Destinationbg-en
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| DESTI - NATION NUMBER ONE
Georgi Kamov translated by Mariya Kamova “We are effectively dealing with a Wild West
country”
EU official, responsible for Eastern Europe Reuters, 8 May 2013 г. 2 /
Home Contents What matters now Why are we here Our story How did we end up here Some old facts about us Are we interesting enough? A vision without people A vision like any other The race has changed The world has gone mad The result that matters What are we the best at Chaos with a + sign Bulgaria as number one Why exactly us Not present on the map Exporting the model How do we begin People in the spotlight Involvement Personal social responsibility Communities Changing the social environment Design thinking Experiences Horizontal factors Education Everyone has a role The state Businesses Non-governmental organizations Partners and investors What comes next The story 3 / Home What matters now Why are we here This text does not pretend to say something completely new and unheard of. It doesn`t contain great secrets or revolutionary suggestions. It wasn`t requested by someone and it is not meant for everyone. What this text claims is that it matters. Right now, we don`t know where we are heading as a country, why we are going there and what it is going to bring us. This text is about the most important thing we need to start doing right now so we can see the results of our actions in the future. What is it?
The answer will not come with a new strategy, written in a recently renovated office with permanently lowered blinds and a random three-digit number on the door, announced at a public discussion of ten people and published in an unknown website with a miserable navigation, the authors aware that no one will read the whole thing. The answer will come the moment we start asking ourselves truly challenging questions. Here`s one:
What could turn Bulgaria into a number one destination on a global scale?
And I don`t mean it as a tourist destination, I mean it as a focal point for something we can be the best at. Not just good. The best in the world. We, Bulgarians, are not used of thinking of Bulgaria as a leading destination in anything. As a center of gravity with a leading role in something, which is useful and important both for us and for the rest of the world equally. We need to raise the bar. It will give us an idea where we want to go, what to stop doing, what to keep doing and what to change. It will help us find a niche where we feel 4 / Home comfortable enough to live well, and at the same time uncomfortable enough so that we continue moving ahead. Yes, we have many serious problems. But none of them is actually stopping us from pushing further. What holds us back are the missing answers to questions such as “What
obstacle and it makes us go round in circles, again and again, until we find ourselves in an all too familiar situation. This text is my answer. I hope it is as provocative as the question itself.
We live in interesting times, that`s certain. But do we live in an interesting place? Today, Bulgaria doesn`t have a story to tell - not individual events, facts, words or phrases, but a coherent narrative. We currently combine the lowest income tax in Europe with the reputation of a cheap tourist destination, protests, poverty, corruption scandals, organized crime and the occasional burst of national pride either from stray sporting achievements or traditional cuisine and historical events from the distant past.
Stories help us by providing meaning to our environment (meant here not as “natural habitat”, but “societal setting”), and making the people, things and events around us meaningful. They help us remember, appreciate, recognize and create occasions for shared emotions and joy. What we need now is a story of that kind – realistic, yet ambitious. Authentic, but also forward-looking. Interesting, while still credible.
Some refer to such stories as having a brand. The closest translation in Bulgarian would be a “product label”, but it doesn`t capture the full meaning of the word. A brand is the essence, the very nature of a product or service – the thing that makes it different from everything else. It helps becoming memorable, recognizable, worth talking about, significant - irreplaceable, even. Packaging can enhance the image of a brand, but a flashy wrapping cannot compensate the lack of essence – at least not until we open it and take a look inside. This was most evident in our recent discussions about Bulgaria’s logo, symbols and “branding”. The focus of the debate was 5 / Home Yüklə 1,51 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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