Two friendly and benevolent institutions – the "Petar Mandic" Endowment and the "Laza Kostic" Foundation – both dedicated to nurturing knowledge inseparable from virtue, justice, and selflessness, have united in a noble initiative to enhance children's knowledge and promote awareness of the importance of preserving culture, heritage, and spiritual beauty.

Nova Varos Older Than Shakespeare

-Skender Bey’s settlement, upon whose foundations Nova Varos was built and which will celebrate 500 years of existence in 2025, is just slightly older than Shakespeare. Like the famous Globe Theatre, it too was destroyed by fire, but just like Shakespeare’s theatre, it was rebuilt.

-The village of Radoinja, founded in 1388, is just slightly older than Joan of Arc (born in 1412), who liberated France from a hundred years of English occupation with the cry: "In the name of God!" In the heart of the ethno-museum complex being built by the "Petar Mandic" Endowment, a Holy Cross will stand - as a reminder and a symbol that everything we do should and must be done in the name of God.

-The swan is the emblematic bird of Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare; the stork adorns Kovilj, the birthplace of Laza Kostic; while the griffon vulture celebrates the Uvac Lake region.

These were just a few of the threads of connection that pianist Marina Milic Radovic, professor at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad and founder and director of the "Laza Kostic" Foundation (established in 1991 in London), used to bring the art of William Shakespeare, Laza Kostic, and the God-inspired bee - "the gospel of nature" - closer to fifth and sixth grade students of "Zivko Ljujic" Elementary School and first to third grade students of the High School in Nova Varos.

Through five unique workshops, using the cards and booklet from the one-of-a-kind game LAZA & WILL & THE BEE, she opened an entirely new world to children hungry for excitement and a higher dimension of living.

The pianist appeared purposefully dressed in an Elizabethan costume from 450 years ago, evoking Shakespeare’s era, but with a white cloak inscribed in gold with the year 1864 - the year Matica Srpska was relocated to Novi Sad. At that time, Novi Sad was one of only six cities in the world to mark the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and would go on to earn the name "Serbian Athens." She began with the words: "Before you stands a lady in English dress - but beneath it are the fingers of a pianist and the heart of a Serbian woman."

With this striking visual, she aimed to etch into the children’s consciousness the fusion of global culture and Serbian heritage.

Chopin’s Heart Walled into the Pillar of the Holy Cross Church 

One lesson combining music education, Serbian, and French turned into the most exciting concert, where children encountered the music of Frédéric Chopin for the first time - this year, as Serbia commemorates 160 years of the "poet of the piano."

They learned things few people know - that in 1841, Chopin attended lectures at the Collège de France in Paris, where Mickiewicz spoke about the beauty of the Serbian language; that, by his own wish, Chopin’s heart was buried in the wall of the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, where he often prayed with his mother; and that beneath it stands an inscription from the Gospel of Matthew: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Incredibly but true - out of 60 students, only one boy, an exceptional accordionist, had even heard the name Frédéric Chopin at the beginning of the concert. But after 45 minutes, all the children were excitedly guessing whether the piece Marina was playing was a mazurka, a polonaise, Fantaisie-Impromptu, the "Revolutionary" Étude, or "The Storm." And to the absolute delight of both students and teachers, in a magical blend of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Chopin’s Étude "The Storm," the school’s principal, Mr. Risto Popovic, cloaked and holding a "magic" wand, performed as the brilliant magician Prospero.

Children from Nova Varos in "Laza Kostic" Foundation Competition

The concert-workshops were designed with the aim of sparking interest among the children and youth of Nova Varos in both global culture and their own heritage and values, as well as encouraging them to participate in the competition organized by the "Laza Kostic" Foundation. Winners of the competition will be selected to perform at the celebration of the Foundation’s 35th anniversary and the 200th anniversary of Matica Srpska, on February 12, 2026, in the Grand Hall of the oldest institution dedicated to nurturing Serbian culture, science, and literature.

In addition to the concert-workshops, the "Petar Mandic" Foundation has provided 10 sets of the game LAZA & WILL & THE BEE to help students best prepare for the competition, which will connect them with the "Serbian Athens" during that jubilee year, 2026.

The first opportunity to present their competition entries will be on July 2, during the celebration of the Slava of Laza’s Ambassadors - the youth division of the Foundation - at the "Prometej" Publishing House in Novi Sad.