Membership in the Federation implies strong support of relevant institutions in order to strengthen the capacity and expansion of activities of national associations.

The Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality, Women’s Parliamentary Network and Ethno Network marked this momentous step toward preserving Serbia’s national identity by organizing and exhibition titled “Traditional handicrafts as an element of national origin”.

The Chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality Meho Omerovic believes that the acceptance of the Ethno Network into the European Folk Art and Craft Federation means that Serbia has officially been accepted as a full-fledged participant in the preservation of the traditional skills of European nations. Omerovic believes that gender equality and economic empowerment of women is the chief pre-requisite for the improvement of women’s social position, especially considering that women in Serbia remain the less represented gender in all spheres of public and private life, particularly in the fields of economy and business.

The representative of the Women’s Parliamentary Network Biljana Hasanovic Korac reminded that one of the Network’s main goals is the economic empowerment of women and promotion of women’s skills, which is essential for achieving equality in all spheres.

Finnish Ambassador in Belgrade Pekka Orpana congratulated Serbia on the membership saying that heritage should not be merely viewed as heritage, it should be allowed to develop through modern culture, and stressing that high quality handicrafts can contribute to the development of tourism.

European Folk Art and Craft Federation, which has been operating since 1972, consists of professional organizations from ten EU countries and Norway. At the annual assembly meeting held in Helsinki, on 25 September 2013, the Federation officially admitted the vocational organisation Ethno Network as a representative of Serbia into its membership. The Federation expert commission visited Serbia in 2012 and reviewed the work and activities of Ethno Network, comprising 24 associations from all over Serbia, and confirmed that it qualified as a representative organisation for the preservation and cultivation of this type of immaterial cultural heritage which is basic membership criteria. Subsequently, Ethno Network and Serbia were officially accepted by similar associations from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Latvia and Poland as an equal participant in the preservation of the traditional skills of the European people.