06 Jul PRESS CONFERENCE AND CEREMONIAL OPENING OF THE 18th KROKODIL FESTIVAL 2026 – “LITERATURE AS DISOBEDIENCE / DISOBEDIENCE”
A press conference and the ceremonial opening of the 18th KROKODIL Festival 2026, held under the slogan “Literature as Disobedience / DISOBEDIENCE”, took place at the European House in Belgrade. The invitation-only event brought together media representatives, festival participants, and members of the diplomatic corps.
Speakers and participants at the conference and opening included: Milena Berić, Executive Director of the KROKODIL Association; Andreas von Beckerath, Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia; Vladimir Arsenijević, Programme Director of the KROKODIL Festival; Kristin Melsom, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Serbia; Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist and author; Sufyan Kadhim, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Serbia; representatives of the Littfest festival from Umeå (Erik Jonsson and Per Bergström); Ger Duijzings, Dutch historian and this year’s KROKODIL Writer in Residence; as well as Anke Konrad, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Serbia. The programme presentation was also attended by key festival guests, including Lea Ypi, Rachel Kushner, Monika Herceg, Rumena Bužarovska, and other participating authors.
In her opening address, Milena Berić, Executive Director of the KROKODIL Association, welcomed the assembled Excellencies, media representatives, partners, collaborators, and friends of the festival, noting that she spoke with a sense of “deep pride, but also great responsibility.” She emphasized that the festival is marking its 18th edition this year and is thus symbolically “coming of age” – and that, in the cultural sphere, especially in the Balkans, eighteen years of continuity is proof of resilience, a clear vision, and unwavering belief in the importance of the written word. She recalled that the road to this anniversary has been, without exaggeration, the most difficult so far, shaped by financial, political, and social challenges that threatened to halt the organisation’s work. Nevertheless, KROKODIL has endured and now stands “stronger than ever” thanks to the support of friends, partners, and its audience.
Berić reminded the audience that KROKODIL was launched with the idea of literature as a bridge for dialogue, reconciliation, and rebuilding broken ties in the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, and that it has grown from a regional initiative into one of Europe’s most recognizable literary events. As confirmation of this development, she cited authors who have appeared at the festival over the years, including Margaret Atwood, László Krasznahorkai, Bernhard Schlink, Irvine Welsh, Hanif Kureishi, Erlend Loe, Dubravka Ugrešić, Aleksandar Hemon, Slavenka Drakulić, Georgi Gospodinov, and many others. From this experience, she said, the motto of this year’s edition naturally emerged: “Literature as Disobedience” – “disobedience as a quiet yet powerful defiance that begins in a sentence.” She stressed that this year’s guests are authors whose books have changed societies “because they defended the right to truth, doubt, and individual autonomy, especially in situations when the collective demanded obedience,” concluding: “Literature is disobedience in its purest form, because it cannot be silenced.”
She announced that the festival takes place on 3 and 4 July in the amphitheatre and the area in front of the Museum of Yugoslavia, “amid the scent of linden trees,” and that it brings together some of today’s most significant literary and intellectual voices, including Lea Ypi, Rachel Kushner, Åsne Seierstad, Ger Duijzings, Rumena Bužarovska, and others. Berić devoted a key part of her speech to the role of the KROKODIL Association as one of the few independent, non-partisan civil society organisations in Serbia that does not focus solely on culture and literature, but also actively advocates for responsible conduct by institutions and the media. She described KROKODIL as a “think-and-do tank” committed to democratic culture, civic activism, and civic education on rights – equally dedicated to producing top-level cultural content and socio-political programmes, with the aim of building an audience that thinks critically and embraces diversity in regional, European, and global contexts. She concluded by thanking current and former staff, collaborators, and partners – specifically highlighting the European Union, the Embassies of Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, the Swedish Institute, and the British Council – and closed with: “Thank you for standing with KROKODIL for eighteen years.”
Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Ambassador Andreas von Beckerath emphasized that literature is far more than stories: it opens minds, encourages the questioning of beliefs, gives voice to those too often silenced, and helps us imagine a different future while confronting uncomfortable truths. Under pressure, he said, literature can become an act of resistance, and initiatives such as KROKODIL matter because they create space for independent thinking, artistic freedom, and public debate – strengthening both cultural life and democratic foundations.
