On King’s Day, October 7th, 2023, a scientific conference was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo under the name “Kosovo and Metohija in the 20th Century: Historical and Geopolitical Оverview. The conference was organized by the National Museum Kraljevo in cooperation with the Institute for Political Studies in Belgrade and the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade.
At the beginning of the opening, participants and the audience were greeted by Darko Gučanin, director of the National Museum Kraljevo, after which Predrag Terzić, PhD, mayor of Kraljevo, addressed the audience. He thanked the members of the Organizing Committee for the preparation of the scientific conference, which carries a special weight, because it is about a very important social and scientific topic. In addition, he expressed satisfaction that on this occasion the Institute for Political Studies from Belgrade and the National Museum Kraljevo and the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade are cooperating for the fourth time, after the three-year project “Publications in the Development of Society and State” which, in the form of an international scientific conference, is jointly organized by in 2021. He also pointed out that although the National Museum Kraljevo is a cultural institution, it manages to organize successful scientific conferences in cooperation with scientific institutions and that, headed by director Darko Gučanin, it is open to cooperation of this kind and to scientific discussions of such important and complex topics.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee, Milomir Stepić, PhD, scientific advisor of the Institute for Political Studies in Belgrade, welcomed the attendees, who pointed out that the theme of the meeting was Kosovo and Metohija, seen from a historical and geopolitical point of view during the 20th century. This is the period when the events in this area were the most intense and stormy and led in a negative direction, from the aspect of our country and our interests. Distinguished experts have been gathered who will bring us the results of new research on this topic, after which we will get a new picture of this issue. He emphasized that it is an issue that is first of all an identity issue, but also an economic one, which is often neglected. Kosovo and Metohija are the basis of the economic development of Serbia because there are some of the most important deposits of natural resources, on which our future rests.
After the opening, the scientific conference began, where, in two sessions, papers were presented by eleven participants.