From December 10 to 12, 2024, the International Conference on Cultural Heritage (HERITAGE MIDDLE EAST) was held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. This conference borught together representatives from 65 countries across all continents. Two cultural institutions from Kragujevac, the Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute Kragujevac and the ‘Kragujevac October’ Memorial Park, participated jointly as the only representatives from Serbia.

In addition to the stand at the National Exhibition Center of the Emirates (ADNEC), where visitors could learn about one of our most significant cultural heritage sites - the Memorial Park in Kragujevac’s Šumarice - through two virtual tours (one of the Memorial Park itself and another of the “21st October” Museum), the director of the Memorial Park, Marijana Stanković, and the director of the Institute, Nenad Karamijalković, held a lecture on December 11 about the combined protection of cultural and natiral heritage in Šumarice.

This made a significant contribution to expanding the story of the suffering of our people during World War II on a global scale, far beyond the the borders of our country, as well as introducing the international professional community to our exceptional cultural and natural heritage in Šumarice.

The participation of the Kragujevac Institute and Memorial Park at the conference in Abu Dhabi was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the City of Kragujevac, and the Museum of Genocide Victims.