The Unity and Strength – Serbia meeting was held in the House of the National Assembly in Belgrade last weekend.

The diaspora is Serbia’s diplomatic representative that alters the attitude and established opinion about our country in contact with the citizens of the countries where they live, said Ilija Tufegdžić, vice president of the Alliance of Serbs in Austria.

He stated that the motherland had to work with the diaspora, among other things, to not lose the third and fourth generation of Serbs in Austria, by connecting them to their origins.

– We nurture our culture, tradition and language – Tufegdžić said

Svetislav Lazić is representative of the Serbian Union in Sweden.

– There are 34 Serbian associations and about 7,000 members in our organization. I was at the Vidovdan Assembly last year and we have already made progress in connecting with our associations from other European countries, we have some joint projects – said Lazić.

Borislav Kapetanović, a long-time Viennese activist and member of management of the Branko Radičević cultural and artistic society, said that unity and connection with the motherland had been an entwining theme for many years.

– What has been intensive lately and what we are also working on in the Serbian Businessmen Club in Austria, is connecting Serbian businessmen and Austrian counterparts. Connecting our people involved in business and economy, to network and thus contribute to the economic development of the country they live in, but also to encouraging economic cooperation with Serbia and Republic of Srpska – says Kapetanović.

Aleksandar Cakić from the vicinity of Vienna is representative of the Austrian Association of Serbian Folklore.

– I am also a member of the Mladost cultural and artistic society in Lower Austria, we visit Serbia, come to festivals, all generations. We have a fruitful exchange with cultural and artistic societies in Serbia – stated Cakić.

Srđan Tatić, secretary of the Union of Serbian Associations of Croatia and secretary of the Association of Serbian Diaspora Folklore from Vukovar, says that it is very important for the motherland to organize meetings with its diaspora because it is a way for diaspora Serbs to connect more easily, but also to find the right modalities for cooperation.

Source: Vesti online

Photo: Z. Mirković