The international project ‘From ancient to modern times – materials, technology and preservation of cultural heritage’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of EU (project No. 2018-1-CZ01-KA202-048054 http://glasschoolerasmusplus.cz/index.html) started in the beginning of December 2018, with the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, as one of the project partners. The initially planned duration of the project was extended until the end of November 2021, due to the temporary suspension of the activities in 2020, caused by the global pandemic situation. 

The project was implemented by the High School of Applied Arts and Glass in Valašské Meziříčí (SUPŠS VM), Czech Republic, with the partnership of NIAM-BAS, Museum of Visual Arts (MAV) in Galaţi, Romania and State Cultural Institute ‘Cultural Centre ‘The Palace’ in Balchik, Bulgaria. The project was oriented towards widening the knowledge of the SUPŠS VM students about the materials and technologies used in ancient times and in modern art; as well as towards the promotion of cultural heritage and its preservation. 

A range of meetings and activities was carried out within the framework of the project, hosted by the partnering institutions. In the summer of 2019, NIAM-BAS organised Activity C1, and the students and the representatives of the partnering institutions visited Sofia. During the five-day programme, the representatives of NIAM-BAS (F. Petrunov, A. Cholakova) accomplished a series of educational seminars presenting a variety of archaeological materials related to glass- and metal-working in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Visits to museum exhibitions and historic sites in Sofia and its vicinity were also organised. 

Later in 2019, The Museum of Visual Arts in Galaţi, and in 2020 the State Cultural Institute ‘Cultural Centre ‘The Palace’ in Balchik, respectively, hosted the following two activities in the project programme. In the second half of September 2021, the leading institution of the project – the High School of Applied Arts and Glass in Valašské Meziříčí – organised the final meetings, lectures and glass demonstrations, with the participation of the representatives of all partnering institutions and a wider community of glass artists, specialists, and students.