The Academic Society for Music Cherishing “Gusle” Kikinda was founded in 1876, since then it has been working continuously under the same name. It was founded with the aim of preserving and protecting diverse musical expressions and practices, and over the years, it has developed into an institution with a wide range of activities.
The systematic safeguarding, identification, and documentation of intangible cultural heritage are driven by rigorous, multidisciplinary field research that fuses the expertise of ethnomusicologists, ethnochoreologists, ethnologists, and anthropologists. The operational anchor of these safeguarding interventions is the long-term “Ethno-camp” initiative (2002–2026). By utilizing structured audio-visual interviews with tradition bearers, this project continually enriches and maintains a comprehensive physical and digital archive. This repository generates the scientific and empirical baseline necessary to nominate and register elements on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, thereby institutionalizing formal protection for the living practices of local communities. Moving beyond mere documentation, the association champions active revitalization and artistic reconstruction. This process successfully transitions endangered performance genres from archival preservation back into active community practice, directly expanding the network of living practitioners.
Knowledge transmission and capacity-building are operationalized through a robust non-formal educational framework embedded within the society’s specialized performance ensembles, which actively engage approximately 500 practitioners. This institutional infrastructure comprises six dedicated traditional dance sections, four traditional vocal sections, and multiple instrumental sections focusing on heritage instruments—including the bagpipes, flutes, tambourines… big folk-traditional orchestra and a tambourine orchestra. Within these instructional settings, structured intergenerational transmission occurs organically, enabling youth to learn directly from both specialized instructors and senior community bearers who embody the primary tradition. To fortify broader societal viability and long-term sustainability, this educational mandate extends into the formal education sector through targeted partnership programs with kindergartens and elementary schools. These efforts are reinforced by strategic inter-institutional networking with external cultural organizations to amplify the social resonance of these protection measures.
Year of accreditation: 2026
Main domain(s) of the ngo’s activities: Performing arts
Main safeguarding measures: a) identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making), b) preservation, protection, c) promotion, enhancement, d) transmission, (non-) formal education, e) revitalization
Main country where the NGO works: Serbia
