A seminar was held for the new generation of the Human Rights Leadership program

HRL News

Heartefact, in partnership with the Slovenian 8th of March Institute, from March 27 to 30, 2025, organized a seminar within the project Human Rights Leadership. The goal of the seminar was to empower 18 activists from different parts of Serbia who were selected through a public call to participate in this one-year program. After last year’s successful first generation, we selected and gathered new leaders to whom we will provide support in advocating for the human rights of minority and marginalized groups in Serbia and thus increase their visibility and contribution to positive social changes.

The participants of the program come from 13 villages and cities of Serbia and deal with various topics in the field of human rights, such as the improvement of the rights of the Roma community and transgender people, the fight against violence against women and gender inequality, solving the problems of people with disabilities, people with dementia, young people, etc.

During this seminar, the 8th of March Institute worked with the group on developing campaigns that have the potential to result in concrete changes. Special focus was on finding ways to run campaigns that do not require huge financial resources. Heartefact chose the Institute from Slovenia as a project partner, an organization that is internationally known for conducting advocacy campaigns that result in concrete solutions to local problems, such as changes in laws and improvement of regulations, all with the aim of achieving a fairer and safer Slovenia for everyone.

During the seminar, the participants had the opportunity to talk with seven participants of last year’s program who achieved significant results in their local communities: achieved notable changes, founded new organizations, received financial support for their actions and campaigns, etc.

In the continuation of the project, the participants of this program will have the opportunity to continue working with the 8th of March Institute through individual consultations, and they will also be able to apply for financial resources that will be allocated by Heartefact to start their own actions.

Heartefact implements this project in cooperation with the 8th of March Institute, a leading activist organization from Slovenia that has behind it dozens of successful initiatives in advocating important socio-political changes. The program is part of a wider project supported by the European Union, within which Heartefact works intensively on advocating for the improvement of the human rights in Serbia. Through work with activists, artistic production, public campaigns and other advocacy initiatives, our goal is to contribute to the creation of sustainable changes and an inclusive society that respects and protects the rights of all citizens.

The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue co-finances this program.

YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO MATERIAL AND INTERVIEWS WITH THE PARTICIPANTS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AT THE FOLLOWING LINKS:

VIDEO 1 – An interview with Dino Bajrektarević about conversion therapy

VIDEO 2 – An interview with Anđelina Trifić about the rights of persons with disabilities

VIDEO 3 – An interview with Aleksandra Đurović about the rights of persons with dementia

VIDEO 4 – From Idea to Association

VIDEO 5 – From Idea to Project

VIDEO 6 – From Idea to Campaign

Photo: Nataša Ilić

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The new Sarajevo Theatre Showcase launched in Sarajevo as part of the European project New Theatre Market

Today, a press conference was held in the Sarajevo War Theater (SARTR) on the occasion of the start of the New Theatre Market project, the crown of which is the newly established Sarajevo Theatre Showcase, which will be held in the second week of September in Sarajevo. The leader of the project is the SARTR theater with partners: Heartefact from Serbia, Ulysses Theater from Croatia, Binario Vivo from Italy and Para Film & Theatre from Norway.

The Festivity of Otherness was held in Paris

From January 9 to 11, 2025, the Festivity of Otherness was held in Paris. After the Zagreb version of the festival in November, when three plays created as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project co-financed by the European Union were shown on the theater stage of the Arterarij organization, Heartefact House hosted the Belgrade version of the festival in December last year. Lavoir Moderne Parisien hosted the Parisian version of the festival, rounding off the first three editions of the festival.

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Financial and Administrative Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development project in North Macedonia

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Financial and Administrative Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development project in North Macedonia. Funded by the Swiss Agency for the Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Culture for Development project will be managed by the Heartefact Fund and is launching in January 2025 with a four-year duration.

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Program Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development Project in North Macedonia

Heartefact Fund is looking for the Program Grant Officer to support the implementation of the Culture for Development Project in North Macedonia. Funded by the Swiss Agency for the Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Culture for Development Project will be managed by the Heartefact Fund and is set to launch in January 2025 with a four-year duration.

We Presented the Slavic Soundwalking Application to Senior Citizens

In Belgrade, we held an incredibly inspiring meeting with representatives of several civil sector organizations working with senior citizens and their quality of life.

The Festivity of Otherness was held in the Heartefact House in Belgrade

From December 5 to 7, 2024, the Festivity of Otherness was held in Belgrade. After the Zagreb version of the festivity in November, when three performances created as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project co-financed by the European Union were shown on the theater stage of the Arterarij organization, Heartefact House hosted the Belgrade version of the festival.

