The exhibition ‘The Đerdap Geopark – The First Geopark in the Republic of Serbia’, organised by the Serbian Geographical Society, will open on Friday, 25 September, at the SASA Gallery of Science and Technology, at 6 p.m. The authors of the exhibitions are Milena Panić, PhD, and Dobrila Lukić, PhD.

The Đerdap Geopark, the first geopark in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, encompasses the area of the Đerdap National Park and its immediate surroundings, covering 1,330 km2. Đerdap became a member of the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) in 2020, as well as of the regional European Geoparks Network, thus confirming the extraordinary international significance of its geo-heritage. Sixty-three distinct sites of geological heritage and thirty-three cultural-historical heritage sites have been identified in the area of the park.

The World UNESCO Geopark Network, of which the Đerdap Geopark is a part, provides information on sustainable use of natural resources, conducts geoconservation, raises awareness of geological hazards, maintains documentation on previously recorded climate changes, promotes educational activities, scientific research, cultural aspects of a certain area. It also addresses the environmental impact of the certain area on the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and actively involves the local population in the geoparks system of planning and management. The network is dedicated to the empowerment of women through educational programmes or by advancing female communities through promotional activities of local folk crafts and artisan products.

For this reason, in addition to presenting the natural and cultural heritage of Đerdap, the exhibition focuses on presenting handicrafts inspired by Serbian medieval tradition, costumes of the Serbian medieval nobility, ornaments based on motifs from medieval Serbian frescoes, the mythology associated with Golubac Fortress, as well as folklore elements of eastern Serbia. Among the highlights of the exhibition is the Vlach embroidery technique known as štanpujit, characteristic of the Lower Danube region and included in the Catalogue of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Serbia.