WHAT IS NEOZOIK?
The founders of the Neozoik Foundation were smack in the middle of several projects when the 2020 lockdown hit. It forced them to scramble to finish them, with limited resources and working only virtually. The unusual circumstances only encouraged them to find new, creative solutions which exceeded all their expectations. Archaeology and cultural heritage had their audience and the ideas were met with support and encouragement of colleagues – the rest was up to them. The idea was quietly simmering on the back burner, until April 2021 when Neozoik Foundation was officially founded.
Their mission? To teach as many young people (and those who feel young) what archaeology and cultural heritage are, and why it is imperative to protect and preserve them.
The Neozoik team is made up of young experts, undergrad and PhD students of archaeology at the University of Belgrade. They’ve spent years honing their skills in the field of non-formal education and the promotion and popularization of archaeology in the country and the region. They had the best possible team building - the Archaeology Program at Petnica Science Center: from the first steps as high schoolers participating in the seminars, to undergrad and graduate assistants, to finally directing the entire program. They’ve learned from each other about archaeology, the scientific method, mentoring and academic skills, organizing teams and seminars and cooperating with experts and institutions from the country and the region.
So far the team has organized several seminars which included dozens of lectures held by experts from a multitude of museums, institutes and faculties, covering topics from different eras (prehistory, antiquity, the Middle Ages) and a variety of scientific methodologies. They’ve organized workshops, engaging high schoolers in the analysis, interpretation and publication of previously unprocessed archaeological material (ceramics, animal and human bones, metal objects), letting them experience the full scientific process.
Members of the Foundation were frequent guests as authors and workshops instructors at events like Night of the Researchers, Science Festival and Night of the Museums. Part of the Neozoik crew pioneered one of the first Schools of Archaeology for students of social sciences (history, archaeology, classical sciences, ethnology and anthropology) from the region (Slovenia, Croatia, BiH, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia) organized by the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad and the Danube Area Research Center from Novi Sad (DaREC), as well as the International School of Cultural Heritage.
The pandemic only served to encourage the Neozoik team to increase their activity on digital platforms. Neozoik firmly believes that cultural heritage must be available to everyone so their multimedia popular science content is published on various social networks (FB, YT, Instagram, Tik-Tok).
When they are not actively annoying people about the importance of cultural heritage and its protection, they participate in archaeological excavations, write scientific papers and their dissertations, and go to various conferences and professional training.
