Effective Activism – A Bilateral Exchange of Croatian and Slovenian Activists

26. 11. 2014 | Human Rights and Minorities, Politics

Srečanje 'Učinkoviti aktivizem' v Mariboru

Between 6th and 9th November 2014 a bilateral exchange of Croatian and Slovenian activists Effective Activism has been organized in Maribor by the Peace Institute and Open Society Initiative for Europe. More than 30 (mostly NGO) activists from Croatia and Slovenia with guests from Iceland, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia actively exchanged their experiences, knowledge and ideas working together on 3 topics: Activist responses to ultra-conservative infringements on LGBTIQ and reproductive rights; From proletariat to precariat: fighting for labour rights in times of capitalism and New models of direct participation in managing public affairs and goods.

Additionally, interesting panel debates have been presented, starting with the Contextualisation of the movement through longer perspective in Croatia and Slovenia with presentations by researcher and activist of SC Rog Barbara Beznec from Slovenia and researcher and long term peace activist Paul Stubbs from Croatia and moderated by Tomislav Tomašević from Heinrich Böll Stiftung Croatia.

Barbara Beznec in Paul Stubbs, debato je moderiral Tomislav Tomašević.

Barbara Beznec talks about activist initiatives potential in Slovenia from its independence till today
Paul Stubbs talks about civil society potential in Croatia which emerged mostly from the peace movement in the nineties

Guests from other countries – Gústav Adolf Bergman Sigurbjörnsson (Iceland), Boris Rangelov (Bulgaria), Aida Sejdić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Marko Jovanović (Serbia) – shared their experience with demonstrations, rebellions and uprisings as well as experience with peoples’ initiatives, direct actions and self-organisation. They presented their analyses at the panel titled Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy: Methodologies and Transformative Power of the Protests, moderated by Lana Zdravković from the Peace Institute.

Delitev izkušenj z demonstracij, uporov in vstaj kot tudi izkušnje z ljudskimi iniciativami, direktnimi akcijami in samoorganizacijo.

Lana Zdravković, introduction
Gústav Adolf Bergman Sigurbjörnsson talks aboutcontroversies regarding the success of the »Iceland revolution«
Boris Rangelov talks about current situation in Bulgaria in light of the previous struggles
Aida Sejdić talks about the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina after first beyond-ethnic rebellions and the assemblies’ process
Marko Jovanović talks about the student occupation of the Faculty of Arts in Belgrade and about the possibility that students became political subject
Debate

One of the highlights of the meeting was a panel Creative forms of activism with presentations of digital activism initiatives by Marko Rakar from Croatia and Žiga Vrtačič from Danes je nov dan initiative from Slovenia, moderated by Neža Kogovšek Šalamon from the Peace Institute. A lot of interesting, useful and controversial approaches to activism have been presented which lead to fruitful common debate.