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1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

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Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement
Image
Image
Meeting at the House of the National Assembly
Host countryYugoslavia
Date1–6 September 1961
CitiesBelgrade
VenuesHouse of the National Assembly
ParticipantsImage Afghanistan

Image Algeria
Image Burma
Image Cambodia
Image Ceylon
Image Congo-Léopoldville
Image Cuba
Image Cyprus
Image Ethiopia
Image Ghana
Image Guinea
Image India
Image Indonesia
Image Iraq
Image Lebanon
Image Mali
Image Morocco
Image   Nepal
Image Saudi Arabia
Image Somalia
Image Sudan
Image Tunisia
Image United Arab Republic
Image Yemen

Image Yugoslavia
ChairJosip Broz Tito
(President of Yugoslavia)
FollowsBandung Conference[citation needed]
Precedes2nd Summit (Cairo, United Arab Republic)

Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (Serbo-Croatian: Конференција шефова држава или влада несврстаних земаља / Konferencija šefova država ili vlada nesvrstanih zemalja, Macedonian: Конференција на шефови на држави или влади на неврзани земји, Slovene: Konferenca voditeljev držav ali vlad neuvrščenih držav) on 1–6 September 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia was the first conference of the Non-Aligned Movement.[1] A major contributing factor to the organization of the conference was the process of decolonization in a number of African countries in the 1960s.[1] Some therefore called it the "Third World's Yalta" in reference to 1945 Yalta Conference.[1]

Twenty-five countries in total participated in Belgrade Conference, whilst 3 countries – Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador – were observers.[2][3] The preparatory meeting of Non-Aligned Countries took place earlier in 1961 in Cairo.[4] One of the issues which divided the newly independent countries was the Congo Crisis, which led to the creation of the conservative and anti-radical Brazzaville Group and the radical nationalist Casablanca Group.[1] All members of the Casablanca Group attended the conference, including Algeria, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Morocco and the United Arab Republic, whereas none of the Brazzaville Group was present.[1] The summit was followed by the 2nd Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Cairo in 1964. The 1962 Cairo Conference on the Problems of Developing Countries was a direct follow-up of the Belgrade summit, at which Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Senegal and Yugoslavia prepared for the upcoming UNCTAD conference of the ECOSOC.[5]

Conference

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Participating states.

The Brijuni Islands, an archipelago in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, were initially considered to host the summit, after they hosted the Brioni Meeting of 1956. Belgrade was ultimately selected due to Brijuni's insufficient venues and concentration of the international communication and media facilities in the capital city of Yugoslavia.[6]

Vladimir Popović was the head of the Yugoslav State Committee for the Preparation of the Conference. The conference brought together 25 independent states. In addition, there were three states that had observer status, eleven socialist parties, trade unions from Japan and four other organizations. Socio-economic differences between participants were great and, from the beginning, participating states often showed different interests. Yugoslavia attached special importance to Latin American participation. The participation of these countries, along with the representatives of Europe, should have given the conference the character of a gathering where all parts of the world are represented, and avoid reduction to an Afro-Asian meeting as was case with some meetings before.[7]

President Tito only partially succeeded in bringing together all parts of the world to the conference. From Latin America, only Cuba was a full participant, while Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador had observer status. The reason for that was the inability of these states to resist some pressure from the United States which wanted to preserve its role in the Western Hemisphere. The representatives of Yugoslavia were especially disappointed with Mexico's last minute cancelation. Of the European countries, only Cyprus and Yugoslavia as a host participated in the meeting.

The conference was followed by 1,016 journalists of which 690 were from abroad from 53 countries. The New York Times' Paul Hofmann described the event as a "paradise for cameramen".[8] Together, four Indian newspapers (The Times of India, The Hindu Madras, Indian Express and The Patriot) and four American newspapers (The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor) published 177,265 words about the conference in 7 days before, during and 7 days after the conference.[8]

Belgrade's transformation for the conference

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Belgrade during the conference
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One of the obelisks erected for the conference in today's Park of Non-Aligned Countries

To accommodate the influx of politicians, delegation members, and journalists, extensive preparations were carried out in Belgrade. Within two months, around 350 hospitality venues were renovated, including all of the city's hotels at the time. Several slums near the parliament building were demolished, and their residents were relocated to new apartments in Banovo Brdo. Forty new streets were built, the first illuminated signs appeared on Terazije, and the water supply, sewage system, and street lighting were upgraded. The parliament building, which hosted the public sessions, was specially refurbished for the occasion. At the city's entrance, the unofficial motto of the conference was displayed in several languages: "All people of the world want peace" ("Svi ljudi sveta hoće mir").[9]

Large crowds gathered opposite the Assembly building, in front of Pioneer Park, to watch the delegations arrive. Tito welcomed the guests; following the playing of national anthems and an inspection of the Guard of Honour, the leaders of Third World countries were driven to their residences through streets lined with cheering onlookers.[9]

