Welcome to Cultural Insights by Tatyana Garkavaya, an award-winning blog about Sustainable Living and Cultural Exchange!
Hello, my name’s Tatyana Garkavaya, I’m the creator and author of this award-winning blog, a lifestyle writer, and an enthusiastic traveller based in the UK.
The motto of Cultural Insights – Share Ideas & Inspire Changes – reflects my personal credo and lifestyle. By exchanging experiences, we enrich our lives, get inspiration, and find support.
I set up this blog in 2020. Its main specializations are travel ideas and positive social initiatives represented by the five sections People, Places, Recipes, and My Workshops & Research.
I am glad that my texts tend to bring together lots of like-minded people, and from the very first year of its existence, Cultural Insights gets awards for topics related to sustainable living.
2022 brought me victory in the Bulgarian national competition in green journalism in the two categories ‘Blog’ and ‘Printed media’. In 2020 and 2021 my blog reached the final of the contest in the category ‘Blog’. And in 2021 it was among the 11 best social and ecological initiatives in Bulgaria.
‘Mapping sustainable holidays in Bulgaria‘ is my main large-scale project – a series of texts and videos that represent a highlight of Cultural insights, featured by Bulgarian media. The project is devoted to the unique Bulgarian cultural practice – eco-friendly vacations in natural reserves for the protection of birds across Bulgaria. Some of those vacations have over 30 years of history. I’m a keen birder myself and frequently participate in those activities because I live on the second largest bird migratory route Via Pontica in the Burgas region. Download my book to learn how to enrich your holidays in Bulgaria.
This blog was inspired by my volunteer experience at the initiative European Capital of Culture (ECoC) in different cities.
In 2018, I devoted my master’s thesis at the University of Milan to the analysis of the communication strategies of Aarhus 2017 and Pafos 2017. This was followed by my volunteering and internship at Plovdiv 2019 and Galway 2020. There, I’ve met dozens of creative practitioners from the past, current and future ECoCs. We still continue staying in touch and exchanging experiences.
I am truly pleased that for one year, Cultural Insights has become a networking platform for art lovers and sustainable travelers who favor sustainable living, volunteering, and lifelong learning.
Additionally, I share my discoveries during different journeys which I often combine with volunteering. The posts Counting Dolphins in the Black Sea and My Discoveries with Galway 2020 are good examples.
The posts of this blog are 100% original content and created by me in 3 languages, English, Bulgarian, and Italian, with the use of best communication practices and digital tools. So, please, cite any information from Cultural Insights with hyperlinks.
For the first 13 years of my career, I worked as a journalist in newspapers and digital media (Ukraine and Russia) and for the following 3 years – as a PR manager of a non-governmental organization engaged in alternative dispute resolution methods – arbitration and mediation (Russia).
For the last 5 years, I’ve been working freelance as a communication consultant helping small businesses prepare advertising, communication, and PR strategies. I also write content for corporate blogs and create video and visual content.
As an award-winning communications specialist, for 20 years of my career, I’ve developed portfolios in 4 languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian (my mother tongues), and English across a variety of platforms, including print and online social media.
As an avid traveler, I’ve visited over 20 countries and lived in a quarter of them for study, work, or volunteer purposes (Russia, Italy, England, and Bulgaria). Cultural Insights helps me explore and promote the best sustainable travel practices, and constantly meet incredible people that shape the cultural heritage across Europe and develop modern culture.
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