New Encounters in Pristina: Launch of the New Generation of the Kosovo–Serbia Fellowship Program

News News Reconnection

On April 1, the new generation of participants in the Kosovo–Serbia Fellowship Program within the broader Reconnection program gathered in Priština for a kick-off event. The meeting brought together alumni, partners, and friends of the program with the aim of reconnecting, exchanging experiences, and jointly reflecting on the next steps toward building a more open and more connected region.

Since its founding, Hartefakt has developed this program as part of its broader work on connecting people from Serbia and Kosovo through art, activism, media, and research. Through a people-to-people approach, the program continuously creates space for dialogue and collaboration, despite the challenges that often shape relations between the two societies. This year’s gathering carried additional weight because it took place in Priština, where Hartefakt formally opened its office last year. Sareh Maliqi, director of Hartefakt Kosovo, and Aleksa Krstić, program coordinator at the Hartefakt Institute, opened the event, while Rajmonda Sylbije, program coordinator, closed the evening by sharing her experience and insights.

The central part of the evening took place at the gallery Hani i 2 Robertëve, where five new participants presented the projects they will develop throughout 2026. Their work addresses topics such as women’s rights, transitional justice, media narratives, social movements, and mental health. Through different approaches and disciplines, these projects explore how personal and collective stories can help build understanding, empathy, and social change.

Beyond the presentations, the event opened space for a broader conversation about the meaning of cooperation between Kosovo and Serbia and about how dialogue already grows through people and their relationships. The discussion emphasized that such a community already exists and continues to develop through exchange, encounters, and shared work, even in a context where divisions often dominate the public narrative. Bringing together more than 40 participants, collaborators, and professionals from different fields highlighted the need for spaces where people do not ignore the past, but learn from it, while focusing attention on what they can still build together: greater mobility, knowledge exchange, and everyday forms of cooperation across the region.

The annual Reconnection gathering in Priština once again confirmed that sustainable relationships do not emerge on their own. They grow through continuous work, exchange, and a willingness to listen to different perspectives.

The program was implemented within the project Fostering Cross-border Dialogue and Civic Engagement, carried out by Heartefact with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

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Call for Applications for Job Shadowing Program

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Director Tara Mitrović at the Playground Residency in London

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Open Call: Internship at Heartefact Institute

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12th Bašta Fest: All we need — connection, dialogue, and art!

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Strengthening the Independent Cultural Scene – the public discussion held in Skopje

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Students from Serbia visited the Short Theatre Festival in Rome within the European project Fabulamundi – New Voices

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The project “Culture for Development” announces to the public the names of the projects that received support within the first call!

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Public presentation of the play Doughnuts held as part of the New Voices workshop

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Open Call: Beldocs Festival (Kosovo-Serbia Visiting Program)

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Call for Project Proposals: Artistic Grants for Implementation of Cultural and Artistic Projects

Jana Milivojević at the residency in France as part of the Playground project

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Nađa Mišković at the residency in Romania as part of the Playground project

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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.