The book Cultural Participation of the Citizens of Serbia by Slobodan Mrđa and Marijana Milankov has been published by the Center for Study in Cultural Development. The book was created as part of a project of the same name carried out by the Center in 2019. The core of this project was a national opinion poll survey, which aimed to gain insight into the cultural participation structure of our country’s citizens.
The poll was carried out in October and November 2019. From the planned 1600 people, we surveyed 1521 people, which amounts to 95% of the planned sample. The research involved 50 surveyors from areas where research was carried out or from close by places.
The poll was conducted using a standardized questionnaire, which contained 50 questions divided into seven groups. The first part was related to socio-demographic variables, while the second was related to dependent variables, such as cultural interests, cultural habits, ways of getting informed, communication, with a special segment for the evaluation of personal well-being.
This survey helped collect information about the sort of cultural activities that examinees like to do (cultural aspirations), what they really do (cultural practices), how much time they spend on cultural activities, and the likes. The collected information on the examinees’ socio-demographic characteristics enabled the identification of their position in society and their professional, educational, or urban characteristics.
The study analyzed and presented data that can be useful to cultural policymakers on all levels, cultural centers, formal and informal art groups, as well as the wider audience.
The research Cultural Participation of the Citizens of Serbia was based on previous national researches of cultural participation conducted by the Center: Cultural Practices of the Citizens of Serbia (2010) and Cultural Needs, Habits and Attitudes of the Citizens of Serbia (2015), and includes a comparative analysis.
The Center for Study in Cultural Development prepared digital editions of this book in EPUB and PDF form adjusted for reading on screens, which can be downloaded from the following links:
https://zaprokul.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Kulturna-participacija.rar
https://zaprokul.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Kulturna-participacija-gradjana-Srbije-KB.pdf
Researcher Bogdana Opačić and research organizer Maja Marinković coordinated the field research effort, which was the basis for this book. The book reviewers are Nikola Božilović, professor Jelena Đorđević, and professor Branimir Stojković. The publication also contains an introduction, bibliography, an index of names and terms, and short biographies of the authors.
