Study Trip to Terrestrial forum 2025

Coalition members of the project “Preparing CSOs for the Struggles Ahead”– part of the call “Catalysts of Change: Monitoring, Advocacy and Coalition Building for Environmental Justice” took part in their first study trip at Terrestrial forum 2025 in Vranje, Serbia.

A regional space for dialogue and exchange

The third edition of this biannual political and educational program was organised by the collective Ministry of Space, A11 – Initiative for Economic and Social Rights and SHARE Foundation.

Over four days, more than 150 participants across the region – Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Greece, and Slovenia – gathered for lectures, workshops, and discussions.

At the heart of the forum was the shared desire for substantial social transformation. Participants rethought progressive policies and practices, reflected on existing struggles and experiments, and explored common strategies for building a just society within planetary limits.

Horizons of change

This year’s forum, titled Horizons of Change, encouraged collaboration across disciplines and fields of action – bringing together activists, civil society, political movements, academia, and media.

The program was divided into three thematic modules:

• Beyond technofilia and technofobia: technology and society

• Ecosystem of Change

• Economy of Exploitation

Policy Lab contributions

Policy Lab co-founder and director Ajda Pistotnik contributed as a guest speaker in the opening session Dispatches from Struggle. Alongside Šandor Lederer, Jovica Lončar, Tihomir Dakić, Filip Jovanovski, Sidorela Vatnikaj, Donika Çapriqi, George Zamfir, Stefan Slavković, and Sonja Dragović, she shared insights into key fronts of struggle, modes of organising, and strategies for achieving social change.

Coalition member Martin Valinger Sluga (Faculty of Architecture, Ljubljana) joined the session Urban Planning as the Main Battlefield: Resisting Capture, Reclaiming Space. Together with Olga Andrić and Jana Bačeva Andreevska, he discussed how grassroots organising, participatory planning, and institutional engagement can help communities resist displacement, defend public space, and co-create inclusive urban futures.

Inspiring encounters for the future

Our five days in Vranje were filled with provocative discussions, inspiring encounters, and new ideas for future initiatives. The study trip strengthened coalition ties and opened new perspectives on how to resist shrinking civic space, challenge entrenched power, and imagine democratic, sustainable alternatives across the region.

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“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or The Netherlands Helsinki Comittee. Neither the European Union nor the NHC can be held responsible for them.”

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