Summary
The topic of this paper is the attitude of cultural institutions towards the local economy, natural environment and sustainable development of rural communities in Serbia. Its aim is to highlight the importance of interaction between culture and nature that affects creation of the “spirit of place” and allows the development of new sustainable economy, based on differences between urban and rural areas. It also aims to make rural cultural institutions understand their new role in contemporary society and in equalizing the quality of life in urban and rural areas. The study identifi es ideological, economic and cultural concepts and changes through time - at international, national and local level, from the 18th century to the present day, as well as the relationships among different dimensions of sustainability, such as the environmental, the economic, the social and the cultural one. The research results show how the interaction of political power, material and non-material culture, economy and sustainability affect the natural and social environment of rural communities at the local level. The empirical research is based on the case study of the village of Omoljica, located in the municipality of Pančevo (Vojvodina), on whose territory there is the Nature Park “Ponjavica”, one of the sixteen protected natural parks in Serbia. In Omoljica, which is known as the fi rst fi lm tourist village, because of “Žisel”, the famous amateur fi lm festival, dedicated to the life of the village, there are three types of cultural institutions, the same three that exist in almost every village in Serbia – a school, a cultural center and a library. Thus, the results obtained in this research could be applied also in other local communities in protected natural environments.

Keywords:
natural environment, social environment, endogenous development, spirit of place, cultural policy, memory, heritage, culture, tourism, economy

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