11th  scientific conference “Material and Spiritual Culture of Serbs in Multi-ethnic Environments and/or Peripheral Areas”, organized by the West University of Timisoara, the Union of Serbs in Romania and the SASA Institute for the Serbian Language was held on October 17-18, at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš. There were more that seventy participants from Serbia, Romania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina –Republic of Srpska and Montenegro. 

Associates of the SASA Institute of Ethnography Nina Aksić, PhD, Bojana Bogdanović, PhD, Teodora De Luka, MA, and Lazar Barać, MA, presented the results of their research, which focused on the customs of Serbs in the Romanian part of Banat, as well as on the status and organization of the Serbian diaspora in the Italian province of Vicenza.

The conference papers will be published in issue no. 12 of  Ishodišta journal. 

As part of the conference, the project team of the Scientific Research and Culture Centre of Serbs in Romania held working meetings, where they discussed the current course of research and agreed upon the further schedule of project activities. Associates of the SASA Institute of Ethnography also attended the meetings and presented their proposals for strengthening inter-institutional cooperation. Special attention was dedicated to improving the methodology and the exchange of data between the research teams, with the aim of systematically monitoring cultural and identity-related processes in Serbian communities in the region.