POGOVORI 2025 / TALKS 2025

In a recent report and during her visit to Slovenia, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, identified trade unions as important actors in the struggle against Israeli apartheid. Trade union struggle is often understood as a struggle for the particular interests of workers in a particular industry, but there are ways to overcome the limitations that limit solidarity.

The event will begin in English, with a lecture by Charlie Thomas, an organizer/activist and researcher from Great Britain. In his lecture "The class war against war - Palestine, arms industry, worker organising, direct action, prison" he will speak about his own experience and consequences of organising against the arms industry in solidarity with Palestine. He will discuss the tensions between the social movement for Palestinian liberation and the trade union movement, and finding openings for collaboration between the two in the face of heightened state repression. After his lecture, the conversation will continue in Slovenian, when the representatives of the trade union movement will discuss the similarities and differences between contexts, types of criminalization, and types of solidarity.

Participants: Charlie Thomas, Goran Lukić, Tea Jarc, Helena Milinković, Andraž Mali, Vanja Kovač

Palestinci pravijo, da je že obstoj oblika upora. Kakšne vrste sredstvo za upor pa je umetnost? Rana Anani bo spregovorila o umetniški sceni na okupiranih palestinskih ozemljih in izzivih, kot je denimo financiranje, s katerimi se ta sooča zaradi okupacije in restrikcij. Na podlagi primera dobre prakse, kot je bil bienale Qalandiya International v obdobju 2012–2018, bo ponazorila poskuse povezovanja geografsko razpršenih institucij in ustvarjalcev ter pojasnila, zakaj je bolj kot umetnostnim ustanovam naklonjena kolektivom.

Sodelujejo: Rana Anani, Nina Gostiša

Palestinians say that mere existence is a form of resistance. What kind of means of resistance is art? Rana Anani will talk about the art scene in the occupied Palestinian territories and the challenges it faces due to the occupation and restrictions, such as funding. Using the example of good practice, such as the Qalandiya International biennial between 2012–2018, she will illustrate attempts to connect geographically dispersed institutions and artists, as well explain why she personally favors collectives over art institutions.

Participants: Rana Anani, Nina Gostiša

Israel’s declared attempt to ethnically cleanse Gaza and the continued unfolding of the genocide there speaks to chilling realities and transformations urgently in need of global discussion and action. This talk explores the historical roots of these transformations and how the challenge of Gaza today embodies the struggle to define humanity’s future.

Participants: Toufic Haddad, Emina Bužinkić

 Protesti, ki so se v Srbiji začeli novembra 2024 po podrtju nadstrešnice na železniški postaji v Novem Sadu, v kateri je tragično umrlo 16 ljudi, še vedno potekajo. Študenti in študentke, ki vodijo blokade fakultet in šol, ter se borijo za delovanje pravne države na področju pravosodja in prizadevanj proti korupciji, imajo široko podporo javnosti. Toda v zadnjem času je prišlo do spopadov med demonstranti in policijo, med drugim tudi med zadnjim protestom v Beogradu 28. junija 2025, ko so študenti pozvali k predčasnim parlamentarnim volitvam.

V pogovoru s štirimi raziskovalkami, aktivistkami in dokumentaristkami bomo spregovorili o trenutnem stanju ter o možnostih in izzivih protestniškega gibanja in odpora v prihodnje. Protesti niso le politični izraz nezadovoljstva, temveč tudi prostor kolektivnega boja, solidarnosti in kreativnega izražanja. Pogovor bo naslovil večplastnost protestov: od okoljske pravičnosti, kulturnega aktivizma, umetniškega odziva, do vprašanj spolne, razredne, kulturne in generacijske enakosti in solidarnosti, pa tudi razmerje med enotnosjo in heterogenostjo gibanja, personalizacijo in kolektivizacijo gibanja, možnost trajne mobilizacije in strategije odpora proti prevzemu bojev s strani političnih strank, kapitalskih in geopolitičih interesov. 

Sodelujejo: Tatjana Nikolić, Sofija Stefanović, Dunja Dopsaj in Danica Sretenović

The protests that started in November 2024 after the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad train station, which tragically left 16 dead, are still ongoing across the country. Students leading blockades of faculties and schools have broad public support. There have been  clashes between demonstrators and police, including the protest in Belgrade on 28 June 2025, when students called for early parliamentary elections.

In our conversation with four excellent researchers, activists and documentarians, we will discuss the current situation and the opportunities and challenges for the protest movements and resistance in the future. Protests are not only a political expression of discontent, but also a space for collective struggle, solidarity and creative expression. The discussion will address the multifaceted nature of protest: from environmental justice, cultural activism, artistic response, to issues of gender, class, cultural and generational equality and solidarity, as well as the relationship between the unity and heterogeneity of the movement, between the personalisation and collectivisation of the movement, the possibility of permanent mobilisation and strategies of resistance against the possible take-over of the struggles by political parties, corporate and geopolitical interests.

Participants: Tatjana Nikolić, Sofija Stefanović, Dunja Dopsaj in Danica Sretenović

In a series of five short lectures, we will focus on digital or technological sovereignty, which is increasingly understood in the context of state sovereignty.

Dr. Emilija Stojmenova Duh, former Minister of Digital Transformation, will talk about societal dependence on global corporations such as Microsoft, the (failed) resistance against tech giants, and how to change this. Investigative journalist Domen Savič will address the political component of municipal surveillance cameras in Slovenia and the (in)ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of the surveillance society. Dr. Nika Mahnič will discuss the glitchy digital and programmable infrastructures and the role of information technology in the overtaking of political decisions, using the case study of the United Kingdom. Investigative journalist Monika Weiss will present a shift of Slovenian industry toward “defense,” especially arms manufacturing, where the arms industry will also play an important role. Dr. Lior Volinz will speak about how Israel uses privatisation and digitization of surveillance to deepen its occupation and control over the lives of Palestinians.

Participants: Emilija Stojmenova Duh, Domen Savič, Nika Mahnič, Monika Weiss, Lior Volinz