Networking Events for Western Balkans Literary Festival Organizers at the XVII KROKODIL Festival

11 Mar Networking Events for Western Balkans Literary Festival Organizers at the XVII KROKODIL Festival

A gathering of literary festival organizers from the Western Balkans region will take place on June 27 as part of the Meet Me in Belgrade fellowship program and within the Literature Actually project supported by the British Council. 

Literature Actually makes part of the Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans (CC4WBs) project, funded by the European Union, and focused on fostering dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact. Over the 48-month period, the CC4WBs project aims to improve the performance of the cultural and creative sectors to enhance skills, knowledge, and access to financial aid, ultimately increasing competitiveness and sustaining the co-production and circulation of goods and services in the Western Balkans.

As part of the XVII KROKODIL Festival, this program aims to strengthen professional cooperation and enable the joint co-production of festival events. Through exciting collaborations, cultural professionals engaged in literary festivals will exchange ideas and experiences, showcasing the rich potential for cooperation within the region and the EU. The program also aims to establish a sustainable platform for cultural professionals and organizations, facilitating ongoing collaboration and the exchange of best practices in festival organization.

If you are a literary festival organizer from the Western Balkans, we invite you to join us on June 27 in the Debate Zone of the KROKODIL Festival (located in the park in front of the Museum of Yugoslavia, Mihaila Mike Jankovića 6) for a full day of networking and knowledge exchange events. This will include B2B meetings featuring a dynamic, brief introduction of all participants, reminiscent of a speed dating format, as well as longer one-on-one sessions. Additionally, the program will offer various side activities, including visits to local publishers and bookstores, guided tours of the city, and the Museum of Yugoslavia. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in other events within the KROKODIL Festival.

Festival organizers from Western Balkans countries can attend the program free of charge and will have their travel and accommodation costs covered, with limited spots available. For more information, feel free to contact us at office@krokodil.rs.

Association KROKODIL and Instituti i Librit dhe i Promocionit (ILP) designed the project LITERATURE ACTUALLY: Elevating Festivals through Professional Exchange to foster collaboration, networking, and knowledge exchange among cultural professionals and organizations in the region. Over the period of 12 months, the project will feature a range of activities, including emerging literary creators from the Western Balkans region in residency programs in Belgrade and Tirana, networking events, knowledge exchange, and mutual festival programs. These activities will support civil society organizations and CCI entities engaged in contemporary literature festivals, emphasizing the importance of connecting, entrepreneurship, skills development, and creative cooperation.

The project LITERATURE ACTUALLY: Elevating Festivals through Professional Exchange is supported by the British Council.

FESTIVAL KROKODIL

Ever since its foundation in 2009, KROKODIL has organised the annual KROKODIL Literary Festival. The festival, which was primarily conceived as a regional affair dedicated to the promotion of dialogue, reconciliation and reconstruction of broken links, particularly in the overlapping regions of the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, soon became more and more international and has grown into one of the most distinctive and popular events in the region, exploring the most important cultural, political and social topics of the day. 

Combining different formats such as readings, sofa interviews, panel discussions, workshops, press conferences, film and other audio-visual content, KROKODIL has presented, throughout its 15 annual “editions,” hundreds of distinguished writers, artists and public figures from numerous countries. 

Among them are: Bernhard Schlink, Irvine Welsh, Hanif Kureishi, Margaret Atwood, László Krasznahorkai, Georgi Gospodinov, Dubravka Ugrešić, Aleksandar Hemon, Mira Furlan, Boris Buden, Ivan Krastev etc. 

The Festival boasts a large, very loyal, and engaged audience.

65.000+ visitors 

2500+ participants

115+ programs 

25+ in other European cities

350.000+ annual reach via traditional media in the region of SEE with the

500.000+ euro media value.