“It was very good, but a little bit too short”, commented Lazar, one of the attendants of the very first Global Bar held in Belgrade, Serbia, on Thursday September 17th at the KC Grad (European Center for Culture and Debate).

The premiere Global Bar in Belgrade was just as long as the ones in Stockholm, but the impression of the (Serbian) audience that it was somewhat ”short” probably is a consequence of the fact that this kind of public discussion – ”about serious topics in a relaxed atmosphere”, and also in English – is very much a novelty in the Serbian post-Yugoslav reality.

The topic was “Identity crisis? Re-thinking nations & “isms” in Sweden and Serbia” and all three panellists had strong ”cross-cultural” experiences from both Sweden and Serbia.

Swedish writer and journalist Christina Wassholm has been living in Belgrade for years, she authored the book ”Vi är Serbiens hjärta – ett reportage om party, panik och politik”, and is also very active in the local cultural and activist scene; Dejan Ubovic was running the ”Cross Radio” for years, connecting urban centers of former Yugoslavia. Through his cultural NGO ”Cultural Front” he has been involved in a series of cultural events and exchanges, and in last four years he has also been managing KC Grad as it evolved in the most vibrant cultural spot on Belgrade’s map. Journalist Predrag Dragosavac has been a cultural writer and activist in Belgrade for many years, before moving to Stockholm last year, and becoming a part of Global Reporting.

Since all three of them come from similar, but still slightly different backgrounds, they were more complementary than really opposed to each other. We will soon upload a video for you to hear how the discussion went.