UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management (MA Studies)

The jury had received the Masters thesis of Daria Jevtić, titled Temporary Utopias: Youth Festivals and their significance, suggested as the best in 2025 by the UNESCO Chair in Interculturalism, Art Management and Mediation, for the study program MA in Cultural Policy and Management.

After reading, the jury unanimously decided that:

The thesis of Daria Jevtić is very well researched and written, well-positioned and thoroughly argued. It aligns very closely with Dragan's work, interests, and values. The topics Daria Jevtić is analysing were at the core of Dragan's interest and research. For instance, this study would perfectly fit into Dragan`s led European Festival Research Project endeavours. Also, Dragan's constant envisioning of new models and/or restructuring old models of various segments of the arts & culture sector is pertinent to this thesis, too.

Consequently, the Jury is proud to announce that the first prize for the best Masters thesis at the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management for the 2025 is granted to Daria Jevtić MA Thesis Temporary Utopias: Youth Festivals and their significance, defended 21st November 2025 at the University of Arts in Belgrade, in front of the committee: Milena Dragićević Šešić, Prof. mentor, Predrag Cvetičanin, prof. of the University in Niš, and Dr Vera Mevorah, research associate of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory.

Jury of Dragan Klaić`s award:

Steve Austen, Felix Merritis, Founder and President, Amsterdam
Julia Bala Klaić, family member, Amsterdam
Krzysztof Czyžewsky, Borderline Foundation, Sejni
Philipp Dietachmair, Head of Programs, ECF, Amsterdam
Radivoje Doderović, Librarian, Novi Sad
Milena Dragićević Šešić, University of Arts Belgrade, Founder of Dragan Klaić`s Foundation
Aleksandra Jovićević, La Sapienza University of Rome
Aida Kalender, Cultural Professional and Analyst, Sarajevo/Amsterdam
Aldo Milohnić, University of Ljubljana
Katarina Pejovic, Dramaturgist, Zagreb
Corina Suteu, Cultural professional and Cultural Policy Advocate, Bucharest
Beka Vučo, My Balkans, Executive Director, New York

The European Commission and Europa Nostra have announced the 2025 winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, which are co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. This year, Europe’s most prestigious awards for heritage go to 30 outstanding winners from 24 countries across the continent.

In category of Citizens’ Engagement & Awareness-raising, alumni of master program of Culture Policy and Management in Culture – UNESCO Chair of the University of Arts in Belgrade - curators Sara SOPIĆ and Mirjana SLAVKOVIĆ were awarded for the team project:
Hedgehog’s Home – Inventing a Better World, SERBIA which reimagined a beloved children’s poem through co-creation with young children and students, promoting intergenerational dialogue and inclusivity. It sparked reflection on home, community and shared memory across Serbia and beyond.

Congratulations to curators and team of the awarded project!

https://muzej-jugoslavije.org/en/exhibition/jezeva-kucica-izmisljanje-boljeg-sveta/

“The Family of Man” in Belgrade – Open discussion on the history of the exhibition and photography in Yugoslavia in the 1950s and 1960s
Museum of Yugoslavia - Movie theater | 27.08.2025 | 16:00 – 17:30

The exhibition "The Family of Man," which included 503 photographs by more than 200 photographers from around the world, was conceived by photographer and curator Edward Steichen as a manifesto for peace in the postwar era. It was first presented in January 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and then toured the world for eight years. It was shown from January 26 to February 22, 1957, at the Kalemegdan Pavilion | Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavilion.

At the open forum, we will reflect on the presentation of the exhibition in Belgrade and raise questions about the exhibition, its audience, and the broader context of the city at that time: Who attended it? Did it influence future art in Yugoslavia? How did the Belgrade edition differ from those in other cities?

The event will be held in English and Serbian.
Admission is free, no registration required.