Final partners’ meeting and poetry performance in Ljubljana as part of the POT-VOT project

From November 25 to 27, 2024, in Ljubljana, in Pionirski dom, the last partners’ meeting was held as part of the Poets of Today, Voices of Tomorrow project. After more than two years of various activities dedicated to the promotion of contemporary poetry among young people and the general population, the last meeting of 5 partners from Slovenia, Serbia, Finland, Hungary and Poland was used to recapitulate and evaluate the project.

Sofija Dimitrijević at the Playground residency in Rome

At the beginning of November, playwright Sofija Dimitrijević participated in the first of 12 residencies within the Playground project, which Heartefact implements with partners from Italy, France and Romania. The innovativeness of the project lies in the fact that it was designed with the idea of establishing a more complex and comprehensive cooperation between the various professions involved in the theater process – playwrights, directors, translators and performers.

Billboard campaign “Poets of today, voices of tomorrow” in Belgrade

From November 11 to 17, Heartefact ran a billboard campaign in the main pedestrian street in Belgrade, in Knez Mihailova, with the aim of promoting the poetry of our young contemporary poets. The verses of Jelena Marinkov, Aleksa Krstić, Tihana Smiljanić, Milica Milosavljević and Marija Dragnić, in the design of Miroslav Živanov, were found in several locations along the entire street.

Second Slavic Soundwalk Through Belgrade

Starting at 12 PM, we gathered at the Main Post Office, the first location, and then continued walking while listening to the stories at different locations, including the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Hall of the Cultural Center of Belgrade, and finally concluded the walk at Atelje 212.

The first Festivity of Otherness as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project ended in Zagreb

From November 7 to 9, 2024, the first Festivity of Otherness was held in the theater venue of the Arterarij organization in Zagreb. As part of the festival, three performances from Serbia, France and Croatia premiered, and the festival is moving to Belgrade in December. The third location is Paris in January 2025.

The exhibition UKRAINE: LOVE + WAR (2014-2024) will be held in Belgrade from November 15 to 23

The Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans invites you to the opening of the exhibition UKRAINE: LOVE + WAR (2014-2024) which will take place on Friday, November 15, 2024 at 6 p.m. at the Europe House in Belgrade (Zmaj Jovina 8). The exhibition is inspired by the book of the same name published by FotoEvidence, which is a testimony of the devastating impact of Russian aggression on Ukrainian society, captured through the lenses of 95 international photojournalists.

We’ve developed toolkits for non-formal teaching about sound and light design and video operations in theatre!

During this year, we held three masterclasses for theatrical technicians in light and sound design and video operations within the Beyond Stage Mastery project. The masterclasses were led by experts Luigi Biondi, Alessandro Olla, Lazar Nikolić and Ivan Đurović. As a result of the masterclasses we’ve developed manuals as toolkits for non-formal teaching about sound and light design and video operations.

A three-day conference of the European network Fabulamundi – New Voices was held in the Heartefact House

From October 5 to 7, 2024, a three-day conference of the European network of playwrights Fabulamundi-New Voces was held in Heartefact House in Belgrade. After the meetings in Rome, Venice and Paris, Belgrade had the opportunity to host 19 playwrights from a dozen European countries and representatives of theaters and art organizations that are part of the network.

Heartefact’s Visit to DokuFest in Prizren for 13 young students and activists

From August 7 to 11, 2024, Heartefact organized a visit to DokuFest for 13 young film directing and production students, cultural workers, artists, and activists from Serbia. The documentary and short film festival is held annually in Prizren, and this year’s 23rd edition brought together numerous directors from the region, Europe, and around the world. In addition to the film program, participants attended masterclasses, exhibitions, concerts, performances, and met with cultural workers from Prizren, such as Vatra Abrashi from Autostrada, Linda Lulla Gashi, Alba Cakalli and Samir Karahoda from DokuFest, and Bengi Muzbeg from the Lumbardhi Foundation.

Aleksa Krstić from Heartefact Institute on the Oko Balkana radio show at Radio Belgrade

Why does Heartefact translate contemporary literature from Kosovo into Serbian? This was one of the key questions our Aleksa Krstić discussed on the “Oko Balkana” show on Radio Belgrade’s Second Program.

Exchange of Researchers from Serbia and Kosovo as part of Research Visiting Program

In June, Heartefact organized an exchange for 10 young researchers from Serbia and Kosovo as part of our Research Visiting Program. The group from Serbia visited Pristina and Gracanica, while the group from Kosovo visited Belgrade. During these visits, they met with representatives from over 20 organizations from Kosovo and Serbia, as well as university professors, activists, and artists.