized areas around the world (BHN's Ovens for Peace Program). The Bread Houses strive to revive the concept of the communal baking house (furna/four/horno/forno, etc), offering breads from across the globe, and building community through collective bread-making events, integrating diverse and disadvantaged people while creating quality jobs (at the Bread Houses social enterprises).
BNH already coordinates BHN educational and community-building programs in twelve countries, and envisions a sustainable social enterprise whose profits will support bread-related community-building programs and social enterprises in the USA, Europe, and developing countries.
Some of the Bread Houses in the global BH Network that has been growing since 2009 were established after local people and organizations were inspired by the model and thus their Bread House was based on the Bulgarian BH model since its inception: these houses are designated below as “Bread Houses” . Those houses that are organizations or local bakeries that have decided to get associated with the BH Network and implement the model of community collective bread-making and arts are designated as “BH associates” to denote that the organizations already existed locally and added to their activities the BH method.
The International Council for Cultural Centers is planning to launch the First World Summit of Community Arts Centers and Networks in 2014 in the old historic city of Veliko Tarnovo.
The realization of the First World Summit is under the official patronage of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Rossen Plevneliev. We are expecting the participation of about 50 countries.
I3C officially established partnership with Harvard-based Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University, founded by Dr. Doris Somer who developed the Pre-Texts Methodology for Engaged Learning.
The main idea behind our joining activities is the main area in which the ALF network is working. Namely these areas are corresponding to the main areas in which I3C aims to develop. I3C is already a network and aims at its enlargement, cooperation development, working on a new project and cooperate with organizations that are with similar mission all over the world.
I3C, not only working in the fields of heritage, culture, arts, sustainable development, education, but also has a unique methodology that can be shared, further developed and implemented in partnership. Many common activities can be organized if a necessary support and networking can be established. Especially in Bulgaria, networking is from high importance since there are different ways of which cooperation can be established, and many problems to be solved. We can share, promote and organize events for this purpose, research, collect volunteers and many other opportunities that are waiting. As we are uniting different organization, we believe that we can contribute by establishing more fruitful cooperation, that can result with more successful projects. We will provide good practices, experts, project ideas and partners’ CSOs on the basis of previous successful experience.