STATEMENT REGARDING THE PROTESTS OF STUDENTS, CULTURAL WORKERS, AND CITIZENS IN SERBIA
12.02.2025.
Kooperativa – Regional Platform for Culture, as a network of 40 organizations, cultural centers, and independent media outlets in Southeastern Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia), with deep respect and admiration, follows the heroic struggle of students, cultural workers, and numerous citizens in Serbia after the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024. The tragic event took 15 innocent lives.
After the tragedy in Novi Sad, a wave of mass actions was initiated by students who, for months, have been blocking universities, schools, and roads, demonstrating the true strength of civic courage and democratic values.
Students are protesting until their 4 demands are met: 1. The publication of the entire documentation about the renovated canopy in Novi Sad; 2. The dismissal of charges against the arrested protesters; 3. Filing a criminal report with the competent prosecutor’s office against identified individuals who physically attacked students and professors; 4. A 20 percent increase in funding for state universities.
It is particularly encouraging to see that more and more citizens, professional associations, non-governmental organizations, and numerous other initiatives are joining their appeals for justice and safety. The protest actions, which have spread to at least 248 cities and towns across Serbia, are a testament to the strength of unity and determination in the fight for a more just society.
In solidarity with the student movement from the beginning, cultural workers and artists despite numerous pressures within state and municipal institutions, gathered on January 26, 2025, at the first plenary session in the Magacin Cultural Center. During this meeting, they formed the informal initiative “Culture in Blockade” which brings together a wide range of cultural workers—from independent artists to employees of cultural institutions and media—with the goal of better organizing, more effective coordination of future actions, and direct communication with student plenums.
On February 3, 2025, the “Culture in Blockade” initiative organized its first major protest and blockade of the Ministry of Culture in Serbia, articulating the key issues of the cultural sector: the systematic degradation and marginalization of culture; brutal physical attacks on musicians from the philharmonic and students; one of the lowest cultural budgets in Europe; the devastation of cultural heritage (including the scandalous sale of the Generalštab building and its removal from the list of protected cultural goods); the non-transparent procedure for the allocation of cultural funds; and the overall commercialization and privatization that affects both culture and society as a whole.
Kooperativa expresses full solidarity with the students, cultural workers, and all citizens in Serbia who have risen to defend justice and democracy. Your courage, sense of justice, and unwavering dedication to democratic values are not only an inspiration—they are a beacon of hope for the entire region. Through your actions, you show the way toward a more peaceful and just future, and we stand by you in that struggle.