Programme Director Vladimir Arsenijević presented the programme framework of the 18th KROKODIL Festival, noting that the festival once again unfolds in “disturbed social circumstances” and functions as a counterweight and a form of resistance. The theme “Disobedience / Neposlušnost”, shared this year with the Conrad Festival in Kraków, reflects growing distrust of political and social mainstreams and the need for new strategies of resistance – an idea that will run through most festival activities.
The festival takes place on the Small and Main Stage (the amphitheatre in front of the Museum of Yugoslavia) and continues with a full-day programme the next day on the edge of Hyde Park, organised into three sections: the Small Stage, the Film Zone, and the Children’s Zone. On the first day, the Small Stage opens with the discussion “Do We Read Each Other?” on the state and future of post-Yugoslav literature, followed by a live recording of the KROKODIL podcast with American author Rachel Kushner, interviewed by Rumena Bužarovska. On the Main Stage, moderated by Mima Simić, the festival presents Lea Ypi, Rachel Kushner, Åsne Seierstad and Monika Herceg, accompanied by a mini-concert by Ana Ćurčin & The Changes, a presentation by partners from Littfest, and a performance by Johan Sandberg McGuinne, who delivers an authentic joik (traditional Sámi chanting). The evening concludes with the multimedia performance “Fun Facts” and a concert by the band Vrooom. On the second day, the programme begins with a “2-on-1” conversation led by Adriana Zaharijević with Lea Ypi and Åsne Seierstad, after which part of the authors continue their visit in Sarajevo at the Bookstan festival as part of established festival cooperation. A large number of participants are also announced for the day programmes (Small Stage/Film/Children’s Zone), and the festival’s musical closing is set to feature the Zagreb band Fronta, led by Katarina Peović. Arsenijević highlighted the Children’s Zone – organised for the first time in cooperation with Dečiji grad (Children’s City) – as well as the concluding segment: guided walks through chapters of the storytelling project “Not a Fairy Tale, But…”, dedicated to the role of women in regional peace movements of the 1990s. He ended with the invitation: “Come to KROKODIL and bring your friends!”
Norway’s Ambassador Kristin Melsom stressed that, in a time of increasing polarization, authors can connect people across political divides, which is why she was particularly pleased that Åsne Seierstad is part of this year’s programme. She recalled the author’s symbolic connection to Belgrade: Seierstad’s first book, With Their Backs to the World: Portraits from Serbia (*Portraits from Serbia – With Their Backs to the World*), written during her stays in Serbia in 1999–2000, follows fourteen people and their transformations over sixteen months, offering an intimate insight into life under Milošević and the events leading to his fall; first published in 2000, it was extensively updated by the author in 2004.
In her speech, Åsne Seierstad reflected on that on-the-ground experience – speaking with people of different views and backgrounds – and on the importance of personal stories for understanding society. She then introduced her latest prize-winning book, Ne‑MIR / Never Say War – Russian Lives Today (also known as Unpeace – Russian Lives), which offers an intimate yet wide-ranging portrait of Putin’s Russia at war – a country where, as she noted, even saying the word “war” is criminalized. Her entry point was the young Russian soldier Andrey Medvedev, a defector from the Wagner Group who sought asylum in Norway in January 2023; through his life, family, and connections, multiple layers of Russian society opened up – from teachers and farmers to reporters and activists labelled “foreign agents,” women left behind by soldiers, and citizens trying to stay out of politics. Seierstad emphasized that she does not begin with the question “Who is right?”, but rather: “How does the world look from where you stand?” She stressed that this curiosity and insistence on the complexity of lived experience is precisely what makes literature a form of disobedience. The book is the recipient of the Brage Prize, the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize, and the Norwegian Critics’ Prize, and has drawn significant international attention.
Sufyan Kadhim, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Sweden, emphasized that Swedish–Serbian cultural partnership is built on dialogue, openness, and artistic freedom, and that long-standing cooperation between KROKODIL, Littfest, and the Swedish Institute has created a durable network among writers, readers, and institutions. He introduced the Swedish delegation and highlighted the importance of Sámi and Indigenous voices in contemporary literature, stressing that literature is not only an art form but also a space for dialogue, imagination, and the courage to question.
