Second aim
Park of Cultural Memory
The Park of Cultural Memory has been established in Sjenica. We see it not only as a memorial space, but as a place of education, research, encounter and living conversation.
Why Sjenica
We consider Sjenica especially suited to such an undertaking because of its complex history and the centuries-long meeting of different peoples, faiths, cultures and states. That is why we want to send a message from here: even a difficult and complex history can teach us how to make the future better.
We do not want the past to become a source of new divisions. We want it to become a bridge towards understanding and friendship.
Tree of Remembrance
We invite every country that accepts our invitation to plant its own Tree of Remembrance in the Park, as a lasting symbol of gratitude, friendship and respect for human life.
Beside each tree, the story of the people for whom it was planted will be told, so that a child visiting the Park one day will see not only the name of a country, but a person: their face, their story and their deeds.
Portraits and life stories
For selected individuals, we will create large-scale artistic portraits, accompanied by photographs, biographical information and historical sources. Their stories will be presented through exhibitions, lectures, publications and educational programmes across Serbia.
Descendants and living encounters
We wish to find the descendants of people whose life stories are connected with Serbia, invite them to Serbia and organise meetings with our families and young people at historical sites.
We plan to organise Days of Living Remembrance and meetings of descendants. In this way, history would not remain only in archives and books, but could once again bring families and generations together.
From Educational Parks to the Park of Cultural Memory
The idea is not new. The Endowment set it down on 27 September 2024 in the document “Educational Parks of Nature and World Memory on the Sjenica-Pešter Plateau”, signed by the President of the Board, Dr Jovo Lojanica.
The starting point is the same as today: future generations should be raised on the finest examples of intellect, humanity, perseverance and self-sacrifice, and on warnings about the causes of conflict and decline.
A special place in that document belongs to the foreign women and men who, especially during the Great War, came to the aid of the Serbian army and people without sparing their lives or property: Dr Rudolph Archibald Reiss, Flora Sandes, Lady Leila Paget, Natalija Bjelajac, Evelina Haverfield, Dr Katherine Stuart MacPhail and others.
The idea was for the Sjenica-Pešter Plateau to become the largest open-air classroom for future generations. The Park of Cultural Memory in Sjenica carries that idea forward.
An additional path
We do not seek to change existing relations between states. We wish to add an additional path for connecting people: families, descendants, pupils, students, researchers and institutions.
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