Varvara Buzilă
Varvara Buzilă has dedicated over 45 years of her life to safeguarding Moldova’s intangible cultural heritage. Through research, legislation, education, and public engagement, she has reshaped national awareness and achieved international recognition – becoming a leading voice for cultural identity and transmission in Moldova and beyond.
Varvara Buzilă, born in 1955 near the archaeological site of Orheiul Vechi, has devoted her life to the protection and revitalisation of Moldova’s intangible cultural heritage. As scientific coordinator at the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History in Chișinău, her career spans over four decades of fieldwork, academic leadership, community engagement, and legislative impact.
Her ethnographic research covers more than 850 settlements in the Republic of Moldova and dozens more in Romania and Ukraine. She has authored nine monographs, over 75 academic articles, and hundreds of publications aimed at the general public. Her approach integrates scholarly rigour with accessibility, connecting museum practice with lived community traditions. Her cooperation with long-running TV programme Tezaur, with more than 600 episodes, has helped anchor cultural heritage in the everyday consciousness of Moldovans across generations.
Varvara Buzilă’s work was central to Moldova’s legislative framework for heritage. As President of the National Commission for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2009-2019), she helped draft landmark laws on the protection of movable and intangible cultural heritage. She oversaw Moldova’s National Inventory and coordinated five nomination files for UNESCO, resulting in four inscriptions on the intangible heritage lists and one entry on the Tentative List.
An active mentor and educator, Varvara Buzilă has taught at several universities, supervised masters and doctoral theses, and led training camps and scientific expeditions across Moldova. She has maintained close contact with local communities, regularly travelling to rural areas to support heritage bearers and promote intergenerational transmission. In her work with women’s groups, she has helped revive traditional sewing and weaving practices, reinforcing cultural identity, while fostering social and economic resilience.
Varvara Buzilă’s contributions also extend into sustainability, advising artisans on the use of local and ecological materials, and promoting cultural tourism rooted in authenticity. She has launched campaigns encouraging citizens to donate cultural items to museums, enriching public collections by more than 1,800 artefacts. Her innovative field methods – from vector boards to plasticine bread models – demonstrate her talent for making intangible heritage visible, tangible, and transferable.
Known nationally as an “encyclopaedia of the nation,” Varvara Buzilă is a reference point for both heritage professionals and the broader public. Her impact is visible not only in legislation and archives, but in villages, schools, and public spaces where culture continues to live, evolve and inspire.
“Over four decades, Varvara Buzilă has worked tirelessly to safeguard Moldova’s cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible – often under challenging conditions with limited institutional support,” the Awards’ Jury highlighted. “By combining academic research with grassroots action, she shaped national guidelines and played an instrumental role in submitting nominations of Moldova’s heritage to UNESCO,” the Jury noted.
Contact: Andrei Prohin | National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History | andrei.prohin@gmail.com | www.muzeu.md