PLUS Platform, project of the ‘Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation comprises the following events: Synergy #WTF Festival – international theatre festival of language minorities, 2-6 October 2017; ‘The Role and Importance of Language in the Process of Individual and Collective Self-Identification’ international symposium, 4 October 2017; The First European Conference Dedicated to Minority and Local Media, 16-18 November 2017.

PLUS Platform, the project of the ‘Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ Foundation, was presented during the press conference held in Youth Forum club of the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad today (29 September 2017). The audience was addressed by Lazar Jovanov on behalf of the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation, Valentin Vencel, director of the Novi Sad Theatre/Újvidéki Színház, and the director of Heror Media Point agency for the improvement of work of minority media.

Mr Jovanov stressed the importance this platform has for the city of Novi Sad and Vojvodina as multicultural environments. Increasing the degree of interculturality is the task for society as a whole. Projects like this contribute to this process, and the Foundation will strive to facilitate its sustainable development and leave it as a legacy after 2021. He stressed the role of media in this process, and their contribution to education, which is crucial in order to explaining the notion of interculturality, as well as the necessity to educate media, i.e. people who work in media, and who create the editorial policies and programme content. This is a unique opportunity for all who work in media to acquire new knowledge and exchange experiences and ideas with colleagues from the region, to spread this knowledge among the colleagues, and to use it in their everyday work.

Valentin Vencel spoke about the programme of the Synergy #WTF, which is organised by the Novi Sad Theatre/Újvidéki Színház. He also announced fantastic guests and plays in the two biggest theatres in Novi Sad. International symposium, which will be organised on 4 October in the Gallery of Matica Srpska, through dialogue in English, Russian and Serbian, will place the accent on the role and importance of language in terms of collective and individual identity and self-identification. Mr Vencel pointed out to the problem of defining terms multiculturality and interculturality, and lack of willingness to push the values that these terms represent in a society. ‘This is a platform of social connection and results of the culture of creation, specific cultural values that are conductive in certain places, while the reality is often different. Theatre as a medium is a channel, conductor of cultural identity and enables different cultures and systems of value to meet’, said Mr Vencel. Gala opening of the festival is at Pera Dobrinović stage of the Serbian National Theatre on Tuesday, 3 October 2017 at 7 p.m. The State Jewish Theatre from Bucharest will stage the play ‘The Dybbuk’ by S. Ansky, directed by Chris Simion. The play is in Yiddish, with translation in English and Serbian (translation will be provided for all the plays of the festival).

Nataša Heror announced the First European Conference Dedicated to Minority and Local Media, the goal of which is to inform minority communities and create intercultural dialogue between national communities in Novi Sad and Europe. The result of the first conference will be creation of a media network that will be a link between minority communities and minority media. The Association was created in cooperation with the MIDAS, European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages, whose editors will be guests of the conference.  The plan is to organise part of the activities of the conference at the Faculty for Media in Sremski Karlovci, which is also a partner on the project. We expect to see representatives of minority media from entire Europe at the conference. Novi Sad, as European Capital of Culture in 2021, is ready to welcome them and show them its multicultural identity.