Public Health Diplomacy in Action: The Voices of Serbian Students

July 4, 2025 - In an inspiring demonstration of youth-led public health diplomacy, Serbian students—joined by professors of medicine and public health—have mobilized in response to a devastating infrastructure collapse that claimed the lives of 16 people in November 2024. These students have led peaceful protests, demanding transparency, accountability, and the protection of human rights and academic freedoms.

Denied access to national media, students took to the streets—and to the roads—walking across Serbia, cycling to Strasbourg, and running a relay to Brussels, where they brought their demands directly to EU institutions. Their actions echo historic student movements around the world and demonstrate how public health values can shape diplomacy from the ground up.

Faculty from across Serbia, including the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Medicine, have stood in solidarity, underlining that this is not only a political issue but a public health imperative. Their joint statement calls on the international academic and public health community to recognize and support the Serbian students’ peaceful and courageous stand for democracy and the rule of law.

Read the full statement at ASPHER News page.

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