Arnaud Gouillon, director of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, spoke about the projects of diaspora Serbs that spread the soft power of Serbia in the world. He said that every year the Directorate supported more than 300 projects that enabled nurturing the identity, culture, tradition, and connecting with the motherland. As an example of a nice way for Serbs to present what is most beautiful on a cultural level, Gouillon mentioned the Saint Sava Ball in Vienna, held since 1846.

‘Not only Serbs, but also Austrians come to St Sava Ball. This year, for the first time, Austrian Chancellor Nehammer attended, which shows the level of Serbia’s reputation in Austria. We support and finance such events because improving our image in the world through cultural diplomacy is one of the goals of the work of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region,’ Gouillon said.

He noted the humanitarian character of St Sava Ball and its collecting more than EUR 20,000, to be invested in helping children with Down syndrome.

According to Gouillon, the Directorate is working on preserving religious and national identity, and St Sava will be celebrated in all Serbian supplementary schools in the world, because there children learn not only language and grammar, but also history.

‘I was in Austria for St Sava for the first time 3 years ago. Last year I was in Romania, and this year I am going to North Macedonia, where St Sava is the Slava of the entire Serbian community,’ said Gouillon.

He said that in the previous two and a half years, the Directorate had opened 34 Serbian supplementary schools throughout the world and that they would soon open in the USA in Chicago, Milwaukee and Arizona. Gouillon also spoke about the demographic potential of several million Serbs living in the diaspora.

‘Hundreds of thousands of families live in the world, and if only some of those families returned to Serbia, it would cause a demographic boom. Through economic development, we are trying to attract some of the diaspora who will understand that they can live here with a decent salary, in good conditions because the quality of life is at a high level, it is safe, we have preserved traditional values. That is why the Directorate is developing schools in the diaspora so that children can master the Serbian language, because parents will not return to Serbia if their children cannot continue their education normally,’ Gouillon concluded.

Source: Radio Television of Serbia – Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region

Photo: Arnaud Gouillon