Workshops held at cultural centers in Prijepolje and Priboj on October 10th and 11th 2017 were supported by municipal authorities. A dialogue was opened on the need to integrate heritage into the everyday life of citizens in a multicultural environment that is historically, culturally and socially related to the cultural and natural heritage that surrounds it.

Lecturers dr Jermina Stanojev, Vera Pavlović Lončarski, Jasna Zrnović, Duška Dimović, M.Sc. Gordana Brun and dr Mario Lukinović, with their presentations highlighted the different concepts of heritage, idem the fact that cultural and natural heritage could be perceived as drivers of development by encouraging investments, education and better inclusion of the local community, making the heritage sustainable. The project is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.

Dr Jermina Stanojev (Integrative and participative management of cultural heritage within European programs and strategies) presented the key documents and approaches to the European Union in relation to cultural heritage such as Mapping cultural heritage actions in the policies, programs and activities of the European Union, Communications: 2014 - " Towards an Integrative Approach to the Cultural Heritage of Europe ","Towards an EU Strategy for International Relations in Culture "," Report of the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on Cultural Heritage ". She also presented the program Creative Europe and the current call for proposals and projects related to the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. The participants were explained in detail the IPA cross-border program Serbia-Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014-2020, and the discussion with the participants was initiated on the application process.

Vera Pavlović Lončarski (Cultural Heritage between Idea and Reality) spoke about heritage as individual and society needs, about preserving the heritage and the ways in which it is achieved. She presented the relevance of implementation of cultural conventions, the need for modernizing relevant legislation, economic and social interests, and the demands of local communities. A special focus was on the ways in which the local community can be involved in restoration of heritage through the process of negotiation, promotion and appropriate interpretation of heritage. It has been pointed out that in a multicultural environment such as Priboj and Prijepolje heritage can be integrated into everyday life while not presenting a cost for community but a factor of development.

Jasna Zrnović (Diplomacy of Influence - "Soft Power" and Development) talked about the possibilities to get funds for projects in culture, science and education and explained to whom international funds are destined, how to formulate ideas, the need for cooperation between the business sector and culture, about common initiatives, but also about constant misconceptions related to obtaining financing from international organizations. The importance of the private sector for culture as well as socially responsible business is explained. A special part related to the project "Our Corner" presented the possibilities of linking cultural, natural and intangible heritage with tourism, festivals and events, all along with the education of the population of all ages.

Duška Dimović (Protection of the Natural Heritage and the World Wild Fund in Serbia) spoke about the general goals of protection of wild species, forests, fresh water, food, ocean and climate, on the assessment of the benefits of protected natural areas, ecological footprint, access to preservation of natural heritage, of international and national legal frameworks of protection. She presented the possibility of getting income from resources from protected areas, distribution of economic values between stakeholders, as well as examples of cross-border cooperation as an incentive for the local communities of Priboj and Prijepolje.

Mr Gordana Brun (Model of Education for Sustainable Development and Preservation of Natural and Cultural Values in the Local Community) spoke about sustainable development as an imperative of time. Key issues were sustainable production and consumption, preservation of drinking water, biodiversity and protection and preservation of the environment. She pointed out the cultural aspect of biological diversity. In practice, it has been shown that citizens and decision-makers are not sufficiently informed about sustainable development, and they were given suggestions how to improve management at the level of local self-governments in order to establish networking among citizens and other authorities through education.

Dr Mario Lukinović (Local Community Mechanisms for branding) presented branding as a necessity of the modern world, the process of creating a product or service recognition on the market, and the possibility of establishing a brand of one region, for example, Polimlja. In addition to nature, cultural and historical monuments, intangible heritage presents brand value to be built. This is defined through a system of intellectual property rights that allows the brand to be preserved. Special sections of the presentation related to the geographical origin and the possibility of branding local communities. The benefits are spreading the glory of the area and of its specificities, but also creating employment for a large number of people. The possibility of branding widely known products that could be listed as intangible heritage was noted.

Local Government Office for Development in Priboj and Prijepolje, representatives of municipalities, tourist organization, women's association for preserving the village life "Sačuvajmo selo", Ecological Movement Lim, Leskovac Mountain Club, associations Discover Serbia and Limski darovi, brand "VoLIM dobro u ljudima", Regional Development Agency Zlatibor, the Youth Center Priboj, the Youth Office, the Priboj Ethnological Museum, the public utility companies, NGOs from Rudo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), several Prepolje and Priboj businessmen, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Islamic Community, local media Radio Mileševa, Radio Lim, TV Priboj, TV Novi Pazar, women's newspaper «Ženski glas of Priboj» etc., participated actively and showed interest in the lectures that encouraged the dialogue. Key issues were raised in relation to interdisciplinary cooperation, as well as about the possibilities of financing national and cross-border projects.

The advantage of the approach offered at the workshops is primarily that the conclusions and new ideas were exchanged, and it was accepted that the investment in heritage promotes the development and sustainability of cultural and natural heritage. Then the necessity of involving youth in preserving heritage, creating jobs through different projects, as well as the inclusion of rural households in the preservation of the intangible heritage (for ex. making «heljdopita» - well known ethno food specialty).

The general character of the workshops, the international experience of the lecturers and the acceptance by various stakeholders (inclusive approach) have shown that the same type of workshops could be organized in other undeveloped and devastated municipalities in the Republic of Serbia.

Gathered in the "Round Table on the implementation of the culture conventions- Serbia and SEE" apart from the founders of Ars Quadra following participants were present:  Radoslav Zelenović, Ksenija Radulović, Duška Dimović, Gordana Brun, Gordana Karović, Danijela Filipović, Milja Vuković, Mario Lukinović and Gorica Mojović.