The Belgian-Serbia Business Association, the Embassy of Belgium in Serbia and hub.brussels were partners of the 16th Belgian Balkan Trafik Festival.
Being more than just a festival, Balkan Trafik serves as a platform for cultural diplomacy, encouraging the cultural exchange of young artists between Brussels, as a European capital, and the Western Balkans.
This year’s festival is dedicated to Serbia, and will be held in Namur and Brussels from April 28th to May 1st, bringing together numerous artists from the Balkans, for the first time in “open air” on Place De Brouckère.
From March 29th to March 31st, a mini festival took place in Belgrade. The aim of the festival was to cover important matters such as youth employment, inclusion and development of rural areas in the Western Balkans through cultural events.
A press visit, sponsored by the Belgian-Serbian Business Association, consisting of a small group of Belgian journalists and musicians came to Belgrade to explore and get familiar with the dynamic Serbian culture scene. A background brief with the Belgian ambassador, the Embassy team and EU Ambassador Giaufret, was organized at the Belgian Residence in Belgrade and was followed by a networking reception, attended by the representatives of the Belgian-Serbian Business Association and the representatives of the Belgian business community in Serbia.
The closing event of this visit was a jazz concert “Balkan Jazzovic”, held at the Bitef Art Café on March 31st.
Vasil Hadžimanov and Nathan Daems brought together leading artists from Belgium and the Balkans in a new exclusive project – and together they arranged a repertoire consisting of original and traditional compositions, rearranged, jazzified and/or balkanised.