It is a well-known fact that Jovan Cvijić is Serbia’s most famous geographer, scientist and academic, but did you know that it was thanks to him that the words ‘field’ and ‘valley’ found its place in world’s dictionaries.

At the exhibition ‘The Belgrade Atlas of Jovan Cvijić’, the students of Savremena International School had the opportunity to learn about this and many other intriguing things from the life of Jovan Cvijić. The exhibition took place at the SANU’s gallery and it was organised with the aim of commemorating hundred and fifty years from the birth of this renowned geographer.

The Importance and Contribution of Jovan Cvijić

In addition to being a geographer, a scientist and a rector of the University of Belgrade, Cvijić was also the President of the Serbian Royal Academy, as well as an honorable doctor and member of Europe’s oldest academies and universities.

As a scientific expert and figure of great influence, his work on the educational and cultural enlightenment of Belgrade, as well as his effort to develop higher education and instruct younger generations, contributed significantly to the foundation of the scientific, cultural and artistic life of the city in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars and World War I.

What did the students see at the exhibition?

The major part of the exhibition at the SANU’s gallery is composed of the original material taken from the Belgrade City Museum – the legacy of Jovan Cvijić: his personal belongings, pieces of furniture and paintings found in the house he lived in, his correspondence, documents, photos and geographical maps.

A visit to the exhibition in the style of Savremena School

A visit to the SANU’s gallery was organised in groups according to classes.

Each and every activity in Savremena International School is conceived in such a manner so that the students are involved as much as possible in the learning process.

Each class was divided into three groups. While one group was seeing the exhibition and listed to the talk by the Museum’s curator, the other one used iPads to solve a quiz on Jovan Cvijić. The members of the third group, on the other hand, competed among each other to see who will be quicker in putting together the pieces of a map on the population origins in Vojvodina elaborated by Jovan Cvijić.

The groups took turns so that everyone could participate in all the activities created by our geography teacher Ivan Matejić.

In this way our students got to learn something new in an interesting way. Take look at the pictures in our gallery >>