The panel addressing the issue of the profession's relationship to its professional and broader social role was held in Novi Sad on October 22, 2020. In contemporary Serbian society, it is evident that important social and political decisions are made with insufficient consultation with experts. It often seems that the purpose of consulting the professional public is to obtain coverage for pre-made decisions, rather than the goal of making a quality decision that is in the best interest of the general public. At this forum, we wanted to see from the perspective of different fields (medicine, architecture, ecology, law, culture) what are the reasons for insufficient engagement of academic workers and experts in social events that encroach on their competences.
They participated in the forum Dr. Sci. Predrag Đurić, an epidemiologist currently employed as the head of the European Union aid project in Ukraine, Dr. Alexander Bede, urban planner, architect and member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Architects of Novi Sad, prof. Dr. Bojan Pajtić, full professor at the Faculty of Law, Dimitrije Radisic, assistant at the Department of Biology and Ecology of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Novi Sad and activist of the Society for the Protection and Study of Birds of Serbia, Bora Babic, director of the publishing house Akademska knjiga i prof. Dr. Đorđe Pavićević, full professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade and member of the coordination board of MASE.
Analyzing examples from the domain of academic, professional and activist activities of speakers, we tried to see what are the key reasons for the relatively weak public engagement of academic and professional workers. It was pointed out that academic workers often do not perceive public engagement as a part of their professional role and that the system of advancement and incentives in the academic system, which is often reduced to "chasing for points", does not value this type of engagement. Experts often find a more adequate space for wider social action in professional associations or non-governmental organizations from their field of activity. Acting on behalf of such organizations is sometimes motivated by their greater efficiency and possibility of influence, and sometimes by the fact that public engagement is not carried out in the name of an "academic function" in order to avoid potential role conflicts. When it comes to the academic community, the speakers pointed out that there is a certain kind of lulling in one's own scientific and research world, as well as a feeling of protection in a position that brings a good existence. Public discourse in which any engagement is labeled as "political action," which has a negative connotation, further discourages experts from engaging in issues that are important to the wider community. Finally, the public itself sometimes has a dampening effect, because it demands quick, easy and populist answers to problems from experts, while, on the contrary, the real situation is complex and cannot be overcome with quick solutions, and often realistic solutions seem "unpopular".