A 15‑metre‑high emblem of the conference stood at the entrance to the city. At the Topčider interchange, a triangular structure was erected to represent the core principles of the conference: peace, independence, and equal international cooperation. At the confluence of the Sava and Danube in New Belgrade, the Park of Friendship was inaugurated in honour of the event, where heads of state planted plane trees. In Pioneer Park, an Avenue of Nations was established, featuring information boards about the participating countries.[9]

Two obelisks were constructed for the summit. One was erected on Marx and Engels Square (today's Trg Nikole Pašića). It was a prefabricated structure with a tubular metal framework, featuring neon lighting along its edges. Completed at the last minute due to heavy rain in the preceding days, the obelisk caught fire at one point, prompting an investigation. This obelisk was dismantled after the conference, whereas the second one was preserved and remains standing next to Branko's Bridge today.[10]

A year prior to the conference, a new coat of arms of Belgrade was adopted. The introduction of this design has been closely linked to the preparations for the first conference of non‑aligned countries. Consequently, the new city emblem was prominently featured on the obelisk built next to Branko's Bridge.[11][12][10]

On the first day of the conference, Tito hosted a formal luncheon at the building on Marx and Engels Square. Alongside his wife Jovanka, he later held a gala reception for approximately 2,000 guests at the Hotel Metropol. This was followed by an excursion to the Petrovaradin Fortress, which featured an impressive fireworks display. The conference concluded on 6 September, after which Tito invited his guests to relax on the Brijuni Islands following the strenuous six‑day working sessions.[9]

During the summit, a special bulletin titled "The Belgrade Conference" (Beogradska konferencija) was published, and proceedings were simultaneously interpreted into four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. Over 850 domestic and foreign journalists were stationed at the Trade Union Hall, where they followed the sessions via television broadcasts across five halls. They had access to 30 telephone booths for domestic and international calls, as well as 33 teleprinters and radio transmission equipment. The journalists were accommodated in two dedicated buildings on Cvijićeva and Roosevelt Street, and a special taxi rank was set up for their use.[13]

Participants

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Observers

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Guests

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See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ancic, Ivana (17 August 2017). "Belgrade, The 1961 Non-Aligned Conference". Global South Studies. University of Virginia.
  2. ↑ Pantelic, Nada (2011). "The First Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries (in Serbian and English)". Exhibition Catalog. Archives of Yugoslavia. ISBN 978-86-80099-35-4. Archived from the original on 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2021-05-07.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  3. ↑ "BELGRADE DECLARATION OF NON-ALIGNED COUNTRIES, 1961 (Excerpts)" (PDF). Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "2011.- "The first conference of the Heads of state or Government of Non-aligned countries, Belgrade 1961"". Archives of Yugoslavia. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  5. ↑ James Mark; Yakov Feygin (2020). "The Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Alternative Vision of a Global Economy 1950s–1980s". In James Mark; Artemy M. Kalinovsky; Steffi Margus (eds.). Alternative Globalizations: Eastern Europe and the Postcolonial World. Indiana University Press. pp. 35–58. ISBN 978-0-253-04650-5.
  6. ↑ Mila Turajlić (2023). "Film as the Memory Site of the 1961 Belgrade Conference of Non-Aligned States". In Paul Stubbs (ed.). Socialist Yugoslavia and the Non-Aligned Movement: Social, Cultural, Political, and Economic Imaginaries. McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 203–231. ISBN 9780228014652.
  7. ↑ Životić, Aleksandar; Čavoški, Jovan (October 2016). "On the Road to Belgrade: Yugoslavia, Third World Neutrals, and the Evolution of Global Non-Alignment, 1954–1961". Journal of Cold War Studies. 18 (4): 79–97. doi:10.1162/JCWS_a_00681. ISSN 1520-3972. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25.
  8. 1 2 Jürgen Dinkel (2014). "'To grab the headlines in the world press': Non-aligned summits as media events". In Nataša Mišković; Herald Fischer-Tine; Nada Boškovska (eds.). The Non-Aligned Movement and the Cold War: Delhi — Bandung — Belgrade. Routledge. pp. 207–225. ISBN 978-0-415-74263-4.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Gadafi hteo da jaše ždrepca". novosti.rs. Retrieved 24 May 2018.[dead link]
  10. 1 2 Belić, Nikola; Mučibabić, Daliborka (30 March 2014). "Na obelisku Pokreta nesvrstanih potpisani samo crtači grafita". Politika. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  11. ↑ Ацовић 2008, p. 639.
  12. ↑ Драгосавац 1996, p. 254.
  13. ↑ "VREMEOPLOV: Beograd je svet, 1961". b92.net. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Државници једнодушно изразили веру у снаге мира и прогреса у свету". Borba: 1. 5 September 1961.
  15. 1 2 3 Rakove, Robert B. (2014). "Two roads to Belgrade: the United States, Great Britain, and the first nonaligned conference". Cold War History. 14 (3): 337–357. doi:10.1080/14682745.2013.871528. S2CID 153513441.

Sources

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