On Friday, a group of Serbian students kicked off an 18-day run from Belgrade to Brussels, aiming to bring their anti-corruption message directly to the European Parliament.

Following a 1,400-kilometre bicycle journey earlier this month—from Novi Sad to Strasbourg—that took 13 days, this new group of students is now taking their mission even further on foot. Their ambitious plan is to cover 1,933 kilometres across eight countries, arriving in Brussels by 12 May, just as the Parliament convenes. Their movement carries the slogan: “From my village to Brussels.”

The protest actions highlight months of widespread demonstrations in Serbia. Just last week, 80 students completed the long bike ride to Strasbourg, where they delivered a letter to the Council of Europe detailing the events that ignited the protests. The immediate trigger was the tragic collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad’s newly renovated railway station, a project backed by Chinese firms, which killed 16 people. The incident unleashed a wave of public anger and demands for accountability from President Aleksandar Vučić’s administration. Photo by Pink Flojd, Wikimedia commons.