"Serbia On the Move!" (Srbija u Pokretu)

We met with Predrag Stojicic, one of the principal "change agents" of Srbija u Pokretu today.  Their motto:  We are building movers, not movements!

Their website tells you more than I can tell ... especially about their active campaigns, which include:

  • What is your doctor like? (see below)
  • Raise the ramp! (about improving public access for people in wheelchairs, parents with small children in strollers, etc.)
  • Green April - a recycling initiative

Predrag spoke at length about Kakav je Doktor, basically a "rate my M.D." project.  The campaign was financed by USAID, among others.  It was very popular after launching in November 2012, but it "ticked off" a lot of doctors, who (not surprisingly) were being called out for malpractice, poor treatment of patients, and other failings.  But primarily, it found that people generally liked their doctors and it proved to be a source for people seeking good doctors.

The bizarre thing is:  the so-called "Liberal Democratic Government" (the previous government) banned the campaign!!!  It succumbed to pressure from some in the medical community and came up with some reason to stop the campaign.  Predrag said that only increased the number of activists who got involved!

"If you want to get a campaign going, hope for someone to try to ban it!"


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