International Council of Museums' conference starts Monday

BELGRADE - A regional conference of national committees of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) on the topic of 'Museums and cultural tourism' will start on Monday, September 8, in Mona Hotel on Mt. Zlatibor, western Serbia.

Focusing on the concept of self-sustainable museum that offers both informative and entertaining contents to increasingly demanding modern audiences, the conference will explore the special relationship between museums and cultural tourism, the organizers told Tanjug.

"Cultural tourism opens up new possibilities for museums, and other institutions in the field of material and non-material heritage, when it comes to communication with the public, as well as important innovations in the activities of museums as such," said Slavko Spasic, president of ICOM Serbia and director of Natural History Museum in Belgrade.

The conference will be declared open by Serbia's Culture Minister Ivan Tasovac. It will bring together around 60 eminent national and regional experts from various spheres, including tourism, museum studies, communications, management and culture industry.

On the last day of the conference on Mt. Zlatibor, September 10, the participants will visit the "Staro Selo" museum in the nearby village of Sirogojno, which is one of the leaders in cultural heritage tourism in Serbia.

The conference is organized by the national committee of ICOM in Serbia, under the auspices of Paris-based ICOM General Secretariat, Serbian Ministry of Culture, and Tourist Organization of Zlatibor.