The professional conference “Museums on the Internet” was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Friday, March 21st, 2025, as part of the Regular Spring Assembly of the National Committee of ICOM Serbia. On behalf of the host and on behalf of the National Committee of ICOM Serbia, the gathering was welcomed by the president, Tatjana Mihailović, PhD.
Tatjana Mihailović, PhD, editor-in-chief for the Official Internet Presentation of the National Museum Kraljevo, gave a presentation on the topic “Basic Problems in the Appearance of Museums on the Internet: Website / Social Networks”. She emphasized that the National Museum Kraljevo is characterized by a significantly greater commitment to creating digital content than most other cultural institutions and that, based on valuable experience in this area, she is honored to share the knowledge she has acquired with colleagues. In her presentation, she outlined the challenges museums face in the digital space, where their presence is mostly static and unattractive. She cited inexperience in web design and the often insurmountable differences in the approach of web experts and curators as the main stumbling blocks. Inadequate management of social networks and the lack of a strategy in communicating with the public are also problems that require a solution. Museums need a better understanding of digital media, a unified online presence (website and social networks), professional content editing and clearly defined goals. Finally, she emphasized that a museum’s online presentation should not be just a bulletin board, but a serious information and educational portal.
Matija Marković, technical editor of the Official Internet of the National Museum Kraljevo, gave a presentation on the topic “Legal Framework of the Official Website of the National Museum Kraljevo – as a Model Supporting Development”, which was created in collaboration with lawyer Vukašin Knežević. He explained that the Official Internet Presentation of the National Museum Kraljevo is legally regulated by the adoption of the Rulebook, and that this by-law is the first of its kind in museum activity in Serbia. The Rulebook, which contain 85 articles and 19 annexes, define the Official Internet Presentation as a website and social media accounts of the institution. The Rulebook defines the organization of work, including the Editorial and Technical Boards, their competencies, duties and powers, and the procedure for appointing members. The types of content to be published, the method of their collection, and the publication procedure are specified in detail.
Jelena Marković, secretary of the Official Internet Presentation of the National Museum Kraljevo, within the presentation “Reorganization of the Editorial Board of the Official Internet Presentation of the National Museum Kraljevo”, emphasized that the Editorial Board is the first body of the museum’s website, whose work officially began with its establishment at the 1st Annual Session, held on December 20th, 2023, when the basic documents were adopted, including the Editing Manual, Instructions for Authors, Editorial Policy and Mission and Vision. The formation of this board allows for expertise, continuity of communication, greater control of content quality and better interaction with the museum’s activities. The manner of its work, its responsibilities, duties and powers, monthly organization of work and the manner of holding sessions are presented in detail. Jelena mentioned priorities and vision for the future, such as improving efficiency, improving productivity, encouraging cooperation with other cultural institutions and attracting young associates.
After a short coffee break, the conference continued with a presentation by Matija Marković, technical editor of the Official Internet Presentation of the National Museum Kraljevo, entitled “Reorganization of the Technical Board of the Official Internet Presentation of the National Museum Kraljevo”. The Technical Board is responsible for the visual design and technical work of the Official Internet Presentation. It produces and processes photographs, videos and graphic material. Its work follows a monthly work plan, and at the end of each month a session is held for evaluation and planning of the next tasks. The Technical Committee plays a key role in maintaining a professional, up-to-date and attractive Internet presentation of the museum.
The professional confernece ended with a very interesting lecture by Aleksandra Bogdanović, entitled “Istorijski zabavnik – A View of Heritage from a Non-Institutional Perspective”. “Istorijski zabavnik” is a portal dedicated to the popularization of history, which tells in an interesting and accessible way about lesser-known historical events, personalities, anecdotes, as well as cultural and scientific achievements. The content of the portal is diverse, and Aleksandra used specific examples to show how, with creativity and good knowledge of digital marketing, cultural heritage can be presented outside the institution and reach a greater reach on social networks. She listed some of the examples that are directly related to displaying museum content on the Internet, as well as what she believes are good examples of digital presentation of museums. Her lecture was extremely interesting to museum experts, who were interested in her presentation and asked a number of questions, to which they received answers that could be of great help to them in their further work.
After the formal part of the expert meeting, the participants visited the host museum, followed by a gala dinner, where they continued to exchange ideas and experiences.