LGBTQ+ Activism School Successfully Completed in Novi Sad

Over four days, from 5 to 8 November, we worked with eight queer activists at the third LGBTQ+ Activism School, organised by Association Da se zna! and held in Novi Sad.

The third generation of participants had the opportunity to learn from experienced activists and experts. Vladimir Pavlović from the Belgrade Open School delivered a series of lectures on public advocacy and driving social change. Dragoslava Barzut from Civic Initiatives held a lecture on public gatherings and protests, as well as a session on the history of the queer movement. Our Bojan Lazić introduced participants to legal protection mechanisms against hate crimes. Aleksa Savić from Group COME OUT gave a lecture on queer identities, while Aleksa Krstić from the Heartefact Institute explored intersectionality and the connections between the queer movement and other social movements and groups.

Mental health was also a key focus of the programme. Participants took part in a psychological workshop on maintaining activists’ mental health, led by Vedrana Mirković, a psychologist from Group COME OUT. Helena Vuković from L*Communio delivered a lecture on women in the queer movement. We concluded the School with a discussion entitled “Living in Activism“, featuring Vladimir Arsenijević from the KROKODIL Association and Marija Srdić, a member of the Novi Sad City Assembly, journalist, and feminist and anti-war activist.

The eight inspiring and courageous people who took part in our School had the opportunity to develop their activist ideas and identify their needs, turning them into concrete actions while exploring and shaping their own paths in activism. We see them as the people who will help build new spaces of freedom and resistance for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly in Vojvodina.

The LGBTQ+ Activism School was supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.