On Tuesday, 26 May 2026, the final meeting with members of the Key Stakeholder Group was held in the Intermunicipal Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments – Subotica, as part of the project “Identifying Solutions for Labor Market Imbalances in the Cultural Heritage Sector in the Danube Region by Improving Its Accessibility to Young Professionals” (CultHeRit), in which the Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments participates as a partner.

The Intermunicipal Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments – Subotica was represented by Balázs Szűcs, Neda Džamić, Fjodor Petrov and Richard Morvai Racz, and the Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments by Vladimir Džamić, Tatjana Tripković, Ana Vranješ and Danica Čolakov. The Key Stakeholder Group member attendees were: Nela Tonković from Contemporary Gallery Subotica, Melinda Nagy Kiserős from Subotica City Assembly, Dorotea Ašćerić, Goran Bogojević and Momir Vladisavljević from the National Museum of Serbia, and Dragana Đorđević from the Culture Trade Union.

In the introductory part of the meeting, the Key Stakeholder Group members were presented with the activities of the Transnational Peer-Review Session with Young Professionals, held in Linz from 10 to 12 December 2025 where the Young Professionals defined 10 Parameters related to improving working conditions in the cultural heritage sector. The results of the pilot action evaluation were also presented, based on responses from young professionals, mentors and co-mentors, colleagues and HR managers and main responsible project partners.

The key evaluation findings indicate the following:

• young professionals are satisfied with their integration into the institutions and the mentor support;
• a significant gap between academic theory and professional practice was identified;
• young professionals highlight limited financial resources and institutional barriers as the main problems they are facing;
• all mentors confirmed their own professional development through the mentoring process and advocate for the continuation of the programme.

The Group members were also briefed on the focus of the partner meeting held from 4 to 6 February 2026 in Prague, where the results of the pilot action, a strategy to improve accessibility of jobs and employment situation in the cultural heritage sector and advocacy campaign were discussed.

As part of the presentation of project results and the work of employees in partner institutions, a CultHeRit publication was presented whose aim is to introduce the project and the work of the partner institutions, and to serve as a practical tool for cultural institutions facing similar challenges. The attendees were also presented with an article on the project results published in ICOM Serbia National Committee Journal, as well as a segment of the project film.

Alongside the meeting, colleagues from the Intermunicipal Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments – Subotica organized a walk through the city, visiting notable cultural monuments, as well as a guided tour of the Raichle Palace.

This project is supported by the Interreg Danube Region Programme co-funded by the European Union.

Photo: Momir Vladisavljević, Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments team