Photo credits: Giorgio Giamberini and Irene Oddo
At the Voices festival, part of the program was dedicated to student projects. A few minutes before 11:52 AM (the exact time when the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad claimed 15 lives), students from Croatia, together with students from Serbia, took to the stage and interrupted the program to express solidarity and support for their colleagues in the blockade. They held up a banner reading “ONE WORLD, ONE STRUGGLE – ACADEMIC SOLIDARITY” and observed 15 minutes of silence in memory of the victims of the Novi Sad tragedy. 
Since November, students in Serbia have been at the forefront of anti-government protests, demanding a government that functions properly and institutions that uphold the rule of law. The demonstrations began after the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad, which resulted in the loss of 15 lives. Protesters emphasize that corruption and poor governance played a key role in this disaster
On this occasion, Croatian students stated: We are interrupting the program for a moment to address something that goes beyond this room, this moment, and this country. Being a student has never just meant sitting in lecture halls and passing exams. Being a student means asking questions, seeking the truth, and refusing to remain silent in the face of injustice. It means understanding that education is not just a privilege – it is a responsibility. It means recognizing that education comes with the responsibility to stand up when freedom is suppressed, when corruption is normalized, and when those who speak out face great risks.
Because injustice is not normal. And it must never become so. If we remain silent today while the truth is being suppressed elsewhere, our truth will be silenced tomorrow. If injustice is normalized somewhere, it inevitably returns to all of us. There is too much silence in the face of corruption, in the face of the suppression of freedom, and in the face of injustice that is imposed as something to shrug off.
“Today, while we are here learning, creating, and dreaming freely, our colleagues in Serbia are fighting for something that should belong to everyone – the right to a voice, the right to dignity, and the right to a better future. Their words are being silenced, but their cries resonate beyond their streets. They resonate here, among all of us, because their struggle is not just theirs; it is the struggle of all of us. 
Croatian students cannot and must not remain silent in the face of injustice. That is why we will not speak now with words but with silence. Silence that is not empty, but filled with support, respect, and solidarity. Silence that speaks louder than any collection of words. We invite you to stand with us and, in 15 minutes of silence, show that we hear them. We stand with them – not just as colleagues, but as students, as young people who understand that the fight for truth knows no borders. There has been too much silence. Today, let this silence mean enough!
After 15 minutes of silence, a student from Novi Sad thanked them for their solidarity. This act by Croatian students was not just symbolic – it was a powerful message of support, proving that the academic community is not divided by borders but united in the common struggle for justice, freedom, and truth.