International Women’s Day, 8 March, is celebrated worldwide as part of the fight for economic, political, and social equality of men and women. On that occasion, the EU Delegation to Serbia is organising a series of activities in partnership with UN Women, Beldocs Festival, the Coordinating body for gender equality of the Government of Serbia, Reflektor Theatre, Tampon zona podcast, EU member countries’ embassies, female artists, directors, authors, etc.
On 8 and 9 March, the Yugoslav Film Archive and the EU Info Centre will host a two-day film marathon and a panel discussion entitled Women Creators. Entrance to all film screenings is free of charge!
Women film marathon Women Creators, 8 March, Yugoslav Film Archive (1 Uzun Mirkova street, Belgrade):
- 17:00 Mademoiselle Paradis(Austria, Germany, 2017, 97’) drama, directed by Barbara Albert
- 19:00 panel discussion “Women Creators”; participants: Tamara Krcunović, actress; Tea Lukač, director; Mina Petrović, director; moderator: Ana Manojlović
- 30 The Conductor(De Dirigent, the Netherlands, Belgium, 2019, 137′) drama, directed by Maria Peters
- 00 I Know Who You Are(Sé quién eres, Spain, 2000, 100′) thriller, directed by Patricia Ferreira
On 9 March, as part of the film marathon Women Creators, in cooperation with Beldocs Festival, the EU Info Centre will screen the following documentaries by female authors:
- 00 Raise the Bar(Hækkum rána, Iceland, Finland, Finska, 2021, 70′) documentary, directed by Guðjón Ragnarsson
- 00 Roots(Serbia, 2021, 80′) documentary, directed by Tea Lukač
- 00 Victoria, 15(Serbia, 2020, 52′) documentary, directed by Mina Petrović
In Novi Sad, International Women’s Day will be celebrated as part of the activities within the International Book Fair “EuZaTebe na Glavnoj bini” and a workshop run by Milan Tripković entitled Super čitanjac – book reading of Od čitanja se raste by Jasminka Petrović. On the same day at 17:00, a discussion will be held on the topic of What is gender in language and literature? with the following participants: Danica Vukićević, 2023 NIN Award laureate; dr Žarka Svirčev, 2023 NIN Award jury member; Olja Petronić, French language translator; and Relja Dražić, Nojzac, the publisher behind the book that won the 2023 NIN Award.
On 10 March, starting at 17:00, EU Info Point in Niš will host a literature discussion dubbed “Women Creators – conversations that move” with poet Dragana Mladenović. The workshop “Social media as a source of information and weapon in gender equality fight”, led by Iva Parađanin Lilić, author of the podcast Tampon zona, will be held on 21 March at noon. On 31 March at 20:00, the National Theatre in Niš will show a Reflektor Theatre’s play, “Girls”, directed by Milena Minja Bogavac, that deals with growing up as a girl in Serbia.
From 7 March until the end of the month, we will broadcast a Tampon zona podcast special From my reading book “Her story” in cooperation with #EUzaTebe. Together with notable Serbian female researchers dealing with shedding light on the role of women in Serbia’s history, we will talk about the key moments and notable women who have impacted emancipation and improved women’s status in our country. Through compelling conversations, anecdotes, and fascinating details, we will shed light on historical events that deserve a place in history books and the importance of 8 March. The complete programme of From my reading book special can be found at www.tamponzona.rs.
International Women’s Day is celebrated in memory of the 1909 protests led by female workers of Chicago and the New York Women’s March, where more than 15,000 women demanded shorter hours, better pay, and the right to vote. Clara Zetkin spearheaded the initiative to establish 8 March as Women’s Day, and the first Women’s Day ever was celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark. In 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming the celebration of Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on 8 March. In Serbia, Women’s Day was observed for the first time in 1914.
