On 25 March 2026, on the initiative of NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ and the Municipality of Kardzhali, the Fund made a donation to the town hall, comprising over 90 works—drawings and photographs—produced during three of the editions of the ‘River of Tolerance’ International Youth Art Festival, organised by the Fund and successfully held in Samokov between 2010 and 2021.
The donation was gifted with the express intention that it be granted to the Youth Centre in the town of Kardzhali. It comprised 37 digital works (size 30 x 40 cm) created by participants in the 2012 ‘River of Tolerance’ International Youth Art Festival; 39 digital works (of which 19 of size 30 x 20 cm and 20 of size 37 x 53 cm) by participants in the 2014 ‘River of Tolerance’ International Youth Art Festival; and 20 digital works (size 33 x 44 cm) by participants in the 2020 ‘River of Tolerance’ International Youth Art Festival.
The three editions of the ‘River of Tolerance’ International Youth Art Festival, which the Fund had launched in 2010, were held at the Sarafs’ House, a cultural landmark of national significance, and the Fund’s regional centre in Samokov. During the festival, in addition to working, the artists had the opportunity to visit various sites in the Samokov region: the Metropolitan Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, the Convent of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God, the Bayrakli Mosque, the Synagogue, the Graphic Art Centre of Bulgarian Artists, the Museum of Regional History and the Regional Art Gallery. Students from various European, and particularly Balkan countries took part in the project. Artists from the region were also invited to work alongside participants, creating joint art projects.
A workshop entitled ‘Presentation of Different Religions Through the Prism of Art’, organised within the framework of the festival, was conducted by artists and professors from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia and other Bulgarian universities. The workshop had two parts: creation of paintings and graphic works, and of photographs, some of which the Fund has donated to the Youth Centre in Kardzhali over the years.