When art becomes political practice and a tool of shared memory, supporting activists and movements across Europe and beyond during a weekend of training and action in Belgrade
This summer, DiEM25 members from across Europe and beyond gathered in Belgrade for a weekend of political training, collective reflection, and transnational solidarity. The DiEM25 Academy 2025, hosted at Dorćol Platz, became more than just a series of workshops: it demonstrated what we can build when conviction meets collaboration.
Within this space, my exhibition opened the weekend as part of a programme that brought together strategy, practical tools, and political art. For me, drawing is a tool for documenting and visually witnessing contemporary struggles, but it is also a way to create connections within movements, preserving faces, stories, and battles that often risk being forgotten.
During the DiEM25 Academy, participants – from first-time activists to experienced organisers – immersed themselves in hands-on sessions on movement-building, communication, and local organising. They worked on public speaking with actor and coach Ivan Tomić, exploring vulnerability, breath, and presence, with the idea that the strength of a public speech lies in its ability to connect, more than in formal perfection.
Johannes Fehr led a workshop on how to build movements from the ground up, emphasising that local struggles are global struggles, and that real transformation begins with small, consistent actions. The students at the forefront of the recent mass protests in Serbia shared how their mobilisation grew out of grief and transformed into a process of radical democracy, with blockades, assemblies, and collective actions despite repression and smear campaigns.
Other moments centred decolonial, feminist, and anti-racist practices, reminding us that decolonising our organising methods is not an abstract concept but a daily necessity. The sessions on communication and strategic media use, led by the DiEM25 team, showed the importance of telling our stories with clarity and courage, without waiting for permission to speak.
My exhibition became part of this context through drawings depicting activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and ordinary people facing repression and injustice, seeking to give them a visual presence that can be used in movements, on social media, and in campaigns, without filters.
The Academy also discussed the threats to democracy in Europe, censorship, media manipulation, and the repression of movements, but what made these days particularly meaningful was the cultural dimension: music, performances, readings, and the informal sharing of ideas and tools among people who, in different places, are fighting similar battles.
For me, participating in this Academy was not simply an act of exhibiting, but a way to embed drawing within a collective process, as a tool for storytelling and for building a shared memory of present struggles. In this context, art is not decoration, but part of a political practice that is nourished by collaboration, precision, and continuity.
The future is not something we wait for. It is something we build, day by day. Even with a drawing.
Sources:
- A weekend of political training, grassroots strategy, and collective inspiration in the heart of Belgrade – DiEM25 (2025)
- DiEM25 Academy 2025 Full Programme
- Find your own voice: Public speaking as political power – DiEM25 Academy programme notes (2025)
- Building from below: Grassroots organising for change – Workshop by Johannes Fehr, DiEM25 Academy (2025)
- Insights from the trailblazers: The Serbian student protests – DiEM25 Academy session report (2025)
- Voices across borders: Shared struggles, shared hopes – Session led by Amir Kiyaei, MERA25 and DiEM25 (2025)
- Winning the message: Media, strategy, and representation – Communications workshop with DiEM25 team (2025)
- Democracy on trial: Facing censorship and repression – Final panel, DiEM25 Academy (2025)
- Personal notes and reflections from Gianluca Costantini
2025 DiEM25 Academy Programme
Friday, July 11
20:00 – Meet and greet
Location: Dorćol Platz, Dobračina 59, Belgrade
Saturday, July 12
09:30-10:00 – Gathering at Dorćol Platz, Dobračina 59, Belgrade
10:00-10:10 – Welcome and introductions
10:10-10:30 – Opening of Gianluca Constantini’s exhibition
Gianluca Constantini is an award-winning Italian illustrator and cartoonist. He is an activist who has distinguished himself for his dedication to illustrating globally resonant political and social events.
10:30-12:30 – Body language and public speaking course, trainer Ivan Tomić
Ivan Tomić is a versatile Serbian theatre, TV and film actor. Ivan is also a stand-up comedian and public speaking coach. In his two-day course, Ivan will guide us through body language and public speaking structures, exercises of presence, projection, visibility, exposure, and more.
12:30-14:00 – Lunch break
14:00-15:30 – How to organise from the grassroots
Johannes Fehr, DiEM25’s Organising Director for Germany, will aim to answer how we can all go back to our local reality, start or join a DiEM25 group and build from there. From finding the right starting point to defining a realistic goal depending on the local reality. What are the steps to take? When does the founding of a MERA25 party make sense?
15:30-16:00 – Coffee break
16:00-17:30 – Successful grassroots activism: Students in blockade
Serbian students led the uprising that shook the country in the past year. Students will share their experiences about self-organisation, practising direct democracy and decision-making at plenums, as well as what could be the future of the movement.
17:30-17:45 – Break
17:45-19:00 – Lightning round: Voices across borders
This session with DiEM25’s Policy Director, Amir Kiyaei, is a space to surface our struggles, spotlight victories, share challenges and hard-earned lessons — and connect our actions across borders. By coming together in this way, we sharpen our strategic focus, strengthen our tactics, and ignite collaborations that make our movement greater than the sum of its parts.
Sunday, July 13
09:30-10:00 – Gathering at Dorćol Platz, Dobračina 59
10:00-12:00 – Body language and public speaking course, trainer Ivan Tomić
Continuation of the previous session
12:00-13:30 – Lunch
13:30-15:00 – How to use the media to our advantage
This session will be conducted by DiEM25’s Communication Director, Davide Castro and DiEM25’s Media Relations Coordinator, Nadia Sales Grade. We will explore the media as a powerful tool for change. We’ll cover how to communicate our messages clearly and gain media attention for our campaigns. Whether you’re launching a campaign or maintaining momentum, we’ll explore together how to make the media work for our cause.
15:00-15:30 – Coffee break
15:30-16:30 – Presentation: Using bits & bytes to grow DiEM25 at home
Did you know that as an average DiEM25 member you have a lot more powerful tools at your fingertips than the average member of other movements? We built our online infrastructure specifically to empower YOU! This session by DiEM25’s IT Coordinator, Judith Meyer, is two-fold: turning you into a power user of DiEM25’s infrastructure but also providing a space for discussing best approaches to gaining visibility and members for your group online.
16:30-18:00 – Break
18:00-19:30 – Democracy on trial: Censorship, control and the silencing of dissent
Speakers Milena Repajić, President of the Party of Radical Left from Serbia, Johannes Fehr from MERA25 Germany, and Erik Edman from DiEM25/MERA25 Greece will join Julijana Zita, member of DiEM25’s Coordinating Collective, to talk about what’s really putting democracy at risk today. From censorship to crackdowns on free speech, they’ll break down how those in power are trying to silence critical voices — and why speaking up, questioning authority, and defending our rights matters now more than ever.
Monday, July 14
10:00 – Bus tour, departure to Brankovina
11:30 – Brankovina tour
13:00 – Departure from Brankovina
14:00 – National Museum, Valjevo
15:00 – Lunch and free time in Valjevo
19:00 – Departure to Belgrade
20:30 – Drop-off at KC Grad, Braće Krsmanović 4
