Vrnjačka Banja hosted the First European Festival of Diaspora Children’s Folklore, which saw participation of youth up to the age of 16 from 29 cultural and artistic societies. The festival brought together almost two thousand participants from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.

The minister without portfolio in charge of coordinating activities and measures in the field of relations with the diaspora, Đorđe Milićević, opened the Festival and said that folklore was a matter of heritage, culture and identity, something without which we would not know who we had been and where we belonged. ‘Your every step is woven from courage, bravery, heroism and a glorious past. Every song is a song in praise of heroes and desire for eternal freedom. May our future and the connection between the motherland and the diaspora be united by song, dance, harmony and unity’, said the minister.

The Director of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, Arnaud Gouillon, greeted the participants and said that folklore was a dance with a soul that preserved Serbian identity.

At the ceremonial opening in the Vrnjačka Banja Sports Hall, the President of Vrnjačka Banja municipality, Boban Đurović, expressed his satisfaction with Vrnjačka Banja hosting the Festival that, according to him, nurtured and preserved Serbian tradition and allowed youth from the diaspora to show what they know, to meet, but also to get to know Vrnjčka Banja better.

The organizer of the Festival is the Association of Serbian Diaspora Folklore, which has two program activities a year. In addition to this Festival, organized for the first time, there is also the European Festival of Serbian Diaspora Folklore for performing ensembles, which is held over two program days due to the large number of ensembles. The President of the Association, Danilo Đokić, presented gifts to all those who had helped and supported the organization of the First European Festival of Diaspora Children’s Folklore.

In Vrnjačka Banja, it was announced that during July and August this year, 15,000 children from the diaspora would participate in camps throughout our country. The camps will be organized on various topics and diaspora associations are already showing a great interest in this project.

Source: Municipality of Vrnjačka Banja

Photo: Arnaud Gouillon