The ‘Book Talk 2017’ regional conference is another indicator that the European Capital of Culture title connects cultural professionals from Europe with the cultural scene of Novi Sad. One of the key aspects of the title is the closer connection with the European culture. The ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation in this way builds new bridges with Europe, which is the most important message it wants to communicate to all citizens of Novi Sad – Build bridges!

In addition to Nobel Prize winners who visited Novi Sad in the last two years, the Gallery of Matica Srpska and Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection hosted the ‘Book Talk 2017’ conference on 28 and 29 September, which gathered both authors and other stakeholders of the cultural scene in the region. One of the panels was ‘How does Novi Sad prepare, and on whose mistakes does it learn?’. Participants were Dr Tijana Palkovljević Bugarski, Director of the Gallery of Matica Srpska, Radovan Jokić, Director of the Contemporary Art Museum of Vojvodina, Anton Baev, author from Plovdiv – European Capital of Culture in 2019, Vladimir Gvozden, art historian at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, Zvonko Marković, art historian, and Nemanja Milenković, CEO of the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation. The panel moderator was Zlatko Crnogorac, executive producer of the ‘Parobrod’ cultural institution, while the introduction was given by Irek Grin, author and manager from Wrocław, European Capital of Culture in 2016.