On October 23rd, 2022, the President of the European Association of Folklore Festivals - EAFF, Mr Kaloyan Nikolov visited the International Folk Dance and Music Festival "BOSPHORUS", organized by Mr. Aleksandar Mojsoski, which was held on the territory of Avcilar Municipality, Istanbul, Turkey.

During the event which was attended by 14 groups from 8 countries, Mr. Nikolov met the Mayor of Avcilar Municipality, Istanbul - Mr Turan Hançerli.

The Silk Roads Living Heritage Network Coordinating Bureau Meeting was held parallel to the festival. The meeting was hosted by the Traditional Arts Association - ICH partner of UNESCO. At the meeting, a "Memorandum of Understanding" - MOU was signed between President of EAFF Mr. Nikolov and Ji-Sung Kim,  Director-General на The International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHCAP), with an emphasis on the development of the network of festivals part of the "Silk Road", joint activities for the protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the context of the Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.

To date, 40 folklore festivals from 8 countries are members of SRLHN - Silk Roads Living Heritage Network. "Contacts and good relations between folklore festival organizers from Europe and Central Asia would set the stage for an open platform for cultural exchange," said Mr. Nikolov.