Serbia

Public discourse needs a liberal voice

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom supports both political and civil society partner organizations in Serbia. The aim is to make Serbian society freer, more pluralistic and less dependent on the authorities in order to prepare it for accession to the European Union in the long term.

For over a year, the Foundation for Freedom has been cooperating with the Foundation for Applied Liberal Politics ("Fondacija za liberalnu praktičnu politiku", FLPP), with which it jointly organizes public events for interested citizens. These panel discussions, called "Talas Slobode" ("Wave of Freedom"), deal with the basic principles that are necessary for the creation of a free society and the establishment of a constitutional state in Serbia.

On 10 October, FLPP invited open-minded Belgrade citizens to a forum for the seventh time. This time the topic was the use and misuse of symbols in Serbian politics. The speakers were Žarko Trebješanin and Nada O'Brien.

While Prof. Trebješanin's presentation was dedicated to the definition of the concept of symbols and their difference from signs, Dr. O'Brien focused on the importance of symbols for the individual development of each person. Afterwards, Danijel Pantić, Chairman of FLPP, presented several examples of the use of symbols in politics, followed by an open discussion on the way politicians in Serbia misuse symbols to influence the "collective unconsciousness" of citizens.