We are strongly concerned that the potential sale of Serbia’s last independent media outlets to Alpac Capital poses a direct and imminent threat to media freedom in Serbia and the Western Balkans.
The Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) held the first session with representatives of 10 organizations and informal groups that have received small grants under the “Rights First” project. The project aims to strengthen participatory democracy and support Serbia on its path towards EU membership by building the capacities of civil society organizations, with a particular focus on young people and marginalized groups. It is implemented by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina, the Committee for Human Rights Niš, Link from Sombor, Livrit from Preševo, the Vojvodina Civic Center, and the Center for Academic Progress from Novi Pazar.
Youth Initiative for Human Rights invites young journalists and social science students from Serbia interested in the topic of the wars of the 1990s to apply for the three-month research and educational program “War History and Facts” that will last from the beginning of June to the end of August 2026 in Serbia. The program aims to empower eight young authors who, after an educational workshop, research training and a mentoring process, will write papers in which they will analyze certain aspects of mass human rights violations during the war years of the 1990s based on judicially established facts.
The Youth Initiative for Human Rights, in cooperation with Students for Liberty, held a panel titled “Serbia and China: A Steel Friendship in Violating Human Rights” on April 28, 2026, at the European House. The panel focused on Serbia–China relations and the consequences of these relations for the citizens of both countries. The event was organized as part of the conference New Frontiers for Liberty.
From April 20 to 24, participants of the Regional Youth Leadership Mobility Programme (RYLMP) visited Belgrade as part of their regular program activities.
