Faculty of Philosophy in North Mitrovica marks 66 years of work, scientific conference brings together 284 authors from 10 countries

The Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Pristina, temporarily based in Kosovska Mitrovica, marked its 66th anniversary with the international scientific conference “History, Culture, Identity 2,” during which memoranda were signed between the higher education institution and the Institute of Historical Sciences of the University of East Sarajevo, the Faculty of Economics in Brcko of the University of East Sarajevo, and the “Milenko Bodin” Center for Applied Philosophy and Social Research in Belgrade.

The Faculty of Philosophy Day celebrations and the opening of the international scientific conference began with the performance of the national anthem “Boze pravde.” An educational and entertainment program was also organized, while awards were presented to the best students across 10 study programs.

Dean of the Faculty, Professor Aleksandra Tmusic Kostic, told Kosovo Online that this year’s response from scientists and researchers had been particularly strong.

“It is truly a wonderful event. When we organized this second conference, we could not even have imagined that 284 authors from 10 countries would participate. That is truly rare for our region. I can confidently say that an international scientific conference of this scale has never before been held in Kosovo and Metohija. As a faculty and university, together with the city of Kosovska Mitrovica, we have made every effort to welcome our dear guests and colleagues and spend these three days together, not only in Kosovska Mitrovica but throughout Kosovo and Metohija,” she said.

Following the international scientific conference, a collection of conference papers will be published and, as Kostic noted, given the number of authors and submitted papers, it will be an extensive and significant publication comprising at least five volumes.

“I would like to thank the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the local self-governments, namely the provisional authorities of the municipalities of Kosovska Mitrovica, Zvecan and Zubin Potok. Without their support, we would not have been able to accomplish what we initially envisioned. I wish all participants a pleasant stay and enjoyable time together, and I hope they leave with positive impressions and strong emotions. I hope we will meet here again, in Kosovo and Metohija,” Tmusic Kostic said.

Minister for Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska Dragan Mastilovic said it was a great honor and pleasure for him to attend the signing of memoranda of cooperation between scientific and higher education institutions from the Republic of Srpska and institutions in North Mitrovica.

“I believe this is a very important step toward future cooperation, not only when we talk about higher education and scientific institutions, but also when it comes to connecting the Serbian people on both sides of the Drina. This is particularly important here in Kosovo and Metohija, where we know that the Serbian people are subjected to various forms of pressure and live in almost impossible conditions. The question is whether there is another example in the world today of this kind of terror being carried out against the Serbian people. the Republic of Srpska knows very well what it means to fight for a state, to secure a state and to defend a state. That is why I believe the people of the Republic of Srpska fully understand, perhaps better than anyone, the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” Mastilovic stressed.

As a plenary speaker at the scientific conference, he said he hoped to contribute not only to science and higher education, but also to strengthening ties among the Serbian people in all regions.

“I believe that one of the essential directions of our future cooperation is precisely connecting young people, university students, as well as younger people of secondary-school age, across all Serbian areas. As a people, we cannot achieve a high degree of integration if we do not know one another. That is why I believe that in the coming period we will work intensively on this, namely that Serbia and the Republic of Srpska will work to connect our young people so that they can become better acquainted with the history, culture and identity of the Serbian people in all areas,” he concluded.

He assessed that it was important for pupils and students, in addition to visiting European cities, to become acquainted with places of particular significance to Serbian history, such as the Skull Tower, Stari Brod and Jasenovac.

Professor Aleksandar Milanovic of the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, one of this year’s plenary speakers, said that the theme of this year’s conference concerned not only identity in general, but also the identity of the Serbian people in Kosovo.

“My topic concerns the language of storytellers from Kosovo and Metohija at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The language and style found in the short stories of our writers are, in fact, a reflection of their attitude not only toward their mother tongue, but also toward the status of Serbs in what was then occupied Serbia and in occupied Kosovo and Metohija. For that reason, I believe my topic fits the overall theme very well, because language is, of course, one of the fundamental markers of identity,” he stressed.

In addition to numerous scientists, today’s event was attended by the mayors of North Mitrovica and Zubin Potok, Milan Radojevic and Milos Perovic, President of the Provisional Authority of Kosovska Mitrovica Ivan Zaporozac, Serb List member Igor Simic, as well as deans of other faculties.

The international scientific conference “History, Culture, Identity 2” will be held in North Mitrovica through October 18.