Balkan Trafik Festival, postponed to November 2002, is launching its first Balkan Trafik 360° Digital edition. From 23 to 26 April 2020, the festival will broadcast digital content on a dedicated platform. A concept that will be renewed for future editions.

While the cultural events of the present month have been cancelled or postponed due to lockdown measures, Balkan Trafik! offers to discover the culture of the Balkans from our homes.

4 LIVE DEBATES will take place on 23 April from 2pm to 6pm, themes that touch our life, in Brussels and in the Balkans cities as environment, gender equality, freedom of speech, youth innovation. More than 16 stakeholders will be debating.

The 14th edition, which was scheduled in April, will be held in November of 2020. The tickets will remain valid for the new dates in autumn 2020 which need to be confirmed.

www.balkantrafik.com

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PROGRAM:

LIVE STREAMING – 23.04:

• -  14:00 - 14:45 // ENVIRONNEMENT

• -  15:00 - 15:45 // YOUTH INNOVATION

• -  16:15 - 17:00 // GENDER EQUALITY

• -  17:15 - 18:00 // FREEDOM OF SPEECH

  A MEETING WITH - 23-24-25-26.04:

  Cities & Balkan Organizations:

• -  Novi Sad, European Capital of Culture 2021. Serbia

• -  Timisoara, European Capital of Culture 2021. Romania

• -  Srebrenica Wave, Muamer Civic. Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Albanian radio in Brussels, Jehona e Shqipes radio. Belgium-Albania

• -  Association Kulturanova, Novi Sad. Serbia

• -  Srebrenica/City of Hope, Irvin Mujčić. Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  VLERA, Albanian Student Organization. Belgium-Albania

• -  Pristina & surroundings through pictures, Arben llapashtica. Kosovo*

• -  Rombel, Romanian Media in Belgium.

• -  Ugur Caliskan, sky media and culture. Belgian-Turkish media.

• -  Lijljana Simic, Interculturalist/anthropologist. Belgium-Serbia.

• -  KRUG, Serbian Club in Brussels. Belgium- Serbia

• -  And many more...

  Music & dance:

• -  Zdob si Zdub, Hip-hop and hardcore punk band crossed with traditional

  Romanian Moldavian music. Moldavia.

• -  Bimbimma, hip hop artists/slam. Kosovo

• -  Iskaz, crossover hip hop, rock, funk, dubstep, raga. Serbia

• -  SkilleR, world champion beatboxing, Bulgaria

• -  Blerta Zeghu, Soprano singer. Franco-Albanian

• -  Bilja Krstic & Bistrik Orchestra, folk & contemporary singer. Serbia

• -  Bojan Krstic, Brass Band, Guca’s winner. Serbia

• -  Robert Aliaj Dragot & Gala, Contemporary artist & singer, Belgium-Albania

• -  Josif Shukallari & grupi "Sazet e Përmetit", traditional Clarinet & Iso

  Polyphony. Albania

• -  Choir Hazreti Hamza, sufi music. Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Divanhana, Sevdah music. Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Suzan Taci, singer. Belgium-Turkey

• -  Esma's band - Next generation, The Legend of Esma Redzepova. North

  Macedonia.

• -  Yiddish Tantz, Bal Yiddish. Belgium.

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• -  Dren Abazi, Zig Zag Orchestra, crossover Traditional-Rock-Pop-Jazz. Kosovo

• -  Ansambli folklorik "Bejke e Bardhe" Pilur, iso-polyphony singers. Albania

• -  Damir Imamovic , Contemporary Sevdah. Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Na Horoto, troup of dance and music. Bulgaria

• -  Ceylan Taci, singer. Belgium-Albania-Turkey

• -  DJ Tagada, Balkan Beat Paris. France

• -  Marko Marković, Brass Band Legend. Serbia

• -  Gipsy Groove, crossover Traditional-Rock-Pop-Jazz. Kosovo*

• -  REMIX ID, electronic music and VJing. Romania

• -  Dzambo Agusevi Orchestra, Brass Band. North Macedonia

• -  Orkestar Danijela, Brass Band. Serbia

• -  Gjini Ensemble Singers. Belgium-Albania

• -  JERICHO, Rock, Kosovo

• -  And many more...

  Film director & Making of:

• -  Konstantin Plevnes & his “The Autobiography of the Piegeon man”. North

  Macedonia

• -  Blerta zeqiri & her Martesa. Kosovo*

• -  Milcho Manchevski & his Willow. North Macedonia

  Literature:

• -  Boris Lalić, Writer, Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Abdulah Sidran, Poet and screenwriter, Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Fahredin Shehu, International, Poetry & Wine Festival, Rahovec. Kosovo*

• -  Jordan Plevenes, writer. North Macedonia

• -  Silvia Grădinaru, poet. Romania

• -  Răzvan Ţupa, poet. Romania

• -  Bimbimma, hip hop artists/slam. Kosovo

• -  And many more...

