Why Balkan culture in the diaspora matters more today than ever

Twenty years ago, when I was younger, there were plenty of entertainment events in Switzerland for our people. But what really pulled me in were the events for young audiences I kept hearing about from my friends in Belgrade — regulars at the theatre and at concerts. Back then, the idea of organising cultural events in our language in Switzerland was something out of the ordinary.

Today it is a need — our community has changed, and there are many more of us with the same wishes and the same hunger.

We live fast, we live between cultures. We often forget where we belong.

And that is exactly why Balkan culture has a new value today — not as nostalgia, but as identity.

Theatre, film, music — these are not just content, they reflect our lives.

They are themes we understand without translation.

I see it every time at the events: people come not just for the artists, they come for the feeling, for the language, for the mentality, for something that brings them back to themselves and to balance.

That is why I believe that what we do through HELSE carries even more weight today than before.

We are not just preserving culture. We live it — together.

And that is the reason we keep going.

— Evica