The Facul ty of Economics, University of Niš successfully hosted the XXXI International Scientific Conference "Regional Development and Demographic Flows", marking a historic milestone as the first edition of the conference organized under the auspices of ERSA Serbia, the newly established Serbian Section of the European Regional Science Association. The conference brought together researchers, policymakers, and international experts to discuss contemporary regional development challenges, demographic change, sustainability, and evidence-based policymaking.
The conference represents one of the major institutional achievements of the UR-WISE project, which identified the establishment of ERSA Serbia and the internationalization of this long-standing conference as key objectives for strengthening Serbia's position within the European Research Area.
The opening ceremony featured distinguished international and national guests, including Professor Ana Viñuela, Executive Director of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI), whose participation highlighted the growing international recognition of the Serbian regional science community. Together with representatives of European institutions, academia, and public administration, the opening sessions emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary research and international cooperation in addressing regional disparities and promoting sustainable territorial development. A particular highlight of the conference was the keynote lecture delivered by Professor Hans Westlund (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm), one of the world's leading scholars in regional science, economic geography, and innovation studies. His presentation explored the evolving role of proximity as a foundation for a new social contract, examining how geographical, institutional, social, and digital proximity influence regional resilience, innovation capacity, and sustainable development in an era of rapid technological and societal transformation. His lecture provided valuable insights into contemporary regional development theory and offered an inspiring framework for future research and policy design. The keynote programme also included an address by Dr. Edvard Jakopin, Member of the Presidency of the Serbian Association of Economists, who discussed current regional development challenges and policy priorities for Serbia.
A particular highlight of the conference was the special ERSA Serbia session, "Navigating Regional Transformations: Demography, Institutions, and Sustainable Ecosystems," chaired by the UR-WISE team, Professor Marija Džunić and Professor Claudia van der Laag. The session brought together researchers from Serbia and abroad to discuss how demographic trends, institutional quality, digital transformation, sustainability, and territorial governance shape the future development of cities and regions.
The session opened with the presentation of the UR-WISE Best City Report, one of the flagship research initiatives of the project. Introduced by Professor Jelena J. Stanković, UR-WISE Project Coordinator, and presented by Dr. Ivana Marjanović, the study showcased the conceptual framework and first results of the emerging Best City Index. The report integrates official statistics, stakeholder surveys, and spatial analytical methods into a comprehensive decision-support tool designed to evaluate urban performance, compare Serbian cities, and provide policymakers with evidence-based recommendations for improving quality of life and sustainable urban development. As one of the central scientific outputs of UR-WISE, the Best City Report illustrates the project's ambition to bridge advanced research methodologies with practical policy applications.
The session continued with a diverse range of presentations addressing sustainable governance of higher education, depopulation challenges in Serbia, institutional barriers to sustainable transformation, housing security, urban biodiversity, intelligent measurement systems, and methodological approaches to measuring quality of life in cities. Together, these contributions reflected the multidisciplinary character of regional science and demonstrated the growing role of evidence-based research in supporting resilient and sustainable territorial development.
The successful organization of the conference under the ERSA Serbia umbrella represents an important step in the internationalization of Serbian regional science. By bringing together leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from numerous countries, the event strengthened international scientific cooperation, expanded research networks, and reinforced the Faculty of Economics, University of Niš, as a regional hub for excellence in urban and regional research. For UR-WISE, the conference represents another significant milestone in building long-term institutional capacity, promoting research excellence, and advancing data-driven policymaking for sustainable regional development.