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Svetlana Smiljanić, member of the executive board of Wiener Städtische Insurance

Ready for Future Challenges

„It is advantageous to be part of a large family, especially one with such a long tradition, reputation and strength as VIG, which currently...

Bojana Perić, Ekostar Pak General Manager

Recycling is an Opportunity

In the 14 years since its founding, Ekostar Pak has gained the trust of more than 840 companies, with in excess of 798,000 tons...

Novomatic Serbia

Fusing Tradition and Innovation with a Future Vision

NOVOMATIC AG stands out as one of the leaders of the global gaming industry. Founded in 1980 by Professor Johann F. Graf in the...

Pinar Yalcinkaya, MPC Properties CEO

Driving Impact through Innovation and Service Excellence

At MPC Properties, we’ve concentrated on using strategic planning and innovation to maintain our position as industry leader in the commercial real estate sector,...

Miloš Škorić, Gorda Director

Gorda Unites and Connects

“For three decades, we have been working and creating something good – not just for the awards, but primarily for the emotion. We respect...

Vladislav Bajac, Founder And Editor-in-chief Of Geopoetika Publishing, Writer, Member Of The Board Of The International Belgrade Book Fair As A Representative Of The Association Of Professional Publishers Of Serbia (Upis)

We’re Returning To Writers!

Books mustn’t be an “escape from the present”: they are just a different reality, legitimate and equivalent to all others. Within them live the writers who, admittedly, have got lost somewhere and need to be brought back to the belgrade fair’s hall 1, as well as other places, urgently

All book fairs in the world, from the biggest and most important to the smallest, continue to exist on the map of world publishing, and justifiably so, for multiple reasons.

Regardless of all the technological changes of recent decades that have also come in this area, publishing has maintained a balance between printed (paper) and electronic books. Specifically, following the sudden and somewhat overexaggerated boom in electronic books in the Western Hemisphere, the market of electronic books has stabilised at approximately 30% of total books published. Serbia was rather slow in accepting that trend during those years, but that sped up with the outbreak of COVID-19, for understandable reasons, and firstly because that was enforced. That’s how the share of e-books in total production also increased here.

There are broader reasons why example is important and symptomatic. Namely, it also served to show that the fear of the disappearance of the traditional, printed book was unjustified. It has remained the dominant form of communication with readers. Of course, this doesn’t mean that classic book fairs shouldn’t adapt to new technologies in this or some other way. This means that audiences should be offered digitised content in a more visible way, but in parallel with printed content. That would specifically represent the fulfilling of the basic principle of the sector and of every society: to offer the reading public a choice, based on the principle of a democratic offer, whereby each reader decides on their own preferred way of reading.

The continued existence of book fairs shouldn’t be brought into question. We ought to think about changes to them: form, staging venue, content, depth of messages

The Belgrade Book Fair should retain some of the traditional forms of communicating with the public, but should also change some of the instruments of that communication. It should also reduce the number of programmes (especially those registered by the publishers themselves) in order to improve the quality by having fewer of them. There should also be a clearer division of the proper, professional segment of publishing from all other collectives for which this is a secondary activity, particularly from those that are excessively connected to the profession and institutions of politics and religion. The fair must also be freed from the ballast of everything that made it a bazaar to a large extent: sponsors with products in places where they don’t belong, all cheap showbiz elements, visual distaste and the cacophony of those sounds that don’t belong to that world.

Books mustn’t be an “escape from the present”: they are just a different reality, legitimate and equivalent to all others. Within them live the writers who, admittedly, have got lost somewhere and need to be brought back to the Belgrade Fair’s Hall 1, as well as other places, urgently. We need to open a debate on the state of publishing in Serbia, to amend some laws, to return high-quality literature from all genres to the centre and thereby celebrate education. The possibility for young people to read should be restored, which is now abused by its pliability by other sources of information (that are not educational), cultural articles should be returned to the media and help should be given to remind journalists of cultural values that used to exist.

So, the continued existence of book fairs shouldn’t be brought into question. We ought to think about changes to them: form, staging venue, content, depth of messages etc. But their basic function should be left alone, equally everywhere – from Paris and London, to Cairo, Beijing and Frankfurt: encounters live and ‘in person’ between readers and books. That’s how one maintains the ideal temperature of both body and spirit – and of both man and book.

By Mirko Dautović

Sailing Stormy Waters

The name of the next resident of the White House will matter a lot in terms of global politics. However, more importantly, the U.S....

Dr Jonel Subić, Ph.D., Director of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IAE), Belgrade

Using Resources Intelligently

As is the case in many other areas, the greater participation of clean technologies and innovations, optimal use of resources and improving health conditions...

Danijela Božanić, meteorologist

We’re Lacking Plenty

Viewed globally, the state and availability of water resources is acknowledged as the sector hardest hit by climate change. The National Adaptation Programme (NAP)...

Dipl. Ecc. Vesna Nešković, International Relations Officer, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad

Reaching Optimal Solutions through Research

Our response is the ClimaPannonia project, which tests climate-resilience solutions in four sectors of agriculture and scales them across the Pannonian Plain for broader...

Denmark Encourages Serbia on Its Path to EU Membership

The expansion of the European Union is one of the priorities for the coming period, stated Denmark's Minister for...

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala Opens Czech House in Belgrade

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala opened the Czech House in Belgrade during an official visit to Serbia, highlighting that...

Belgrade to Host Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit in December

Belgrade will host the major Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit on December 3rd and 4th, where discussions...

Giaufret States it’s Time to Intensify Reforms in Serbia

Serbia has confirmed that EU membership is its strategic goal, said the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia,...

Mathematical High School Students Win Six Gold Medals at International Knowledge Olympiad

Students from Belgrade’s Mathematical High School achieved outstanding success, winning six gold medals at the XVI International Knowledge Olympiad...

Belgrade to Host Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit in December

Belgrade will host the major Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit on December 3rd and 4th, where discussions...

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: EU is not complete without Serbia

Poland supports Serbia’s European path, and the European Union is not complete without Serbia, stated Polish Prime Minister Donald...

Montenegro Bans Single-Use Plastics Under New Law

In accordance with the Waste Management Law, Montenegro has officially banned plastic bags and single-use plastics as of this...

Serbia Cuts Shadow Economy by Over a Quarter in a Decade, Driven by Digital Reforms

Over the past decade, Serbia has significantly reduced its shadow economy, lowering it from 29.1% to 21.1% of GDP,...

Claudia Sheinbaum Sworn In as Mexico’s First Female President

In a historic moment for Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum has been sworn in as the country's first female president, marking...

Belgrade to Host Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit in December

Belgrade will host the major Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit on December 3rd and 4th, where discussions...

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: EU is not complete without Serbia

Poland supports Serbia’s European path, and the European Union is not complete without Serbia, stated Polish Prime Minister Donald...

Montenegro Bans Single-Use Plastics Under New Law

In accordance with the Waste Management Law, Montenegro has officially banned plastic bags and single-use plastics as of this...

Serbia Cuts Shadow Economy by Over a Quarter in a Decade, Driven by Digital Reforms

Over the past decade, Serbia has significantly reduced its shadow economy, lowering it from 29.1% to 21.1% of GDP,...

Claudia Sheinbaum Sworn In as Mexico’s First Female President

In a historic moment for Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum has been sworn in as the country's first female president, marking...
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