Do not let Belgrade drown ( sr-Cyrl, Не давимо Београд, Ne davimo Beograd, NDB) is a

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

political organisation A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politica ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. A

grassroots movement A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

formed in 2014, aimed at criticising and reforming the current political system through "involving citizens in the development of their environment" and transparency. The organisation is made up of a group of people of different profiles, professions, and beliefs interested in urban and cultural policies, sustainable urban development, and equitable use of shared resources. In October 2022, NDB announced that it would re-organise itself as a political party. NDB is positioned on the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

on the political spectrum, and has adopted

left-wing populist Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often consists of anti- elitism, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking for the "com ...

ideas, and an anti-neoliberal, anti-nationalist, progressive, municipalist, and

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...

ideology. It maintains

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

economic policies, while it is also supportive of

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

, and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

. NDB describes itself as a " green-left" organisation, while Radomir Lazović described NDB as a "transparent, democratic, solidarity

based Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, i ...

green, and

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

movement". It is a member of the

Progressive International The Progressive International is an international organization uniting and mobilizing progressive left-wing activists and organizations. Origins It was launched after the Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25) and The Sanders Institute announ ...

History

Early actions

Citizens of Belgrade have gathered around a civic initiative "Do not let Belgrade d(r)own", whose trademark has become a big yellow duck. The initiative have organised a number of actions and protests to criticise the

Belgrade waterfront Belgrade Waterfront, known in Serbian as Belgrade on Water ( sr, / ), is an urban renewal development project headed by the Government of Serbia aimed at improving Belgrade's cityscape and economy by revitalizing the Sava amphitheater, a negle ...

urban project which, according to them, is an extremely harmful project. The public attention was drawn during the protest of 26 April and in 2015 in front of the

Belgrade Cooperative Belgrade Cooperative ( sr, Београдска задруга) was a cooperative bank founded in 1882 to promote savings and support small enterprises, craftspeople and the poor of Belgrade. Member-shareholders have been paying membership in amo ...

s building, during the signing of the Belgrade Waterfront Contract. Then a crowd gathered with the intervention of the police enclosed by stopping two GSP trams in the middle of a roundabout in front of the Cooperative building. The police have halted the performance of NDM BGD during the Belgrade Ship Carnival on 29 August 2015, when the duly registered vessel of the organisation was excluded from the procession only because of the prominent inscription "Do not let Belgrade D(r)own".

Activities after the demolition in Savamala

As a result of the demolition of the facilities in Hercegovacka Street, which was carried out, according to a witness, by individuals with phantom masks, at night between 24 and 25 April 2016, this citizens' movement have organised 8 massive street protests from 11 May 2016 to 15 February 2017.

Participation in elections

During the 2017 presidential elections, the initiative has supported several candidates from opposition organisations, including Saša Janković. This initiative participated in Belgrade assembly elections in 2018 under the list called "Initiative do not let Belgrade drown - Yellow duck - Whose city, our city - Ksenija Radovanović", introducing political platform regarding 20 agendas. The initiative's electoral efforts were supported by various local movements in municipalities across Serbia, the initiative's participation was also supported by

Yanis Varoufakis Ioannis "Yanis" Varoufakis ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωργίου "Γιάνης" Βαρουφάκης, Ioánnis Georgíou "Giánis" Varoufákis, ; born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. A former academic, he served as the Gree ...

with his movement

DiEM25 The Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, or DiEM25, is a pan-European political movement founded in 2016 by a group of Europeans, including former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Croatian philosopher Srećko Horvat. The movement was o ...

, from Barcelona's mayor

Ada Colau Ada Colau Ballano (; ; born 3 March 1974) is a Spanish activist and politician who is the current Mayor of Barcelona. On 13 June 2015 she was elected Mayor of Barcelona, the first woman to hold the office, as part of the citizen municipalist pla ...

, as well as a Croatian movement " Zagreb is OURS!". The initiative got 3.44% of votes, which was not enough to gain threshold for entering the city's assembly (they needed 5% or higher). Best results were acquired in municipalities Stari Grad (8.06%),

Vračar Vračar ( sr-Cyrl, Врачар, ) is an affluent urban area and municipality of the city of Belgrade known as the location of many embassies and museums. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 56,333 inhabitants ...

(7.47%) and

Savski venac Savski Venac ( sr-cyr, Савски Венац, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 39,122 inhabitants. It is one of the three municipal ...

(6.56%).

Activities during the Coronavirus pandemic

On 26 April 2020, the initiative have called citizens to protest against growing

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political '' status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...

in the country by

banging pots A cacerolazo ( or ), cacerolada (, ) or casserole is a form of popular protest which consists of a group of people making noise by banging pots, pans, and other utensils in order to call for attention. The first documented protests of this styl ...

every day at 20:05. On 28 April, the initiative have suggested the authorities to take better control on the traffic during the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

, to protect the cyclists from inconsiderate drivers.

Activities regarding the air pollution and environment

The initiative have taken serious stance toward the air pollution in

. They have pointed out that the air quality stations are not working (not showing the current pollution). They have made protests in the

n capital

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Other activities

Since 2016, the initiative became a part of a broader coalition of similar local initiatives across Serbia, such as: * Civic front of Serbia, nationalwide coalition * Local front, an initiative from

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar, in the geographical region of Šumadija, between the mountains of K ...

* Association of presidents of tenant assemblies, an initiative from

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

* Bureau of Social Research, an initiative from

* Support RTV (Radio television of Vojvodina), an initiative from

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

* League of Romani people * Multi-ethnic center for the region's development Danube 21, an initiative from Bor Representatives of the initiative joined a working group to create a joint platform on fair elections and the media scene in

at a meeting of the entire opposition on 12 October 2018. The movement later signed the agreement, which stemmed from these arrangements, and also took part in the One in Five Million protests.

Electoral performance

Parliamentary elections

ImageSize = width:600 height:70 PlotArea = width:500 height:50 left:20 bottom:20 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2014 till:31/12/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2014 Legend = columns:3 left:40 top:75 columnwidth:90 Colors = id:Opposition value:red legend:Opposition Define $dx = 25 Define $dy = -1 PlotData= bar:Govern. color:blue width:25 mark:(line,black) align:center from:01/10/2014 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition

Presidential elections

Belgrade City Assembly elections

References

{{Serbian political parties 2015 establishments in Serbia Left-wing activism Left-wing parties in Serbia Green political parties in Serbia Organizations based in Belgrade Progressive International Socialist parties in Serbia