Days of Attention - Student Protests in Serbia

Today, democracy and democratic participation are increasingly under pressure, reviving debates concerning accountability, civic engagement, and possibilities for political change beyond established institutions. Against this backdrop, we want to direct attention to the student protests in Serbia and take them as a vantage point for discussions on their broader political implications of civic engagement.
We are a group of students and lecturers from historical institutes at the University of Vienna. In a series of events over the spring and summer of 2026 we want to ask how civil protests can reshape political practice, how grassroots activism functions without leaders, and what role universities can play as spaces of democratic engagement. 

We are also following up on an open letter (October 2025) initiated by members of the Department of Contemporary History, in which solidarity with the students in Serbia was expressed. Once again, we would like to help raise awareness of the important and courageous protests among the Austrian public. We are very happy that collegues from different universities in Vienna are participating in this initiative and we hope to initiate further conversations and exchange across Vienna in support the student protests in Serbia.

For further information, or if you want to join our initiative and organise further events, please get in touch via email.

 

 

Upcoming events

 

Past Events

  • Monday, 9 March 2026, 5-5:50pm 
    Lecture by Jovo Bakić (University of Belgrade): "The Student Movement in Serbia (2024-2026) as ‘Träger’ of Non-Violent Political Rebellion and Social Solidarity" at the 4. Annual Elkana Symposium Educating for Freedom: Universities in an Age of Constraints 
    Venue: Central European University (CEU), Quellenstraße 51-55, 1100 Vienna
  • Monday, 13 April 2026, 6:30pm
    Talk by Olja Triaška Stefanović (Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava): For Freedom: Fight against Corruption. Students and State Violence in Serbia, English
    Venue: Academy of Fine Arts, Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies, Room M13A, Schillerplatz 3, 1010 Vienna
  • Tuesday, 14 April 2026, 11am-12:30pm
    "Red Vienna" - City Walk with Peter Eigner
    Meeting place: Subway station Margaretengürtel
  • Tuesday, 14 April 2026, 5:30-7pm
    Dubravka Ugrešić Lecture with Adriana Zaharijević (Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade): Postsocialist Feminism. The Conceptual Tools of Our Own, English
    Venue: University of Vienna, Marietta-Blau-Saal (main building), Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna
  • Wednesday, 15 April 2026, 3-5pm
    Rethinking Politics: Student Protests in Serbia, World Café with students from the protest movement and other guests, including Davud Delimeđac, Mila Jovanović, Natalija Petrović, Tatjana Rašić, Tamara Cvetković, Katarina Milisavljević (Blokada Beč)
    Venue: Depot, Breite Gasse 3, 1070 Vienna (please register here)
  • Wednesday, 15 April 2026, 7-8:30pm 
    Rethinking Politics: Student Protests in Serbia    , Panel discussion
    • Davud Delimeđac, Faculty of Political Science, Belgrade University
    • Mila Jovanović, Faculty of Political Science, Belgrade University
    • Natalija Petrović, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad and journalist for the student media outlet Blokada INFO
    • Tatjana Rašić, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad
    • Moderation: Tamara Cvetković
    Venue: Depot, Breite Gasse 3, 1070 Vienna | Recording
  • Monday, 4 May 2026, 2-5pm
    Seminar by Tatjana Nikolić/Andrea Glauser: Repression against artists and cultural Workers: Serbian cultural sector in focus 
    Venue: Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, Institut für Kulturmanagement und Gender Studies, Seminarraum (E 0104), Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Vienna
    Join the Zoom meeting:
    https://mdw-ac-at.zoom.us/j/62907311134?pwd=7anJab5xQHaZb4j2s7nrfoJFOb2AZw.1
    Meeting-ID: 629 0731 1134
    Code: 110327
  • Mo., 4 Mai 2026, 17:00-18:00
    Airing the panel discussion Rethinking Politics: Student Protests in Serbia (15 April 2026) via Radio Orange
    mit Davud Delimeđac, Natalija Petrović, Tatjana Rašić, Tamara Cvetković (Moderation)
    https://o94.at/programm/sendung/id/261996
  • Wed., 24. June 2026, 4-6pm
    Launch: Pocket Guide für Wissen schafter*innen unter Beschuss, the German translation of the Pocket Guide For Academics Under Attack
    With: Reina Zenelaj, Bernhard Weidinger, Benoît Josset, Rose Sikkink, Andrea Pető, Friedrich Cain 
    Venue: Univ. Wien, Hauptgebäude, Hörsaal 16
    In cooperation with Dokumentationsarchiv des Österreichischen Widerstands/DÖW, with COST Action Rising nationalisms, shifting geopolitics and the future of European higher education/research openness (OPEN) and COST Action Democratization at stake? Comparing Anti-Gender Politics in CEE and NME countries (Antigender-Politics) 
    Poster
  • Monday, 29 June 2026, 6-7.30pm, via Zoom
    Fight Against Election Fraud! International Election Observation – FAQ
    Serbia’s autocratic President Aleksandar Vučić has announced early parliamentary elections for mid-July or, at the latest, fall 2026. There had already been massive election fraud in the last elections, which took place in December 2023 and in which Vučić’s Progressive Party (Srpska Napredna Stranka, SNS) and its allied parties secured a majority in parliament. It is expected that the parliamentary elections will once again not be free and fair. Comprehensive international observation of the parliamentary election therefore is fundamentally important.
    For our event “International Election Observation – FAQ,” we have invited experts who will discuss modes and functioning of international election observation, share their experiences with election observation in the Western Balkans, and answer questions about how to become an election observer. We warmly invite anyone interested in learning about the challenges of international election observation and the opportunities to become an election observer themselves.
    Participants: Judith Brand (Sarajevo), Philipp Jahn (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Bishkek), Markus Pollak (CEU, Vienna)

Team and Contact

Team:

Christoph Beitl, Monika Bernold, Friedrich Cain, Pauline Gerards, Per Horn, Dietlind Hüchtker, Claudia Kraft, Zsófia Lóránd u.a.

Contact:

rethinkingpolitics.hkw[at]univie.ac.at

Social Media:

Insta: @daysofattention
Bsky: @daysofattention.bsky.social

In cooperation with