Based in Užice, western Serbia, civic reading-room Libergraf is a 27-year-old grassroots organisation that has become an indispensable anchor for environmental and urban justice activism in a region increasingly ravaged by extractivism, investor-led urbanism, and state indifference. Libergraf operates in a context where activists face surveillance, tabloid attacks, and targeted inspections, and where civil society is routinely stigmatised as “foreign” or unrepresentative, yet the organisation has earned deep, enduring trust through decades of consistent presence, from organising protests and street actions to publishing manuals and providing direct legal consultations. The organisation works at the intersection of watchdog advocacy and community mobilisation, monitoring policies and permit procedures for projects that harm the environment or threaten public spaces, from mining and quarrying to the controversial reconstruction of Užice’s main square and the struggle against investor-driven development on Zlatibor mountain. Libergraf’s model is rooted in active citizen engagement: when a resident reports an issue, it is immediately incorporated into the operational plan, with the organisation conducting preliminary reviews, in-depth analysis, and, where necessary, legal actions such as administrative appeals, inspection requests, or lawsuits. The team is diverse, spanning generations, professions, and geographic areas, and is guided by an intersectional understanding that environmental degradation disproportionately impacts rural communities, low-income individuals, and women. Libergraf is embedded in a broader ecosystem of national and regional activist networks, collaborating closely with grassroots groups like Rangers of East Serbia, Bela čaplja, and Save the forests of Fruška Gora, while also building solidarity across borders.
The Guerrilla Redistribution
Our funding will enable Libergraf to strengthen and expand its watchdog and mobilisation activities across western Serbia, focusing on at least three strategic topics that arise during the project period. In the watchdog strand, the funding will support active participation in public hearings and discussions, with a target of engaging in at least three such processes by the end of 2025, and submitting formal objections and comments on at least ten relevant policies or projects. Libergraf will collect publicly available information on strategies, plans, and permit procedures, participate as an interested public in proceedings, and undertake legal actions, including requests for inspection supervision, administrative lawsuits, and criminal reports, when irregularities are documented. Tangible outcomes that they will focus on are: revoked permits, inspections conducted, and greater transparency in government processes. In the mobilisation strand, the funding will support at least three social media and media campaigns targeting policymakers and the public, with a reach of at least 100,000 by December 2025, alongside at least three consulting sessions tailored to the needs of individuals and groups within the ecosystem. These sessions will build skills in understanding laws and policies, effective activism, and campaign techniques, empowering citizens to take action, whether signing petitions, submitting comments, attending protests, or initiating their own advocacy efforts. The funding will also support the creation and dissemination of educational materials that inform the public about environmental issues and avenues for involvement. In the long term, this funding aims to build a regional movement in western Serbia that makes political and social change permanent, creating a durable activist base that ensures progress is not reversed. For Libergraf, this work is all about sustaining a 27-year legacy of grassroots resistance, deepening relationships with communities who trust them, and proving that even in the face of surveillance, stigmatisation, and limited resources, ordinary citizens, organised and empowered, can hold power to account and protect the places they call home.