On behalf of Littfest, Erik Jonsson further illuminated the meaning of the long-standing cooperation between Littfest and KROKODIL, which began more than a decade ago. He opened with a football anecdote, recalling a youth coach who claimed he had played for Red Star Belgrade – something no one believed at the time. During a previous visit to Belgrade, Jonsson visited Red Star’s museum and asked staff to check the name “Predrag Janković,” only to learn that the coach had indeed played 24 matches for Red Star between 1985 and 1990. With humour and personal detail, Jonsson used the story to show how misleading first assumptions can be – how the “stories we carry in our heads” about other people and places often turn out to be wrong.
He linked the anecdote to the essence of literary exchange: after KROKODIL had visited Littfest in northern Sweden a few months earlier for a conversation about stereotypes connected to the former Yugoslavia, he now found himself in Belgrade, aware that he too had begun with familiar clichés – Red Star, cigarettes, a shouting coach. That, he said, is precisely why the exchange between Littfest and KROKODIL is so valuable: it demonstrates how quickly stereotypes collapse when confronted with real encounters and literature. This year, he noted, writers from the Balkans were brought to Sweden and writers from Sweden to Serbia, and each time someone discovers that the story they had about “the other place” was not quite true – sometimes not even close.
Speaking about the Swedish authors appearing at KROKODIL this year, Jonsson emphasized that they do not write about an imagined, homogeneous Sweden often perceived as a quiet, conflict-free corner of Europe. Instead, they write about migration, exile, language, identity, and memory; about families carrying experiences of war across generations; and about communities stretching across borders. He noted that several authors come from Sápmi, where the Sámi people have lived long before modern nation-states existed, and where questions of language, culture, and power remain deeply alive.
Jonsson concluded that, the more he travels between countries, the less interested he becomes in differences, and the more compelling he finds similarities: Who gets to belong? Who gets to tell the story? What happens to a language when people stop speaking it – and what happens when they start speaking it again? He connected this to today’s “diaspora” realities (including in sport), where identities overlap and belonging can be multiple, arguing that this can be a source of richness rather than a problem. “Literature has always known that,” he said – adding that the best books ignore borders, travel better than politicians, cross frontiers more easily than passports, and make stereotypes look ridiculous. He expressed hope that the Swedish writers at this year’s KROKODIL would surprise the audience, challenge some assumptions, and complicate others, thanked the organisers for their hospitality, and concluded: “It’s wonderful to be back. It’s wonderful to be here.”
Dutch historian and writer in residence Ger Duijzings (the 157th KROKODIL Writer in Residence) thanked the KROKODIL team and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He spoke about his long connection to the region (Kosovo, Bosnia, Romania) and about Srebrenica as the “invisible centre” of his work since participating in the NIOD research team; he recalled that the publication of the NIOD report in 2002 was followed by the resignation of the Dutch government. Linking the festival’s theme to pressures on academic freedom, he argued that disobedience begins not only in the street but also in a sentence – in writing and public speech that “refuses to compromise” – and announced his participation in the programme “From Srebrenica to Gaza: From Legitimation to Denial.”
The conference was closed by Anke Konrad, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Serbia, who is nearing the end of her mandate and wished to conclude the event. She stated that this year’s KROKODIL demonstrates the power of literature to unite people (writers, artists, and activists from the Western Balkans, Europe, and the world), to create spaces for developing and exchanging ideas, and to bring the European spirit to life. She singled out the workshop “Power of the People: Rights Therapy”, supported by Germany, and emphasized that in times of polarization and shrinking space for the free exchange of opinions, solidarity and open discussion are more important than ever. She stressed that KROKODIL plays a vital role in promoting democratic values and placing Serbia firmly on the European cultural and social map.
It was emphasized that the festival is supported by the European Union, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Swedish Institute, CCFD – Terre Solidaire, and the British programme for international development in partnership with the British Council. The press conference concluded with informal networking at a reception, officially marking the start of the 18th KROKODIL Festival and reaffirming its role as a regional and European platform for literature, critical thinking, and civic engagement – fully aligned with this year’s guiding idea: literature as disobedience.
photos creds ALeksandar DMitrović
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