Prof. Anis Sefidanis joins “Vratsa 2030” Technology Festival in Bulgaria as international panelist

On 16 April 2025, the city of Vratsa in north-western Bulgaria became a regional hub for innovation by hosting the inaugural Technology Festival “Vratsa 2030: Technologies and Innovations for a Sustainable Future.” The event brought together leading companies, technology leaders, experts and innovators from across Bulgaria and abroad to discuss how advanced technologies can drive sustainable economic and social development.Lider.bg – Бизнес новини+1

As part of this landmark gathering, Prof. Anis Sefidanis from Ohrid was invited as participant and panelist, representing both the University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle” (UIST) and the R&D ecosystem built around the Sefidanis brand. Macedonian media highlighted his role in the festival as a recognition of his long-term work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, robotics, digital heritage and entrepreneurship.OhridPress+1

According to the official festival announcement, Vratsa 2030 positioned the city as a national centre of technological innovation for 2025. The programme focused on the future of technology and its real-world applications in business and society, with the stated goal of creating a platform where business, academia and public institutions can exchange knowledge, ideas and concrete solutions.Lider.bg – Бизнес новини+1 The festival took place at the Youth Centre in Vratsa and ran from 10:00 to 16:00, with free admission for young talents, professionals and all visitors interested in being part of the digital transformation, subject to prior registration.LinkedIn+1

The thematic focus of Vratsa 2030 mirrored many of the fields in which Sefidanis and his team are active. The event’s agenda covered artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and automation, innovations in medicine and broader digital transformation, complemented by an expo zone and interactive demonstrations of cutting-edge technologies.LinkedIn+1 Bulgarian and regional media reported that more than fifty representatives of leading companies and innovators took part, underscoring the scale of the festival for a first-edition event.bta.bg

For Sefidanis, participation in Vratsa 2030 was a natural extension of his work in “Digital Humanity” – an emerging field where advanced technologies such as AI and mixed reality are used to re-imagine culture, education and public space. As Macedonian coverage of the festival notes, he serves as professor at the Faculty of Machine Intelligence and Robotics at UIST in Ohrid and is founder of a Centre for Research and Development of Exponential Technologies, through which he has created several hybrid hardware–software “avatars” that belong to this new domain.OhridPress+1

Among his flagship creations are the Smart Monument of Grigor Prlichev, the Monument of the Future and the humanoid robot Alshar. The Smart Monument – a holographic, AI-driven installation dedicated to the 19th-century poet Grigor Prlichev – was first unveiled in Ohrid in August 2022 as the country’s first digital monument merging artificial intelligence with virtual reality to create a futuristic, interactive cultural experience.Ohrid.gov.mk – Ohrid.gov.mk+2Емитер+2 In May 2025, Sefidanis was officially granted a national patent for this invention, valid until 2044, with the University of Information Science and Technology emphasizing that the Smart Monument combines AI, virtual reality and sustainable design to enable hands-free, offline interaction with digital cultural heritage.Емитер+2uist.edu.mk+2

The Monument of the Future, presented in May 2024 for the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, extended this vision by using holographic storytelling to symbolically “bring” the Glagolitic alphabet back to Ohrid through a time-travelling virtual messenger.Емитер In parallel, Sefidanis and his team have developed humanoid robots Alshar and Alshar 2.0, imagined as DJ-performers and narrators of futuristic educational experiences, which together form a coherent portfolio of human-centric robotics and immersive cultural technologies.LinkedIn+1

Seen against this background, the invitation to Vratsa 2030 positioned Sefidanis not only as a university professor, but as a regional deep-tech entrepreneur whose work speaks directly to the festival’s central questions: how can AI, robotics and immersive media be used responsibly to create economic value, new forms of learning and more vibrant public spaces? By sharing examples from Ohrid – from patented digital monuments to telemedicine and humanoid robotics – his participation contributed a Western Balkans perspective to a Bulgarian and European conversation on sustainable technological futures.OhridPress+2Портал ТВМ+2

For Sefidanis as a brand, the Vratsa 2030 Technology Festival marked another step in the internationalization of projects that started on the streets and squares of Ohrid. Bringing holographic monuments, AI-driven heritage installations and humanoid robots into dialogue with leading companies, researchers and policymakers in Bulgaria reinforces a core mission: to demonstrate that world-class deep-tech and digital-culture innovations can emerge from smaller cities and then scale through cross-border collaboration. As Vratsa and Ohrid both seek to align with Europe’s digital and green transitions, events such as this festival create tangible bridges between local ecosystems – and Sefidanis is determined to remain at the centre of that exchange.Lider.bg – Бизнес новини+2Lider.bg – Бизнес новини+2

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References / Sources and original publication dates

1. OhridPress – “Проф. д-р Анис Сефиданис панелист на Технолошкиот фестивал ‘Враца 2030: Технологии и иновации за одржлива иднина’ во Бугарија,” Ohrid, 14 April 2025.OhridPress
2. OhridPress – “Проф. д-р Анис Сефиданис денеска ќе учествува на Технолошкиот фестивал ‘Враца 2030: Технологии и иновации за одржлива иднина’ во Бугарија,” Ohrid, 16 April 2025.OhridPress
3. Lider.bg – “Фестивал на технологиите ‘Враца 2030: Технологии и иновации за устойчиво бъдеще’,” event announcement, 17 March 2025.Lider.bg – Бизнес новини
4. Bulgarian Industrial Association (Sofia Chamber) – event listing “Фестивал на технологиите ‘Враца 2030: Технологии и иновации за устойчиво бъдеще’,” with schedule and venue details, 16 April 2025.sofia.bia-bg.com
5. JobTiger – LinkedIn post “Враца 2030: Технологии и иновации за устойчиво бъдеще. На 16 април 2025 г. Враца ќе се превърне в технологичният център на България…,” published 8 months prior to December 2025 (March/April 2025).LinkedIn
6. Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) – “Представители на водещи компании и иноватори от страната и чужбина участват в първия фестивал ‘Враца 2030: Технологии и иновации за устойчиво бъдеще’,” Vratsa, 16 April 2025.bta.bg
7. Emiter – “Д-р Анис Сефиданис со патент за својот пронајдок Паметен споменик,” 27 May 2025.Емитер
8. UIST – University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle,” Ohrid – “Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anis Sefidanis Awarded Patent for His Innovative Invention – ‘Smart Monument’,” 30 May 2025.uist.edu.mk
9. Inovativnost.mk – “Во Охрид поставен дигитален паметен споменик со ликот на Григор Прличев,” 10 August 2022.Иновативност
10. Emiter – “Во Охрид претставен првиот холограмски паметен споменик,” 10 August 2022.Емитер
11. LinkedIn – Anis Sefidanis, PhD, post “Patent Awarded! We are proud to share that Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anis Sefidanis… has officially been granted a patent for his groundbreaking invention – the ‘Smart Monument’…,” approximately May/June 2025.LinkedIn