The OPENS Zone at the Exit Festival, with the presence of many DJs on the set stage, it was crowded of ambitious young people on set stands, with the desire to better represent the goals of the organizations they represent. Each booth was decorated with a variety of promo material, and most of them had games, quizzes, badges and various other visitors’ interest.
In this zone one could observe Saturn far through the clouds, memes could be printed on pictures with medieval motifs, cool hairstyles and festival makeup were drawn. The zone was filled with relaxed energy, with the introduction of young people at the stands, who more than excellently presented the goals of the movements, initiatives and organization they represent, it was evident that they adopted them as their own. What they exhibited to the visitors was themselves. Their goals, their outlook, their initiative …
Oliver Andrejevski (24) a graduate student in Ethnology and Anthropology in Skopje and Simona Petrovska (27) a graduate student at the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje, North Macedonia, are among the representatives in the Opens Zone. In addition to their full-time education, they are also involved in the work of the Center for Youth Activism “Krik”, which aims to raise awareness among young people about young people with special needs and the importance of networking and social inclusion. Oliver and Simona have volunteered for a variety of organizations over the years, but they joined COA Krik two years ago to help raise awareness among young people with disabilities. They are the second time at the Exit Festival in Novi Sad and consider this type of festival to be a place for young people’s entertainment, and the arrival of a large number of young people in one place can lead them to get acquainted with the work of the organization and determine their reaction to the goals, which is one way to reach young people. They stressed that since there is no such large festival as Exit, it is just the right place for many young people to reach, and is a great opportunity to encourage them to do this kind of volunteering, which in their lives young people with special needs mean a lot.
Jelisaveta Andrijašević (24) from Uzice, who is studying at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, also got the opportunity to promote a very topical topic at the international level, trafficking in human beings. He is an activist at the Red Cross of Serbia, who has shown the initiative to participate in the Opens Educational Zone at the Exit Festival and provide information to passers-by and participants of the festival about what Trafficking is, as well as some basic precautions to be followed in different situations they can be risky.
We asked her why they chose Exit festival, as a place to promote the topic of human trafficking?
“Because this is a big festival and there are a lot of people coming, a lot of foreigners, and a lot of young people who travel frequently at that age, look for work abroad and use social networks, and we pass on information to them how to behave in case they fall into some risky situation, because they are one of the most risky target groups, which is why we decided to talk about this at Exit Festival. Last year, we were very pleased with the visit and interest of young people coming to our booth to get informed. This year has fulfilled all our expectations and we will try to be part of the festival every next year, because there are really interested people who need to hear about this topic, ”added Jelisaveta.
Milica Kovačević, 23, from Sombor, a fourth year student of Roman Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, volunteers for the second time at the Exit Festival at the Opens booth to meet new people, learn something useful and contribute to the community. As Novi Sad is the youth capital of Europe, Milica joined the program to promote all the goals of the OPENS organization, and above all the creative expression of young people.
Nemanja Maksimović (20) from Bačka Palanka came to promote the Festival of Ecological Theater for Children and Youth held in a city that has not had a theater for 25 years, and theatrical performances are held in various locations, both open and open. in closed locations. They decided to promote the project in Novi Sad at the Exit Festival, because it is full of young people, and with the promotion of culture, they invite young people to come to the festival either as guests or as volunteers, with the aim of raising cultural awareness among young people.
Tanja Bjelčević, 23, from Teslić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, came to Novi Sad because it is an interesting city, and primarily because the gathering of various people from all sides, open to all, is small and big enough at the same time, which is at the Exit Festival she came with the organization “Serbia for Young People” in order to promote the country Serbia as a very interesting tourist destination in the Opens zone, as well as to get the young people from Serbia to get to know their country as much as possible. Even though she is not from Serbia herself, she says she loved her country. He believes that young people from different parts of Serbia come to the festival, and this is a great opportunity to meet people, make new contacts, make new friends, as well as get to know Serbia through the angle of different people.
Talking to these young people, I realized that the OPENS zone exceeded all expectations this year.
In the heart of Novi Sad, on the Fortress, new stages are constantly being created with a new concept. The concept of the OPENS Zone is a lot of fun, music, places to relax, interest, learn and meet a lot of young people with the right world view, which was very refreshing. Having such youth in Serbia means that the youth initiative is not dead, but only stronger, and their initiative is the driver of great change.
Ana Ilić
* The story was created within the project “The most beautiful stories about Novi Sad”, which is realized by the Remix Association, which is financed by Omladinski savez udruženja „Novi Sad omladinska prestonica Evrope – OPENS 2019“
