As part of the PLAVO Theatre project Action for a More Inclusive Culture, a conference titled Inclusive Culture – A Culture of Inclusion was held on April 3 at the European House in Belgrade. The conference focused on participation and accessibility of cultural programs for all citizens.
The conference was opened by Dubravka Vujinović from PLAVO Theatre and Jana Žarković on behalf of the European House, while Angelina Ivanović from the Belgrade Open School also addressed the participants.
Nemanja Krstić from the Center for Empirical Studies of Culture of Southeast Europe (CESK) in Niš presented the results of the research Needs and Barriers Related to Participation in Cultural Activities.
In the panel discussion How to Achieve a More Inclusive Culture, moderated by Dubravka Vujinović, the speakers included Nikola Radojlović, stand-up comedian; Darko Nikolić, actor and sign language performer (PLAVO Theatre / KUD of the Deaf Belgrade “Radivoj Popović”); Snežana Lazarević, Executive Director of the Mental Disability Rights Initiative of Serbia (MDRI-S); and Milan Janković, Executive Director of the Academic Inclusive Association, activist, and author.
The focus group Challenges in Attending, Participating in, and Organizing Accessible Cultural Activities was moderated by PLAVO Theatre actors Maša Jelić, Dejan Stojković, and Marko Potkonjak, with the assistance of Nemanja Krstić, Vesna Ilić, Nevena Prvulj, and Nikolina Stevanović. The focus group brought together colleagues from cultural institutions and independent cultural organizations, artists, representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities, as well as interested citizens, both with and without disabilities. The results of the focus group were subsequently presented and will be formulated as recommendations to be submitted to decision-makers.
Thanks to sign language interpreters Vera Jovanović and Desanka Žižić, the conference was accessible to deaf participants.
We would like to thank all conference participants, as well as the European House for their hospitality, and we look forward to seeing you on April 28 at the conference in Niš.
The project is implemented within the program “EU Resource Centre for Civil Society in Serbia”, carried out by the Belgrade Open School in partnership with its partners, with the support of the European Union.
