A group of 20 students from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade and Clemson University from South Carolina (USA) visited Kragujevac today. They were welcomed by Ana Petrović, the mayor's assistant for culture and information.
She introduced them to the rich history and the importance of our city as well as the uniqueness that makes everyone who leaves this city wants to return one day. It is a great honor that as part of their study stay, the students chose the center of Šumadija and the most beautiful location to get to know the mentality, culture and history of our country and the city. It is a pleasure to see their sincere joy, which is why I believe that this was not just a mere protocol visit but a reception from which they will get good impressions and see our sincere desire to be good hosts. Taking into consideration the field of their studies, we also hope that we will collaborate in the future, said Petrović.
The Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade, the Center for US Studies, and Clemson University from South Carolina are institutions that have been cooperating for 17 years. For the last seven years, students from the US have been coming to Serbia for one semester, when they would attend courses in English and take exams that are recognized as if they had taken them at their university.
In addition to the subjects related to the EU, the Balkans, the American foreign policy, they also attend a subject that we consider as very important for creating what we refer to as “the infrastructure of our future relations”. It is the subject of Serbian culture and history, explains Dragan Živojinović, associate at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade. In addition to learning the language and getting to know our culture and history, they also visit cultural and political institutions. Part of that program is the visit to Kragujevac, which we chose as the first modern Serbian capital, where many great and first important things were done in Serbia after the restoration of its independence. Cooperation with the US is very important for Serbia and for our university community, because both parties can benefit from it. This cooperation shows us that people can build relationships that will last in the future and improve them outside of what represents the sphere of politics, Živojinović concluded.
As part of their study visits, students from South Carolina visited all Balkan countries, monasteries and cultural and historical landmarks in Serbia. Thanks to this cooperation, students from Serbia are also traveling to the US in September.
