19/04/2025
As the EU faces internal pressures—rising authoritarianism, disinformation, political fragmentation, and the fallout of Brexit—its approach to candidate countries like Serbia exposes a deeper crisis of coherence and credibility. Far-right narratives across Europe increasingly exploit these contradictions, portraying the EU as an elite project more concerned with control than democratic values.
This session explores how the EU’s silence on media suppression, democratic backsliding, and environmental exploitation in the Western Balkans is not just a regional issue—it’s a European one. Through the lens of Serbia, we examine how disinformation thrives in the cracks between EU rhetoric and practice, and how citizens across Europe increasingly question the legitimacy of institutions that claim to represent them.
From lithium mining in Serbia to rule-of-law concerns in Hungary or Slovakia, the session asks: Is the EU exporting its democratic values—or outsourcing its dirty work?
Join us for Display City Sessions Belgrade, two days of discussion, skill exchange, and networking in Belgrade, Serbia, from May 18 to 21.
This event will provide space for critical reflection, hands-on exchange, and collaboration around some of the most urgent media questions of our time. We’ll unpack the role of disinformation in shaping national and European narratives, explore how skepticism toward the EU is leveraged and amplified across media channels, and share strategies for countering misinformation without losing nuance or local connection.
Display Europe invites European-based media makers and professionals from small to mid-size newsrooms to attend this two-day event in Belgrade, Serbia (arrival May 18 – departure May 21).
This event is part of the Display Europe initiative—a media platform and project syndicating content in over 15 languages. It is the fourth and final in a series of in-person gatherings across Europe, spotlighting critical issues shaping European media and sparking discussion around topics of public interest, across borders.
The event is organized by the Display Partner organizations Hostwriter and Community Media Forum Europe, in partnership with podcast.rs.
To apply to attend, please fill out this form by April 27:
https://forms.gle/R2U6uvZ81wggwqVg9