Event details: Museum of Yugoslavia

“The Family of Man” in Belgrade - Open discussion on the history of the exhibition and photography in Yugoslavia in the 1950s and 1960s - Muzej Jugoslavije On August 27 / 4 PM

Financing for development: a matter of urgency for education, culture and sciences

Faced with a sharp drop in international aid for education and uneven funding for culture and sciences, UNESCO is sounding the alarm and calling on donors to renew their commitment to these key areas of development.

On the occasion of the International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, UNESCO welcomes the joint declaration in which Member States recognise the importance of financing education, recognising culture as a driving force for development, and strengthening scientific cooperation in the face of global challenges.

Education, culture, and scientific research are among the most powerful levers for peace and the development of our societies. Ensuring sustainable funding for them is now essential—undermining it would mean undermining our shared future.

With every dollar invested in education generating GDP growth of 10 to 15 dollars, education is one of the best investments a country can make. According to a recent UNESCO report, the lack of basic skills will cost the global economy up to 10,000 billion dollars per year by 2030. In addition to these financial considerations, there are also significant social impacts to take into account. Gaps in acquiring basic skills are associated with a 69% increase worldwide in unwanted teenage pregnancies among young girls.

Despite these tangible benefits, a new analysis published by UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report reveals that international aid to education could fall by more than a quarter between 2023 and 2027, with a 12% decline already observed in 2024.

In low-income countries, this aid represents an average of 17% of public spending on education, in some cases even half of national education budgets. This trend towards disengagement from aid providers is growing at a time when 272 million children and young people are still excluded from school systems, half of them in Africa, according to new figures from UNESCO.

UNESCO mobilises for innovative financing in education

This under-investment is sometimes a result of already depleted public finances: 60% of low-income countries are over-indebted or at high risk of over-indebtedness. By 2022, debt servicing costs on the African continent had reached an amount comparable to that of public education budgets.

Faced with this urgency, UNESCO is promoting innovative financing mechanisms such as debt-for-education swaps, in line with the joint call to action launched in 2024 by
Such mechanisms have already been successfully implemented between Germany and Indonesia (2002-2011), Peru and Spain (2006-2017), and Côte d'Ivoire and France (2023). Building on these experiences, UNESCO is developing a roadmap and concrete recommendations to help more debtor and creditor countries direct debt relief towards investments in education.

Culture, a vector for development and social cohesion

In 2022, the cultural and creative industries represented 3.1% of global GDP and generated almost 50 million jobs. Financing the cultural sector - including creative industries and cultural heritage - means investing in sectors that create jobs, generate economic growth and reinforce social cohesion.

In recent years, UNESCO has demonstrated that investing in culture - from the renovation of cultural heritage to support for creative industries - has increased the benefits of development aid tenfold: in Mosul, Iraq, where more than 5,000 jobs have been created to lead the reconstruction of emblematic buildings in the old city; in Yemen, where more than 8,000 young people have taken part in the rehabilitation of their cultural heritage; or in the Caribbean, where 17 countries have benefited from the Transcultura programme, which has trained and supported more than 2,500 people to strengthen creative industries.

In the run-up to the MONDIACULT 2025 Conference in Barcelona, UNESCO is calling on governments to systematically integrate culture into their funding frameworks for sustainable development.


Investing in science and scientific cooperation

Science is a crucial lever for addressing the major challenges of our time, including ecological transition, biodiversity protection, ocean health, disaster prevention, and crisis resilience. Yet science remains largely underfunded. According to the latest UNESCO Science Report, 80% of countries devote less than 1% of their GDP to research and development. Ocean sciences, meanwhile, receive just 1.7% of national research budgets - an alarming figure, at a time when the United Nations Conference on the Oceans in Nice has just reiterated the urgent need for action.

But financial resources are not enough: cooperation is just as essential. Sharing infrastructures, data and scientific knowledge, including that of indigenous peoples, would enhance the impact of research, particularly in low-income countries. This aligns with the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, adopted by its Member States in 2021. In Seville, UNESCO renewed its call for stronger international scientific cooperation in the service of the common good.

Financing for development: a matter of urgency for education, culture and sciences

Faced with a sharp drop in international aid for education and uneven funding for culture and sciences, UNESCO is sounding the alarm and calling on donors to renew their commitment to these key areas of development.

On the occasion of the International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, UNESCO welcomes the joint declaration in which Member States recognise the importance of financing education, recognising culture as a driving force for development, and strengthening scientific cooperation in the face of global challenges.

Education, culture, and scientific research are among the most powerful levers for peace and the development of our societies. Ensuring sustainable funding for them is now essential—undermining it would mean undermining our shared future.

With every dollar invested in education generating GDP growth of 10 to 15 dollars, education is one of the best investments a country can make. According to a recent UNESCO report, the lack of basic skills will cost the global economy up to 10,000 billion dollars per year by 2030. In addition to these financial considerations, there are also significant social impacts to take into account. Gaps in acquiring basic skills are associated with a 69% increase worldwide in unwanted teenage pregnancies among young girls.

Despite these tangible benefits, a new analysis published by UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report reveals that international aid to education could fall by more than a quarter between 2023 and 2027, with a 12% decline already observed in 2024.

In low-income countries, this aid represents an average of 17% of public spending on education, in some cases even half of national education budgets. This trend towards disengagement from aid providers is growing at a time when 272 million children and young people are still excluded from school systems, half of them in Africa, according to new figures from UNESCO.

UNESCO mobilises for innovative financing in education

This under-investment is sometimes a result of already depleted public finances: 60% of low-income countries are over-indebted or at high risk of over-indebtedness. By 2022, debt servicing costs on the African continent had reached an amount comparable to that of public education budgets.

Faced with this urgency, UNESCO is promoting innovative financing mechanisms such as debt-for-education swaps, in line with the joint call to action launched in 2024 by
Such mechanisms have already been successfully implemented between Germany and Indonesia (2002-2011), Peru and Spain (2006-2017), and Côte d'Ivoire and France (2023). Building on these experiences, UNESCO is developing a roadmap and concrete recommendations to help more debtor and creditor countries direct debt relief towards investments in education.

Culture, a vector for development and social cohesion

In 2022, the cultural and creative industries represented 3.1% of global GDP and generated almost 50 million jobs. Financing the cultural sector - including creative industries and cultural heritage - means investing in sectors that create jobs, generate economic growth and reinforce social cohesion.

In recent years, UNESCO has demonstrated that investing in culture - from the renovation of cultural heritage to support for creative industries - has increased the benefits of development aid tenfold: in Mosul, Iraq, where more than 5,000 jobs have been created to lead the reconstruction of emblematic buildings in the old city; in Yemen, where more than 8,000 young people have taken part in the rehabilitation of their cultural heritage; or in the Caribbean, where 17 countries have benefited from the Transcultura programme, which has trained and supported more than 2,500 people to strengthen creative industries.

In the run-up to the MONDIACULT 2025 Conference in Barcelona, UNESCO is calling on governments to systematically integrate culture into their funding frameworks for sustainable development.

Investing in science and scientific cooperation

Science is a crucial lever for addressing the major challenges of our time, including ecological transition, biodiversity protection, ocean health, disaster prevention, and crisis resilience. Yet science remains largely underfunded. According to the latest UNESCO Science Report, 80% of countries devote less than 1% of their GDP to research and development. Ocean sciences, meanwhile, receive just 1.7% of national research budgets - an alarming figure, at a time when the United Nations Conference on the Oceans in Nice has just reiterated the urgent need for action.

But financial resources are not enough: cooperation is just as essential. Sharing infrastructures, data and scientific knowledge, including that of indigenous peoples, would enhance the impact of research, particularly in low-income countries. This aligns with the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, adopted by its Member States in 2021. In Seville, UNESCO renewed its call for stronger international scientific cooperation in the service of the common good.

Future Science Summer Events!

Сусрети науке и уметности у Силосима - ЕЛЕМЕНТАРИЈУМ Као увертира за јесењи art+science фестивал, Центар за промоцију науке и Дом културе Силоси организују програм у Медоносном врту од 21. до 23. јула 2025, који нуди увид у садрж...