This year’s event Meetings of Serbian Countries started on Thursday, 27 March with more than 300 participants from Serbia, Republic of Srpska, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Croatia gathering on Jahorina. The same evening included a musical welcome with an address by the president of this year’s meetings, Slobodan Đorđević from Zvečan, and a competition for the first voice of the Meetings, where Teodora Janičić triumphed.

With the performance of cultural and artistic societies from Serbia, Croatia, North Macedonia and Republic of Srpska, the Meetings of Serbian Countries opened officially on Friday, 28 March in Vojkovići in Istočna Ilidža. Biljana Ristić, president and artistic director of the Bratstvo cultural and artistic society Vojkovići, which hosted the concert, expressed her satisfaction for having the opportunity to host colleagues from several countries. ‘This is the first time this event takes place in Vojkovići, which is a great honor for us. This evening, Bratstvo cultural and artistic society presented dances from Leskovac and Pirot. Our intent was to show our colleagues from Serbia that we also know their dances, because that is our motherland, and that we strive to twin with societies from Serbia,’ said Ristić.

The same evening, cultural and artistic societies from Ulcinj, Čačak, Novi Banovci and Pale, as well as the Serbian Orthodox Chanters demonstrated their skills through dance and song in Pale. The audience were greeted by Dejan Kojić, Head of Pale Municipality, Miodrag Kojić, President of the Dobrica Erić Association for the Defense of the Cyrillic Alphabet Belgrade, and Marko Kačarević, founder of the Serbian Orthodox Chanters.

On Saturday, 29 March, Serbia’s national ensembles Kolo and Venac and the Serbian Orthodox Chanters from Belgrade performed in Istočno Sarajevo at a ceremonial academy dedicated to the great Serbian poet Dobrica Erić. During the ceremonial academy at the Istočno Sarajevo National Theater, the President of Gornji Milanovac Municipality Dejan Kovačević presented this year’s recipient, poet Blagoje Baković from Montenegro, with the Dobrica Erić award.

On Sunday, 30 March, together with representatives of the Pale Veterans’ Organization, event participants visited the Novi Zejtinlik cemetery in Sokolac, laid wreaths and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers of the Defensive-Patriotic War. At the Central Memorial Cross in Novi Zejtinlik, historian Lazar Škobo also held a history lesson and explained the significance of this location to the audience.

The Meetings were organized by the Dobrica Erić Association for the Defense of the Cyrillic Alphabet in cooperation with the Representative Office of the Republic of Srpska in Serbia, with the support of the Office of the President of the Republic of Srpska and assistance of long-term friends of the event.

Source and photo: Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Serbia