  Original artwork:

• -  Shqipe Kamberi, Contemporary artist. Kosovo

• -  Rikardo Druškić, Graffiti artist. Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Jana Danilovic, Graffiti artist. Serbia

• -  Dastid Miluka, Painter. Belgium-Albania

• -  13 Pulsion, Grafiti artist. Belgium-Italia-Colombia

• -  IRLO, Graffiti artist. Romania -

• -  Belgium-Albania

• -  And many more...

Guerilla Art Festival, Street Art festival. Kosovo*

Zenel Laci, scenographer & director.

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Debate moderator:

FOCUS LIVESTREAMING

OLAF BRUNS, Brussels-based journalist and former Deputy Head of the Brussels office of the international TV news broadcaster Euronews working now as a freelancer.

14:00 - 14:45 // ENVIRONMENT

Environmental protection and the struggle for the commons have become a vibrant sphere of civic engagement and activism across the Western Balkans. A multitude of local movements are struggling for the preservation of the environment and for environmental justice amid soaring ecological threats like an alarming rise in air pollution, the devastation of rivers by hydroelectric power plants, the destruction of urban greenery. Already some Western Balkan countries reported the highest European levels of respiratory diseases – Covid19 has only worsened the situation. Politicians and decision-makers in region are often silent and bereft of adequate responses to these issues, so local civic activists are becoming the main actors to put them on the agenda. The European Fund for the Balkans supports empowers them in this endeavour.

-> We'll take stock of the multiple initiatives and debate the problems activists are facing, the best practices in the fight for the environment and we'll share the possible solutions. And there will be other questions: does the current Covid-19 crisis make the situation worse? What do activists expect from Europe?

Guests:
- Arianit Xhaferi - Eco Guerilla - North Macedonia
- Endora Celohoxhaj - Institute of Nature Conservation Albania
- Jelena Vasiljevic - Researcher Institute for philosophy and social theory - Serbia - Zaklina Zivkovic - Right to Water Initiative – Serbia

In collaboration with European Fund for the Balkans.

15:00 - 15:45 // YOUTH INNOVATION

The Balkans are the youngest part of Europe with a human energy that bears an enormous potential in terms of technology and innovation. In some countries of the region, wireless networks are faster and more stable than in some Western European countries. Now, the Covid19 crisis has brought homework and all the digital tools

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around it closer to many people – in the Balkans as much as elsewhere. Before already, the relatively new culture of entrepreneurs and start-ups was resolutely embracing new technologies. New trends might appear now.

-> We'll gather ideas, innovation and business models from all over the region and debate how to exploit the enormous potential in the Balkans to find the right models to allow the region's youth to make most use of new opportunities of innovation and technology. And will the Covid19 crisis have speeded up the developments – or rather brought to a halt?

Guests:

• -  Ana Alibegovic - Mladi info - North Macedonia

• -  Armin Cerkez - Youth Power – Bosnia and Herzegovina

• -  Kristian Kina - Student and member of the Academic senate, University of

  Tirana - Albania

• -  Serena Leka - Manager at Cellugy – Albania

  16:15 - 17:00 // GENDER EQUALITY

  Gender equality is a sore issue, all over the world – and specifically in the Balkans. At a time when women still have to struggle simply for being as much respected as men and when some people are harsh discrimination for their sexual orientation, many associations are fighting for respect and tolerance – and, after all: for basic human rights. In the Balkan countries however, they need to fight twice as much. The clear increase in domestic violence in the wake of the Corona virus-related Quarantine measures is a well-reported tragedy everywhere – but how is the situation in the region?

  -> We'll hear experiences from different actors in the region – and in Brussels of course – from the recent years to the impact of the current Corona virus situation. We'll debate resemblances and differences of the situation in various countries will ask: what can the ones learn from the others?

  Guests:

• -  Delphine Houba - Alderman for culture - Belgium

• -  Jovan Džoli Ulićević - Activist for Spectra - Montenegro

• -  Shiqpe Kamberi - artist – Kosovo*

• -  Stefan Šparavalo - Activist for Da se Zna! – Serbia

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17:15 - 18:00 // FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Journalists have become the target of violent attacks and judicial harassment by political leaders parts of Eastern Europe (and not only!). In some countries, clear patterns emerge of silencing the critical press through coordinated measures of censorship, indirect control of the media markets, as well as through the delegitimisation of independent journalists. Some governments have used the Covid19-crisis, to tighten their grip on media, and others seem to have resolutely pivoted from the EU to Russia or China. Independent media are often reduced to fact- checking and countering the misinformation spread by pro- government media. But freedom of expression and freedom of press are part of the fundamental rights of the European Union, which the Western Balkans countries aspire to join.

-> It’ll be about comparing the situation in different countries and asking how independent media and journalists are fighting against propaganda and 6 elegitimization in the region. And we will sure raise the topic of which levers does the EU have to help developing a much-needed watchdog role in the concerned countries.

Guests:

• -  Atanas Tchobanov - Bivol - Bulgaria

• -  Elvira Jukic - Editor in chief di Media Centar Sarajevo - BiH

• -  Jelena Vasic - Krik Journal - Serbia

• -  Sandor Zsiros - Hungarian Brussels correspondent for Euronews – Hungary

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence