11/03/2025
𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗮?
For months now, people across Serbia have been taking to the streets, demanding justice, transparency, and real change. The demonstrations continue to grow, yet this powerful movement remains overlooked by mainstream media.
The protests were sparked by the collapse of a roof at a newly renovated train station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, on 1 November 2024, which killed 15 people and critically injured two.
Largely led by student movements, the protests have shaken the country. Their demands, unchanged since the beginning, range from the release of all documents related to the train station’s reconstruction to the prosecution of those attacking protesters, the dismissal of charges against protesters, and an increase in the higher education budget.
Students have developed a strong sense of autonomy through plenums, or student assemblies, where every student has the right to speak and all decisions are made through voting. Ad hoc working groups have been set up to address various issues, from security and logistics to public relations and legal matters.
By directly challenging the status quo within Serbian universities and beyond, these protests go beyond a simple anti-corruption movement. For this reason alone, they deserve to be seen and understood on a much wider scale.
NOOR organised the NOOR-Nikon Belgrade Masterclass on storytelling and editing in 2015 with the Serbian collective Kamerades (). The collective consists of Igor Pavicevic (), Marko Risovic (), Marko Rupena (), Nemanja Jovanovic (), Nemanja Pancic (.pancic), and Stefan Pavic (.stefan), and has been committed to documenting life as it is—unfiltered and urgent—since 2011. As Serbian photojournalists and documentary photographers, they capture moments that might otherwise go unseen, bringing attention to the realities shaping the region today.
Now, as history unfolds, their lenses are once again focused on the streets, amplifying the voices of those fighting for a better future. Stay tuned for more images!
𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:
Photos by Kamarades:
1) Igor Pavicevic, Belgrade, Serbia, 17.01.2025: Students protest in front of the Serbian Broadcasting Service building against biased coverage of the demonstrations that have taken place across Serbia over the past month.
2) Marko Risovic, Belgrade, Serbia, 12.01.2025: A student holds her index booklet during a protest in front of the Constitutional Court building, where thousands gathered to demand that the court, as the highest judicial institution in Serbia, take action and prosecute those responsible for the corruption that led to the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad.
3) Marko Risovic, Novi Sad, Serbia, 05.11.2024: During the first major demonstrations in Novi Sad, 10 days after the canopy collapse, protesters reached the entrance of City Hall. Along the way, the peaceful procession was infiltrated by football hooligans, thugs, and mercenaries whose sole purpose was to incite violence and discredit the protest. Over several hours, dozens of them smashed City Hall windows, threw flares and stones at police officers inside—who did not intervene—while government officials framed the protests as violent and subversive. This tactic is a familiar pattern in totalitarian regimes worldwide.
4) Marko Risovic, Belgrade, Serbia, 20.11.2024: A police cordon blocks access to the old tram bridge, preventing activists from climbing it and stopping preparatory work for its demolition. The bridge stands near the controversial Belgrade Waterfront project, which activists argue is the real reason for its removal. In this luxury development, where apartment prices start at over 4,000 euros per square meter—while the average salary in Serbia is around 925 euros—many see a symbol of inequality. The project was pushed through under a "lex specialis," a special law often associated with behind-the-scenes deals and corruption.
5) Marko Risovic, Belgrade, Serbia, 22.12.2024: Young people gather at Slavija Square, holding slogans, banners, and Serbian flags in protest against the corrupt government system. This was one of the largest demonstrations in Belgrade since 5 October 2000, when Serbs overthrew former president Milošević. Estimates vary, but tens—or even hundreds—of thousands participated, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with the political and social situation in the country.
6) Marko Risovic, Belgrade, Serbia, 22.12.2024: An aerial view captures the scale of the gathering at Slavija Square, where tens of thousands rallied against the current government. While exact numbers are difficult to estimate due to conflicting reports, the protest highlighted widespread discontent with the country's political climate.
7) Marko Risovic, Novi Sad, Serbia, 31.01.2025: People turn on their phone lights as they wait for a group of students walking from Belgrade to Novi Sad (roughly 100km) at the Varadin Bridge. This student walk marked the first in a series of protests, followed by a large citizen gathering the next day. This pattern continued in February and March 2025 in other major Serbian cities, including Kragujevac and Niš.
8)Marko Risovic, Mountain Tresibaba, Serbia, 27.02.2025: A student rests after a strenuous climb on the route from the town of Bor to Niš. A large group of several hundred students walked for four days to attend a major protest in the southern Serbian city.
9) Marko Rupena, Novi Sad, Serbia, 02.02.2025: People stand in silence during the large protest to pay tribute to those killed in the tragic accident when the roof of the train station collapsed in Novi Sad.
10) Marko Rupena, Novi Sad, Serbia, 02.02.2025: Students play social games during a major protest, two months after a series of mass demonstrations that followed the tragic accident in which 15 people were killed when the roof of the train station collapsed in Novi Sad.
