A meeting was held at the City Administration in Smederevo between the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, the Assistant to the Mayor, Vesna Kiš Kostić, and the Head of the City Administration, Ivana Stamenković, and a delegation of the Representative Office of Republika Srpska in Serbia, led by the Head of the Representative Office, Mlađen Cicović.
The occasion for the meeting was the establishment of closer cultural cooperation within the institutional initiative “Culture connects us, books unite us.”
This initiative aims to strengthen the common cultural and spiritual space and to preserve the Serbian language, script and traditions on both sides of the River Drina.
As the finest gesture of this visit and a concrete step in carrying out the initiative, the delegation from Republika Srpska presented a valuable donation of 300 selected books for the collection of Smederevo Public Library.
These are outstanding publications of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska, universities and leading cultural institutions.
Presenting the activities carried out by the Representative Office of Republika Srpska in the previous period, the Head of the Representative Office, Mlađen Cicović, stressed that culture and education are the key pillars of preserving national identity, and that this donation to Smederevo will be just one in a series of steps towards future joint programmes, exchanges and closer links between the local communities of Republika Srpska and the Republic of Serbia, in other fields as well.
The Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, expressed her deep gratitude for this precious donation and stressed the immeasurable importance of such meetings.
“It is a great honour for us to have welcomed a delegation of the Representative Office of Republika Srpska to Smederevo today.
The name of this initiative best describes what we deeply believe: that culture and the written word are the strongest bond uniting our people, wherever they may be. This valuable donation of 300 books will significantly enrich the collection of our Public Library and benefit all the citizens of Smederevo.
Through initiatives like this, we are not only strengthening our cultural institutions but also laying solid foundations for future cooperation, the preservation of our identity and our spiritual ties. A major role in all of this is played by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who works with great dedication to keep strengthening the ties between the Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska,” the Mayor said.
The meeting ended with an agreement on further forms of cooperation, with Smederevo once again confirming its openness to projects of national and cultural importance.
After the meeting at the City Administration in Smederevo, the delegation of the Representative Office of Republika Srpska, made up of the Head, Mlađen Cicović, Tatjana Duvnjak, Adviser for Promotion, Planning and Improvement of Work, and Borislav Maksimović, Adviser for Culture, accompanied by the Member of the City Council of the City of Smederevo, Aleksandra Mitić, and the Director of Smederevo Public Library, Olivera Stajić, visited the city library and handed over the donation.
Through the initiative “Culture connects us, books unite us”, the Representative Office of Republika Srpska has donated books to around 20 libraries across Serbia, and with the donation in Smederevo, around 12,000 books have been given to the mother country.
