American economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz received the "Miladin Životić" award in Belgrade today, awarded by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (IFDT) of the University of Belgrade for critical theoretical engagement.
After receiving the award, Stiglitz spoke in the hall of the Belgrade Cultural Center about the attitude of the President of the United States of America (USA) Donald Trump towards the academic community and university freedom, referring to his book "The Road to Freedom".
He also referred to the student protests in Serbia, saying that "the student movement represents one of the rare places in society where strong resistance and rejection is noticeable."
Before the award ceremony, the audience was addressed by the director of IFDT Gazela Pudar Draško, who spoke about the student protests in Serbia, the position of the academic community, and Stiglitz's work.
"We have come together at a time that is not easy for universities and academia. The very act of coming together in this way is a reflection of resilience in itself," she said.
Draško added that the "Miladin Životić" award reminds us that "critical thinking is not an academic luxury."
Joseph Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001, was Vice President of the World Bank (WB) and worked at Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Columbia universities.
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