The Serbian Council of Great Britain aims to reach out to all Serbian communities in the UK, no matter how large or small, in order to better understand their needs and aspirations. We want to listen to what people think would be the best course of action for the Council, how can we make Serbian community in UK stronger, what are the problems people of Serbian origin face in the UK, and how can we find solution to those problems and make solutions our goals.
As it is generally acknowledged that a face-to-face contact is the most effective way of introducing the Council and getting to know our communities in the UK, we are planning, in collaboration with our members, to visit several places in different parts of the UK during the second half of 2005 and throughout 2006.
At first, we will visit places with large diaspora concentrations, such as cities of Cambridge, Oxford, Guildford, Bradford, Halifax, Leicester and Corby. Please check this webpage for planned dates and venues.
The visits will be of an informal nature in order to attract as many Serbs and their friends and spouses as possible, regardless of age. Typically there will be 3-4 representatives from the General Committee of the Council as well as Council members that live and work locally. Aside from a short presentation about the Council and its aims and achievements so far, we would prefer to keep the floor open to your views and suggestions as to how the Council could serve you and your community both locally and nationally, with regards to UK and Serbian institutions alike. We would be very keen to hear constructive ways of further promoting the interests of the Serbian diaspora in the UK and strengthening our community as a whole.
First visit – Cambridge, 15th October 2005
General Committee members Milos Stefanovic, Natasa Kocsis and Marko Ninkovic travelled to Cambridge where they met with young Serbs who either work or study there.
Second visit - Guildford, 9 December 2005
General Committee members Natasa Kocsis, Marko Ninkovic and Milos Stefanovic travelled to Guildford where they met with members of the Serbian community who either work or study there. Guildford is home to approximately 40 Serbian households who have managed to establish a very close-knit community. During an informal dinner at local Seahorse pub in nearby village of Shalford, the guests presented the key aspects of the Serbian Council and exchanged various ideas for further work and development. The hosts were invited to join us on February 5 for our AGM in London.
Third visit - Oxford, planned for January 2005
Jедан од примарних циљева ССВБ је да активно повезује заједнице и организације српске дијаспоре у Великој Британији. Ове године су организоване две посете нашим комунама. У мају су Петар Јанковић, Алекс Симић и Ђорђе Токос посетили место Арди крај Даблина у Ирској где су са 25 људи разговарали о потребама сарадње између наших људи у Ирској и Великој Британији, пре свега са Амбасадом Републике Србије у Лондону (пошто Србија нема своје конзуларно представништво у Ирској). Крајем октобра су Јелена Босанац и Милош Стефановић посетили српске студенте у Кембриџу, где се пре свега разговарало о повезивању наших студентских друштава на многобројним универзитетима у Великој Британији. За 2008. годину ССВБ планира да посети наше заједнице у Оксфорду, Гилдфорду, Редингу, Халифаксу и Бедфорду.
One of the SCGB’s key aims is to actively link Serbian Diaspora and its organisations in the UK. This year we organised two visits to our communities. In May, Petar Jankovic, Aleks Simic and George Tokos visited our community in Ardee near Dublin in Ireland, where they discussed with 25 participants their backgrounds and needs for communication with the UK, in particular with regards to the Serbian Church and the Embassy of Serbia (as there is no Serbian consular representation in Ireland). At the end of October, Jelena Bosanac and Milos Stefanovic visited a group of Serbian students at the University of Cambridge, where they mainly discussed the need to link up the Serbian student organisations present at many universities in the UK. Further visits to Oxford, Guildford, Reading, Halifax and Bedford are planned for 2008.