A scientific meeting dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of publishing one of Dr. Sava Petrović's main works «Niš Region Flora» was organized 25 years ago by a group of biologists from Doljevac, Leskovac, Prokuplje and Niš. At that time, nobody could presume that this type of botanist gathering from Serbia and surrounding countries would become one of the brightest traditions of Serbian botany at the end of previous and the beggining of this century.

The first symposium on Southeastern Serbian flora and vegetation was held in Niš in May of 1985. It was organized by University of Niš and The Faculty of Technology in Leskovac and it was named «The 100^th Anniversary of Niš Region Flora».

The second symposium was held five years later and its name was changed to «Symposium on Flora of Southeastern Serbia and Neighbouring Regions». This and two following meetings, in Pirot and Vranje, were organized by Faculty of Technology in Leskovac.

The fifth symposium was held in Zaječar in 1997. From 1997 to 2002, the organizer of symposia was the Biological society «Dr Sava Petrović» from Niš. At that time, the symposium was also popularly named «The travelling Symposium of Botanists». After the meetings in Sokobanja (2000) and Dimitrovgrad (2002), the organizer becomes the Department for Biology and Ecology of The Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics in Niš.

The two last meetings were held in Niš at The Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics. That gave an impression that the Travelling symposium sailed into its long lasting harbour.

Still, the restless spirit of South Serbian botanists, the crew of this unusual ship, had lifted the anchor and moved to the waters of the Vlasina lake, with the intention to gather botanists from the Balkan peninsula and surrounding regions for the 10^th time.

Dear colleagues, we are expecting you on another communal sailing!

Sincerely yours
Organisational Committee of SFSES