The Youth Caravan against Discrimination set off from Belgrade today, bringing together young people from Belgrade, Aranđelovac, Sjenica, Novi Pazar, Prijepolje and Požega over the coming days to talk about how to recognise discrimination, respond to hate speech and celebrate differences, and how a positive message can be more powerful than aggression.

The Caravan brings together ten members of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality’s Youth Panel, who will meet with their peers in each of the cities along the route. The aim is not to tell young people what to think or how to behave, but to speak to them in their own language and create messages that will resonate with their peers. Bringing together young people, local institutions and organisations, the Caravan features a series of interactive activities designed both to raise awareness and develop practical communication skills through peer exchange and engagement.

Milan Antonijević, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, stressed that hate speech must not become a normal way of communicating, particularly at a time when the public space is increasingly filled with different political and social messages. 

“It is important that we preserve space for argument, dialogue and diversity. Over the coming days, we will talk with young people about equality, discrimination, diversity and hate speech. But we do not want it to end with a conversation. We want to think together about what each of us can do when we see injustice, notice that someone is being excluded or hear words that hurt someone,” said Antonijević.

Evgenia Giakoumopoulou, Acting Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, said: “The large cube is a particularly important symbol of this campaign because every throw opens up a new conversation, while each side can reveal a different situation, challenge a stereotype or invite us to think about how we would respond to discrimination. As it travels across Serbia, the cube will collect messages of inclusion from young people across the country. Equality is not a legal or theoretical concept what matters is that it is put into practice every day.”

The Caravan began its journey in Belgrade, at Vuk Karadžić Primary School, with a workshop and quiz on combating discrimination, followed by a workshop on creating social media content. Its launch also featured the “The Cube Is Cast” activity, where young people discussed stereotypes, discrimination and inclusion.

Tomorrow, the Caravan will arrive in Aranđelovac, where interactive activities will be held in the City Park. On Saturday, 19 September, activities will take place in Sjenica and Novi Pazar. On 20 September, the Caravan will travel to Prijepolje and, following the planned activities there, continue to Požega.

A special part of the campaign will be “Pass the Cube”, through which a message about inclusion created by young people in one city will be passed on to young people in the next. Caravan participants will also record short video messages beginning with the words, “I block hate by…”, which will be shared on social media.

The Equality Caravan is part of the regional campaign “Block Hate, Share Love 2.0”, supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe through the joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and implemented in co-operation with the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality.