ESU Serbia was established on 1 March 1991 as ESU Yugoslavia – the first branch in Eastern Europe, under the auspices of the Yugoslav-British Society for Science and Culture (YBS), which hosted ESU Serbia in its premises, and the then British Ambassador Sir Peter Hall, an international ESU member. This was mainly due to the initiative and tireless efforts of Branka Panić, founder member of YBS and Director of its School of English, who chaired ESU Serbia from its inception to the end of December 2023.  At the helm of a devoted team of associates, Branka was the heart and soul of this ESU branch, for whose continued existence, under often unfavourable circumstances, she must take full credit. This branch later underwent a change of name due to the federation break-up and was renamed ESU Serbia.

Professor Ranko Bugarski was ESU Serbia Honorary President from 2006 - 2024.

Our history timeline

Established on 1 March 1991

ESU Serbia’s chief activities are in the fields of linguistics, literature and arts, and have included organising conferences with renowned keynote speakers and guest lecturers, naming just a few:

10–11 June 2006 – “English and its many facets”

A high-profile event, organised in cooperation with the British Embassy Belgrade and ESU London Headquarters, which brought together 60 international and local ESU delegates. It was addressed by representatives of the Serbian government and by the British Ambassador, HE David Gowan (who became an honorary member of ESU Serbia). The keynote speech, on “The rise and rise of English”, was delivered by Lord Watson, the then Chairman Emeritus of ESU International Council (who also lectured on the British Parliamentary system at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade and, in a more leisurely vein, planted a tree in the Botanical Gardens on behalf of ESU). Talks were given by the late Professor Veselin Kostić, founder, member and first President of YBS, a renowned Shakespearean scholar likewise well known for his seminal work on Anglo-Yugoslav cultural links, Professor David Crystal, and Professor Ranko Bugarski, ESU Serbia Honorary President. There was also a panel discussion with several distinguished participants on ”Communication across cultures”, chaired by Ms Valerie Mitchell, former ESU Director General, and finally a two-team Serbian-British debate on the motion “This House believes that English can no longer remain a unified language”. The conference included a rich social and cultural programme and a coach tour of the Bay of Kotor (Montenegro) and Dubrovnik (Croatia).

1–3 November 2008 – “The future of Englishes” (marking the 90th anniversary of the ESU)

The conference was addressed by the British ambassador, HE Stephen Wordsworth. The keynote speaker, on the event’s general topic, was Professor David Crystal, who also gave a lecture on Internet linguistics at the Faculty of Philology and (with Ms Hilary Crystal) a presentation on “Speaking Shakespearean”. Lecturers included Mr Andrew Glass, Director of British Council Serbia, Ms Elizabeth Stokes, Director of Education at ESU Headquarters, and Professor Ranko Bugarski.

6 December 2009 – “Samuel Johnson tercentenary conference

Exhibition and lectures by Professor David Crystal, Ms Stephanie Chapman, curator of Dr Samuel Johnson Museum in London, and Dr Svetlana Stojić, lecturer in British Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade.

4-8 May 2012 – International Shakespeare Conference  (to mark ESU Serbia 21st Anniversary)

Multi-faceted conference with several lectures and talks on the different aspects of the great playwright's life and work, by Sir Stanley Wells, Dr Paul Edmundson, Professor David Crystal, Dr Zorica Bečanović Nikolić and Dr Nataša Šofranac (both from Faculty of Philology, Belgrade University) 

- Shakespeare Bites Back: A Defence of Shakespeare’s Authorship of his Works – Sir Stanley Wells and Dr Paul Edmundson, CBE, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

-  Exploring Shakespeare’s Language, Prof. David Crystal, OBE

-   Book Launch: Serbian edition of Shakespeare & Co.- Šekspir i družina, published by Clio, presented by the author Stanley Wells, publisher and editors

– Lecture by Stanley Wells for students of the Faculty of Philology

- Shakespeare: Man of the European Renaissance’ (Quotations read by Dr Paul Edmondson)

21 February 2017 – An Evening in Memory of Professor Veselin Kostić

Marking the 180th anniversary of Serbian/Yugoslav – British diplomatic relations, talk in memory of Professor Veselin Kostić with Professor Goran Stanivuković (Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada), Dr Zorica Bečanović Nikolić and Dr Nataša Šofranac (both from Faculty of Philology - University of Belgrade).

30 March 2017 – "Linguistics without Borders”

Evening dedicated to Anglo-Yugoslav/Serbian links in linguistics, exemplified by the work of Professor Ranko Bugarski as presented by Dr Katarina Rasulić of the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade. The meeting was also addressed by HE Denis Keefe, the then British Ambassador.

26/10 - 1/11/2024 - The visit by Professor Ewan Fernie

ESU Serbia hosted Professor Ewan Fernie, Chair of Shakespeare Studies, Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham & Director, ‘Everything to Everybody’ Project, University of Birmingham / Birmingham City Council. The visit involved interaction with key people and institutions – English-Speaking Union Serbia, the University of Belgrade, the British Ambassador, the British Council and National Library of Serbia.

The Professor gave two lectures and Professor Zorica Bečanović-Nikolić (Department of General Literature and Literature Theory, Faculty of Philology) was his interlocutor at both of them:  Shakespeare - Rise of a Genius (BBC Series), hosted by the British Ambassador HE Mr Edward Ferguson at the British Residence, and  Shakespeare – the Laureate of Conversation at National Library of Serbia in Belgrade. Professor Fernie spoke up for libraries and shared Birmingham’s democratic Shakespeare heritage at the National Library of Serbia. Opening address was given by Ms Clare Sears, Director of British Council Serbia.

We had a meeting with English Department professors of the Faculty of Philology and received a very warm welcome from Katarina Rasulić and Jonathan Pendlebury.

We visited Sremski Karlovci and Novi Sad and the Professor enjoyed meeting Nikita Milivojević QUOTE: the premier Serbian Shakespearian, founder of the country’s Shakespeare Festival, veteran of the Globe and Cultural Olympiad, university professor and director of Magbeth - staged at Novi Sad Serbian National Theatre. UNQUOTE.