The Association of Serbian Clubs in Vienna organized the traditional reception on the occasion of the Serbian New Year for the 17th time, and same as in previous years, it was an opportunity to analyze the results achieved in the previous year. In addition to club representatives, the event was attended by a large number of former activists, as well as representatives of Austrian institutions and diplomatic corps of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Jasna Sandić, a long-time member of the Cultural and Artistic Society Branko Radičević hosted the program, and Radmila Maksimović, president of the Serbian Clubs Association in Vienna greeted the attendees at the beginning. She said that the Association paid special attention to nurturing the culture and traditions of Serbs living in Vienna.

– A large number of held cultural events confirms this. One of the traditional gatherings is New Year celebration according to the Julian calendar. Today’s celebration is both an opportunity to analyze the past year and to meet with friends, the activists who have built our organization over the past 50 years, and those who will continue to have successful cooperation with us in the future – said Maksimović.

The attendees were also addressed by Marko Blagojević, Serbian Ambassador to Austria, who noted the importance of sobornost of Serbs in Austria and need for joint action.

BiH Ambassador Siniša Bencun spoke in a similar tone, pointing out the importance of cooperation with Austrian institutions, adding that the Serbian community in Austria was a connecting bridge.

All the present were also greeted by Franz Markus, the Director of the 10th District of Vienna (Favoriten), who said that the Favoriten District was celebrating the 150th anniversary, and that the Serbian community had made a great contribution to the success of that district. He stated that around 35,000 Serbs lived in Favoriten.

The reception was also an opportunity to present awards to deserving activists of the Serbian Clubs Association. Golden plaque was awarded to Dragan Kračunović, a long-time member of the clubs Stevan Mokranjac and Hajduk Veljko, and long-time treasurer of the Association and an activist who has participated in all of this organization’s events for the past 15 years.

Golden plaque was awarded to the Austrian-Serbian Cultural Society Wilhelmina Mina Karadžić for its contribution to the preservation of the Serbian language and literature in Vienna, and the award was received by the president of the society, Svetlana Matić.

Kurt Stastka, president of the Culture Commission of the Vienna’s 10th District was presented with the same award, as a token of gratitude for his support to Serbian clubs and understanding of the cultural needs of Serbs.

Source: VESTI online

Photo: D. Kračunović