Sofia and its partners from the Southwest Region - Pernik, Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil - participate in the competition to win the title of European Capital of Culture 2019, because they see this initiative as a key tool for long-term and sustainable investment in culture through which to renew cities and regions and to turn them into a better place to live. By participating in this contest, Sofia and its partners seek and find solutions to address the challenges of attracting and educating new and active audiences, widening the access to culture, enhancing professional skills of artists and cultural managers, linking innovation and new technologies with arts and culture, equal participation in the global cultural processes, promoting entrepreneurship in the artistic sector.

To achieve their goals, Sofia and the region will share their resources and networks, will seek ways to decentralization and democratic communication in its cultural life, and on the basis of shared responsibility and shared dreams for the future will create shared patterns of cultural activity - "laboratories on social cohesion."

We believe that through the European Capital of Culture initiative we will win recognition as:

• a city and region that develops, attract and retain talents and artists;
• city and region with modern European dynamic cultural life in which audiences and artists communicate actively;
• city and region that produces creative jobs;
• city and region with modern multifunctional art spaces for shared creative experiment;
• city and region where you can travel through time and never lose interest;
• city and region, building partnerships for future.