Vlaović presented the "Ziva" award to the City Museum of Virovitica

"The time in which we live is fraught with challenges for everything that holds together the cultural and identity peculiarities of a nation," said the Minister of Culture and Media, Maša Vlaović.

She said this at the Živa award ceremony at the Forum of Slavic Cultures in Brežice, Slovenia, during which she presented the Živa award for the best museum to the Croatian City Museum of Virovitica.

Vlaović points out that a higher level of cooperation is binding, "within the family of Slavic peoples - between cultures of the same linguistic root, recognizable traditions and similar historical experiences".

Adequate development of cultural policies implies improvement of both normative and infrastructural conditions for museum activity, especially due to changes caused by accelerated scientific and technological development of modern society, the statement of the Ministry of Culture and Media emphasizes.

According to Vlaović, the Forum has proved itself as an international foundation through its many years of existence and as an important platform for establishing contacts and cooperation between institutions and organizations of Slavic countries.

The Montenegrin cultural scene, through the projects of the Foundation, got the opportunity to valorize its creative achievements in the right way, but also to establish direct cooperation with the members of the Forum, said Vlaović.

He points out that the museums in Montenegro have been laureates of recognition in the awarding of the Ziva award several times, which is a significant incentive for the improvement of museum activity.

"That's why we can say with certainty that we will make additional efforts so that the successful models of cooperation that we have achieved so far will continue in the future," emphasized Vlaović.

Vlaović believes that movable cultural heritage acquires special importance in the context of contemporary museum presentation, which contributes to a great extent to raising awareness of the importance of culture for the development and preservation of the identity of all individuals.

"Today's museums are facing special challenges, both in relation to the principles of implementing measures to protect and preserve movable heritage, as well as in finding more efficient models for attracting new audiences and designing an adequate and receptive presentation of cultural heritage", Vlaović believes.

He points out that this ceremony is an opportunity to once again point out the importance of museum protection and preservation, but also investment in the modern presentation of museum collections.

"Thus, the Živa award, through its many years of existence, contributed not only to the valorization and adequate presentation of the initiated cultural heritage of the Slavic peoples, but also greatly influenced the improvement of the conditions for carrying out museum activities, appreciating that the museums, winners of this important recognition, strived and succeeded to reach the high standards of contemporary museum presentation," Vlaović assessed.

The Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK) is an international organization founded in 2004, with the aim of preserving and developing cultural values, traditions and cultural content in countries where Slavic languages ​​are spoken.

Today, the Forum gathers thirteen members: Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Croatia, Poland, the Russian Federation, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Ukraine.

The aim of the award is to promote excellence in the field of movable and immovable cultural heritage, as well as to support successful practices in the field of material cultural heritage and to improve the exchange of knowledge and experience.

The award was established in 2012, the announcement concludes.