Over the past three months, there has been a nation-wide student-led protest movement in Serbia, with the higher arts education community standing up for democracy. Students and academic staff have been mobilising and are now in urgent need of international support, see their petition here.

In response to these critical events, the ELIA Executive Group is issuing the following statement:

 

 

ELIA firmly condemns any type of violence against those who are exercising their right to protest peacefully and is deeply saddened to hear about cases where art students have been attacked as a result. We urge the Serbian Government to find systemic solutions for the issues raised by this student-led movement and to seek a long-term resolution that strengthens the country's democratic fabric. 

 

The current situation is deeply affecting higher arts education in Serbia. Many students and academic staff are part of the protests. University blockades have halted academic activity across the country, which further evidences the gravity of this moment. We have seen statements of support for the students from several of our member institutions, including; the University of Arts in Belgrade, the Academy of Arts Novi Sad, and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Niš.  

 

In particular, we would like to draw your attention to the petition: 'Stand with Students in Serbia: End Violence, Help Their Fight' created by the Forum of the University of Arts in Belgrade. This petition by our Serbian members supports the students’ demands and expresses growing concerns about a series of violent attacks against those protesting. It urgently calls for international support for the student-led protest movement, as is further stressed in this supporting video.  

 

 

 

 

The peaceful student-led protest movement started in Serbia over three months ago. It was sparked by the collapse of a concrete canopy in a train station in Novi Sad, which caused 15 deaths and severely injured two people. The students are not only demanding accountability and full transparency from their government regarding the incident, but they are also protesting against deeply rooted, systemic governmental issues, such as; corruption, the erosion of institutional independence and state control over national media.  

 

There has been relatively little coverage of these protests in European politics and mainstream media, a silence that has been noticed by the protest movement. At the end of January, European media attention started to increase. If you would like to know more, these English-language articles might be a good place to start: the Guardian, Politico, Reuters.