From September 19th to 21th, Sephardic culture and tradition was at the centre of a summit which brought together participants from all parts of the world.

ERENSYA is a project created and promoted by Sefarad-Israel, a Spanish public institution, in order to promote encounters between Spain and the Sephardic communities in the Eastern Diaspora. The Jewish communities of Bosnia, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Rumania, Serbia and Turkey are, in their origin, the result of the Diaspora of the Sephardic Jews, who had settled in these territories, then belonging to the Ottoman Empire.
During five centuries these communities have preserved the language and the traditions of Sefarad, transmitting them from generation to generation, thus setting an example of collective memory and of loyalty to tradition.

A few years ago, the ERENSYA platform has begun to bring together the different communities, and this September, the first global summit has been taking place in Bulgaria. It was organised by Sefarad-Israel, the Spanish Embassy in Bulgaria and Shalom-Bulgaria, in cooperation with Cervantes Institute Sofia, the Network of Spanish Jewish Quarters (a founding member of the AEPJ), Fundación Tres Culturas, Casa del Mediterráneo, and the Israelite Embassy in Bulgaria.

PROGRAM:
The organisation had prepared a varied and interesting program, which began on September 19th with a welcome drink at Sofia Synagogue, followed by the opening speeches of the authorities, including the mayor of Sofia, Ms. Yordanka Fandakova, and the Spanish Ambassador, Mr. Rafael Mendivil.
Then a lecture was given, by Mr. Marcel Israel, about the Jewish community in Bulgaria: “Past, Present and Future” , after which the assembly moved on to the Beit Shalom Community Centre, where several working discussions on different subjects were held: “Proyecto Ladino Database” , presented by Karen Gerson, Istambul; "The Judeo-Spanish oral Archive (JSA): perspectives for development", presented by Mavrogiannis Pandelis, University of Paris; and “Linguistic Identity-Play Amongst Sephardic Jews in Bulgaria: A Narrative Study”, presented by Leah Davcheva, Bulgaria.
Thereafter, two lectures on migration took place at the Cervantes Institute: “The migration of Bulgarian Jews to Israel”, by Eliezer Papo, and “The migration of Sephardic Jews from the Ottoman Empire to the Habsburg Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries”, by Marcel Israel.
The first day of the summit ended at the Beit Shalom Community Centre with musical performances and a Sephardic dinner offered by the community.

The next day, September 20th, the participants of the summit travelled to Plovdiv, where the morning was dedicated to visit the town, followed by a lunch offered by the Plovdiv Jewish community and the Network of Spanish Jewish Quarters. In the afternoon, a tribute was rendered in the Plovdiv Theatre, to Angel Wagenstein, the renowned writer and film director of Sephardic origin born in Plovdiv, with speeches from Mr. Emiliano García-Page, Mayor of Toledo, and Sefarad-Israel executives Mr. Miguel de Lucas and Mr. Fernando Martinez Vara de Rey. Next point of the program was a visit to the World War II Memorial of Plovdiv, where a lecture was given on the history of the Jews of Plovdiv during World War II and the role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. After a visit of Plovdiv Synagogue, the summit participants returned to Sofia. In the evening, the Israelite singer Mor Kabasi offered a concert of Sephardic Music, presenting her latest album “Hija de la primavera”, at the National Palace of Culture, followed by a meeting there with the mayors of Sofia and Tel Aviv.

On the last day of the summit, September 21st, the second part of the working discussions took place at the Beit Shalom Community Center, on the following subjects: “La Comunidad Sefardi de America Latina” (José Mensacé, Buenos Aires); “Presencia sefardí en México” (Simonette Behar, México), and “Esfuerzo para que no desaparezca la Jaketia” (Solly Levy, Toronto).
A general discussion about the future main working lines for preserving memory closed this part of the program. The participants then had the opportunity to assist at the premiere of the documentary “The Bulgarian Jews sing their tradition”, presented by its authors and moderated by Nicolai Kaufmann. The program of the summit continued with a lecture on “Elias Canetti: the saved language”, by Esther Bendahan (Sefarad-Israel), the presentation of Centropa, by Edward Serotta, and the presentation of the Bulgarian Ladino Club.
After a visit of the World War II Monument at the Parlament, with a flower offering and a Kaddish prayer, the official part of the summit ended with a reception at the residence of the Spanish Ambassador.
Finally, the participants had the opportunity to take a guided tour of Sofia, and in the evening they gathered for a farewell dinner in a typical Bulgarian tavern.