For more than a century, the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade is a cultural organization that has committed to the preservation of living memory of impassable values of folk traditions through its activities (exhibitions, lectures etc.).

Traditional cultures also inspire the spirit of modern people. Today, many artists, craftsmen and designers employ the inextinguishable treasuries of historical traditions, the Ethnographic Museum houses in its collections.

We believe that crafts deserve much more care from our institutions. They also belong to the vital part of our mission statement.Crafts were being neglected for a long time in Serbia in the XX century and therefore already close to extinct. They need urgent preservation.

We invite you to collaborate in this demanding endeavor to catalog and preserve the rich, but disappearing cultural heritage of the the Balkans through this virtual, yet real `window` into the world : the internet-portal www.zanati.org With this contemporary medium we strive to contribute effectively to the preservation. Moreover, we wish to stress the significance of this issue for social and economic development.

We look forward to building a relationship with your organization to promote this vital field of intangible heritage, through activities, as for instance:

Exchange of information Linking on their site Virtual exhibitions Articles Visiting lectures

Sincerely yours,

Sasa Sreckovic,
senior curator Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade