About the project
This project is funded by the U.S. Embassy Belgrade of the U.S. Department of State under the University Partnership Program.
The U.S. Embassy works to assist the Serbian people to strengthen democracy, rule of law, and the protection of human rights; help fight brain drain and advance the country’s economic development; promote regional stability and cooperation; cooperate with international partners to combat crime, terrorism, human trafficking, and other global challenges; and make further progress towards Serbia’s accession into the European Union. The program also strive to explain U.S. policies, culture, society, and values to Serbian audiences and deepen ties between our two countries. University Partnership support these goals while facilitating lasting connections between Serbian and American institutions of higher education.
This website represents a portal two the results of two projects funded under the University Partnership Program: the ongoing project „Strengthening digital sustainability communication in tourism and culture between US and Serbia“ (No. SRB10023GR0052 founded under the call in 2023) and the project „Immersive Technologies for Cross-Cultural Tourism Development: U.S. and Serbia on a Pathway to Digital Transformation“ (No. SRB10022GR0066 Founded under the call in 2022).
The project „Strengthening digital sustainability communication in tourism and culture between US and Serbia“ builds on a successful US Embassy project that focused on immersive technologies for cross-cultural tourism development between U.S. and Serbia. It was discovered that the two countries perceptions of sustainability and its importance in terms of tourism and culture varied. To build lasting connections between Serbian and American institutions of higher education based on joint research this project analyzes the digital sustainability communication of U.S. entities in the fields of tourism and culture, using novel neuromarketing approaches to effectively convey sustainable messages in the digital age. A preparatory online workshop on digital communication of sustainable tourism is organized for Serbian students and stakeholders. The US research team hosted a visit for Serbian researchers to exemplary case studies of sustainable practices in Florida.
The Serbian team gathered insight data, created a model of sites with the US team, and prepared data for the neuromarketing analysis. After the field trip in the US, inclusive workshops are organized in Serbia. In the project’s final phase, Serbian researchers will collaborate with the US team to host a culminating conference in the US with an academic roundtable with representatives of US higher-education institutions, sustainability leaders, stakeholders, and academics to exchange experiences and look for new opportunities for cooperation. This portal for sustainable communication practices for students and stakeholders in Serbia is one of the main results of this project.
The US is a pioneer in sustainable employment practices for tourism and culture, which can serve as an example for developing countries like Serbia. However, differences in socioeconomic, cultural, and educational backgrounds can create varying perceptions of sustainability.
Higher education is crucial in preparing young people for sustainable business practices. To build lasting connections between Serbian and American institutions of higher education based on joint research this project aims to analyze US digital sustainability communication in tourism and culture from an academic perspective and how it’s perceived among Serbian university students and stakeholders. An innovative neuromarketing method will be used to determine the most effective sustainability communication tourism and culture sectors in Serbia to support the country’s economic development and ability to cope with global challenges.
Previous project was titled„Immersive Technologies for Cross-Cultural Tourism Development: U.S. and Serbia on a Pathway to Digital Transformation“. Tourism and sustainable development came to a grinding halt during the pandemic. In order to build back
better, new collaborations and innovative approaches were called for that should align with global frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Faculty and students from the University of South Florida and the University of Novi Sad have created virtual and physical learning spaces to advance pedagogical techniques, course modernization, student learning, and virtualization of products for tourism. Two virtual workshops were developed involving multiple classes from both institutions in a cluster learning initiative. Also, in-person training workshops were held for faculty and students traveling to Florida and Serbia for irreplaceable hands-on learning in November 2022. Mutual areas of knowledge transfer and specialization across the faculties were identified and strengthened for future research, grants, and publications.
The USF team has trained the UNS participants in the latest virtualization technologies at a tourist site featuring the cultural heritage of marginalized populations. Other specialties that were shared included augmented reality development in hospitality and tourism and immersive sensory pedagogies used in food and beverage tourism.
The project was supported by the US Embassy in Belgrade. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in the project do not necessarily express the views of the US Government, but solely those of the authors.
