Global traveling exhibition The Tolerance Project returns to Belgrade with a new edition

Belgrade, 18 September 2025 – The United Nations in Serbia and the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade today opened The Tolerance Project – A Traveling Poster Show at Kalemegdan Fortress, Sava Promenade. This latest Belgrade edition brings a selection of newly added works from the global initiative founded and curated by designer Mirko Ilić, which has already showcased the creativity of more than 200 artists from over 40 countries and international works from all continents.

Over the years, The Tolerance Project has been presented in Belgrade alongside exhibitions in cities such as New York, Madrid, Tokyo, and Johannesburg. The 2025 edition includes fresh contributions from Serbian designers Slavimir Stojanović, Marko Vuleta, Borut Vild, Dušan Petričić, Stefan Gajić, and others, placing local talent next to international works that confront prejudice and invite reflection through the universal language of design.

As part of the broader Tolerance Campaign (Kampanja „Tolerancija“) – a joint initiative of the United Nations and the Council of Europe launched earlier this year to promote inclusion and counter hate speech – the exhibition underscores efforts to use art, education, and public engagement to challenge prejudice and strengthen solidarity.

Opening the show, Matilde Mordt, UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia, underlined the urgency of the theme:
“Tolerance is not passive acceptance, it is an active choice. At a time when divisions are visible across societies, these posters are a reminder that respect, empathy, and fairness are the foundations that hold communities together.”

Janos Babity, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, said:
“This exhibition is a call for all of us to say NO to prejudice, and YES to inclusion. Every step in that direction contributes to building a community that is rich in its diversity and united in solidarity.”

Speaking at the opening, Professor Borut Vild, one of the contributing Serbian designers, said:
“We can dedicate this exhibition to the visual messages that in recent months have so strongly shaped the public space — a kind of vernacular design born out of people’s need to express their feelings and views. Out of the same impulse came the works of these authors: the need to respond to injustice, violence, exclusion, and hatred. In that sense, design is our mother tongue.”

The exhibition will remain open until the end of September on the Sava promenade of Kalemegdan Fortress, overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. Admission is free.