Organized by the Historical Institute in Belgrade and the Open Air Museum "Old Village" in Sirogojno on 10 – 11 June 2016, the International Scientific Conference ‘’Balkan Village - continuity and change throughout history’’ was held. The idea of the organizers was to bring together scientists from Serbia and abroad in order to present scientific results related to history, but also to the present state of the Balkan villages. This again pointed to the importance of a village as a field of research that is unjustly ignored in science. This professional gathering assembled historians, ethnologists, architects, ethnomusicologists and philologists from nine countries (Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Montenegro and Serbia) from prominent scientific and cultural institutions (scientific institutes, universities and museums that explore the Balkan peninsula). The participants had the opportunity to exchange their experience in previous work and methodological approaches to a complex subject that requires serious interdisciplinary studies. That was exactly the intention of the organizers: to encourage research work in the villages aiming to reach solutions for their sustainable development. This prestigious international conference will result in publication of a special thematic collection of papers.
