Balkan Trafik is an international multi ethnic and interdisciplinary festival. In 2019 it will be organising its 13th edition in Brussels and 2nd in Paris. This festival was created by our non-profit organisation “1001 valises” to promote interculturalism in Brussels, Europe and abroad. Since its beginning in 2007, the aim of Balkan Trafik has always been to increase public understanding for the Balkans and their minorities by stimulating an informed public debate and to familiarise people in EU member states with the contemporary reality of the Balkans. Culture in its broadest sense has been the means to pursue these goals.

Balkan Trafik aims at “transforming the idea of the Balkan powder keg in a cultural powder keg”, it is a mean to cross borders and a priori assumptions through music, dance, cinema, comic strip, theatre and so much more! The festival is perceived by our audience and the media as a place of encounter between different communities through arts… They will be no borders during this long weekend. Balkan Trafik is based on European Values and promote the richness of enlargement to our South-East neighbours

Legal form

Non-profit organization

Objectives

• to create a strong and sustainable cultural and socio-cultural link between western Balkans and western Europe.
• to promote and embrace the value/surplus that comes from meeting and knowing our South-East neighbours.
• to promote the artistic and cultural side of the WB’s through a multidisciplinary event and artistic residence between WB’s and Western European artists.
• Exchange of knowledge (artistic works through organising a residence place/platform between film directors/musicians/artists from Balkans and Western Europe, art industries, management, …)
• to reinforce our position as cultural diplomacy platform

Main Activities

1 international festival in Brussels, the 13th edition called ‘Balkan Trafik’.
1 international festival in Paris started 2 years ago, also called ‘Balkan Trafik’ (other line up than in Brussels)

Different events all along the years, as the “Giant Horo” on the Grand Place of Brussels (the 7th edition now. It’s a huge event bringing traditional bands from all of South-East Europe together. Free event)

Graffiti artists from Balkan invited to paint a giant wall in the city center of Brussels (as you can see in the short video, mentioned on below of this form)

All over the year;

• WB’s cultural expertise for local or international cultural venue
• Meetings with cultural stakeholders from the Balkans. Working to reach the goal of Balkan Trafik of Culture. To create links, to expend our network, to follow the cultural development on the ground
• Participation to projects as Development Strategy for the Break-through of the Balkan World Music Industry
• Festival Exchange program, where festivals from the Balkans and from the rest of Europe will be paired in order to diversify the programs of the festivals. European festivals can introduce bands and artists never heard before, beyond their own region and similarly, festivals can receive artists, which were financially or connection wise were not an option before.

Strengths

1001 valises is not merely a booking agency or festival promotor. We are mostly creative producers looking for new musique and giving vibes to the audience and the actors. We scout talents and try to put up cross border collaborations to bring artist, ideas, events and people next level. We search for newbies or alive legends who aren’t specifically hooked on a professional agency or management.

This results in a unique cultural and socio-cultural network all over the Balkans all the way to Brussels and trough their diaspora it brings up a warm mixed cultural venue in and by all of Europe.

Balkan Trafik is embracing people, culture and ideas in its unique theme & diversity of arts from all over Europe.

Another unique item in this happening is its knowledge about the cultural reality of the different actors thanks to our 15 years of experience. Balkan Trafik is organised through a non-profit organisation ‘1001 valises’ and has a “cultural advice” board formed by recognized experts living and working in the Balkans.

Our credibility is encouraged by our trustworthy collaboration as sort of cultural diplomacy platform. Working together with the EU WB’ officials and its Responsible as DG NEAR, EEAS brought for example a second volume of a cartoon book that travels the reader to the Wester Balkan culture (spread through cultural ministries, institutions and centres all over the certain EU areas and in Brussels as well).

Balkan Trafik takes place in one of the most important cultural venues all over Europe, the BOZAR in Brussels. The notoriety and trust of this location, the visibility they give to our project gives a grateful amount of strengths during the past 13 years.

Finance and Main Partners

The partners with who Balkan Trafik cooperate are mainly Belgian partners on a federal, local (Brussels) and regional (Flemish and French communities) level. They give subsides after they accept our project demand. Each year we are thankful for this positive mutual cooperation.

Other support comes from certain Balkan embassies. By manners of barter agreement, specific bands/performers from their country are invited and are given support directly to them, f. ex. hotel stays or airline tickets.

The ads of Balkan Trafik is shared also by a barter contract with EURONEWS and other TV Chanels. We have a whole communication plan for spreading the news from the street to social media (very crossmedia).

There was only one private sponsor, the Serbian enterprise NIS, from 2014 to 2018. The contract was closed in 2018.

Files

---