The second day of the 20 Years of FSK in Serbia program took place in Užice, which has been designated as Serbia’s Cultural Capital for 2024. The National Museum of Užice hosted two panels as part of this event.
The Živa Award was presented by colleagues from Serbia and the surrounding region, including judges and previous recipients, who shared their experiences in preserving and promoting shared cultural heritage. All panel participants agreed that collaboration with the Forum of Slavic Cultures and the Živa Award itself has significantly contributed to building connections within the museum community. This has led to the establishment of partnerships essential for further collaboration and development, while also encouraging innovative, “out-of-the-box” approaches.
Nebojša Dimitrijević, the director of the National Museum of Leskovac and last year’s winner of the Best Slavic Museum Award, highlighted the positive impact the Živa Award has had on the local community. Since receiving the award, the museum has established a Youth Club and launched a traditional crafts workshop. Dragana Lucija Ratković Aydemir, the director of MUZE, spoke about her experiences in establishing the Bećarac Museum, which received an Honorable Mention this year. She emphasized that working with people is at the core of preserving cultural heritage.
The 100 Slavic Novels series was presented by writers Vladimir Žabot, Zdravka Evtimova, Tomislav Osmanli, Vladan Matijević, and Petar Matović. The panel was moderated by Mladen Vesković, the chief editor of the series, who stressed the importance of hearing Slavic languages and exploring their mutual intelligibility. Participants discussed the significance of translations and the varied reception of literature across different countries. Vesković paid tribute to Radoslav Petković, a Serbian writer and contributor to the “100 Slavic Novels” series, who recently passed away. The authors read excerpts from their works in their native languages, while Branislav Ljubičić, an actor from the National Theatre in Užice, read the excerpts in Serbian.
