ABOUT US
The Ministry of Space is a collective that has existed since 2011. To immediately answer the most common question from the inbox - we are not a real ministry, but such a ministry should exist. Not so that we can reach ministerial chairs, but we believe that it is important to create a ministry that asks its citizens what this country and this city should look like.
Why?
Because we are all the ones who live, work, have fun, rest in these areas...
Urban planning, housing policies, climate justice are the topics we deal with and we want to create a space for everyone's voice to be heard, when the institutions have not made it possible.
Revival of abandoned spaces
In the creation of the organization, the focus was on unused public spaces, which were deteriorating, but had the potential to provide citizens with much more. We saw that they could be used as cultural and social centers, which will be available to all citizens, so we are some of the spaces joint forces and revived.
City planning is an issue for all of us
Belgrade is being built, and no one asks the citizens of Belgrade what they think about it. That's why we decided to inform and educate citizens about current urban plans and projects.
Shaping cities exclusively according to the interests of investors is a practice in planning, which we are fighting against. The goal urban planning is to deal with the city as a whole, taking into account the needs and wishes of all its citizens, planning a city that is equally accessible to everyone, with affordable housing, easy access to schools, health facilities, institutions, cultural and entertainment facilities, public transport, etc. The city we want and in which we enjoy living.
The right to a home is a human right
It is not only public spaces where we notice injustice, it is felt in our private spaces as well. We stand by the fact that housing is a social issue, not a market issue, and that the state is obliged to find a way to regulate the real estate market.
Affordable housing for everyone, it became our focus topic, because a place to live and a roof over your head is a human right. Planning can create conditions and norms for the construction of affordable apartments in public ownership, as well as carefully foresee the areas where these apartments will be built. Our goal is to continue the fight against spatial segregation between the poor and the rich.
Climate justice
Another topic we deal with is the impact of climate change on planning, but also on the daily life of citizens. Measures that imply the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions require a certain economic standard, which the citizens of Serbia generally do not have. The building sector is the largest energy consumer and polluter, and the increase in energy efficiency of buildings mostly falls on the citizens' pockets. It is necessary for the state to take a greater part in increasing the energy efficiency of homes, especially for people with a lower economic standard.
If the energy transition is not socially just, its effects will not reach the full potential necessary to reduce the effects of climate change.
All these are topics that we think about every day and we would like to hear your insights. We often organize public events, discussions, educational programs, round tables, in order to exchange opinions and make constructive suggestions.
If you want to contact us, to talk, you can stop by or write to us at info@ministarstvoprostora.org.
International activist and professional communities to which we belong
TIM
IVA ČUKIĆ
She graduated and received her doctorate from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Belgrade. The founder of the collective is the Ministry of Space. It is focused on the topics of management and disposal of spatial resources, urban common goods, as well as on the meeting points of the institutional, planning and normative framework with forms of informal practices. She is the founder of the Street Gallery in Belgrade, whose program she worked on until 2020. She was engaged as a visiting associate and lecturer at the Department of Urban Planning at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade until 2017, and since 2015 she has been collaborating with universities outside Serbia. From 2018 to 2020, she was the coordinator of the activist European participatory platform "FundAction" to support activism. She is a member of the board of the Guerrilla Foundation (Germany) and the donor board of the Trag Foundation in the "Active Communities" program (Serbia).
MARKO AKSENTIJEVIĆ
Graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade and has been active in the civil sector for over 15 years. The focus of his work is on the spatial dimension of social justice with an emphasis on the democratization of decision-making, public resource management and housing affordability. He is the founder of the Ministry of Space and various other collectives and initiatives that emerged from it. In addition, he participates or has participated in the founding and work of other organizations that in their work fight and advocate for the right to housing and the city, such as Ko gradi grad, ZA Krov nad glaovm, SZ Pametnija zgada.
BOŽENA STOJIĆ
Bozena Stojić is an urban planner and graduated with a master's degree in Integral Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade. After completing her studies, she was engaged as a teaching assistant in the same master's program, in the courses "Architects, urban planners and civic initiatives for sustainable development" and "Master's thesis and project". As part of that cooperation, she participated in the initiation and coordination of initiatives for the development of rural areas on Stara Planina, which are supported by the local communities of Stara Planina villages, under the auspices of the "Old as New" initiative. During a short period after her studies, she was also engaged in several local self-government units in the position of urban planner. As a member of the platform Commonly.org. dealt with the topic of urban commons. For the last four years, she has been working in the Ministry of Space as a project coordinator and program manager. Through his work, he deals with issues of the role and profile of urban planners in neoliberal socio-economic processes of city development, rethinking different models of planning systems and local self-governments, improving public participation in planning, as well as developing new participatory mechanisms in the process of city planning.
OLGA ANDRIC
She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, where she later obtained a master's degree. She is interested in the topics of social and spatial equality, citizen participation in the process of city planning and development, as well as the management of public assets. In the collective, the Ministry of Spatial Affairs deals with issues in the field of urban planning, working with citizen initiatives and thinking about participatory mechanisms in the process of creating urban plans.
ANDRIJA STOJANOVIC
Graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, majoring in Management and Production of Radio, Theater and Culture. Since 2011, he has been professionally engaged in the field of artistic and cultural production as an associate of various institutions and events (Children's Cultural Center Belgrade, Bitef, Belef, Faculty of Applied Arts, Ilija Kolarca Endowment, Student City Cultural Center, etc.). In parallel with the public sector, he is also active in the non-governmental sector within the Citizens' Association "Point of Communication", where he participates in the development and implementation of several projects supported by domestic and international donors and programs. He spent two years in science working as a coordinator of international cooperation at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade. He was hired as a finance manager in the Ministry of Space collective.
MARIJA PENEZIĆ
Graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences as a Master of Cultural Studies. During her studies, she was engaged in journalism. He has been professionally engaged in digital and traditional communications since 2018. She worked on numerous digital and PR campaigns within the non-governmental sector in Serbia. The topics she covered in these campaigns were democratic culture, increasing civic activism, social housing, gender equality, sexual harassment and many others. Designs a communication strategy, appearance in the media and a creative concept of digital presentation. She works as a communications coordinator in the organization of the Ministry of Space.