Participants of the first cohort of the Youth 4 Inclusion, Equality and Trust program

Anđela Miladinović was born in 2003 in Smederevo. She completed the 4th level (general course) of the gymnasium in Kovino, and now she is studying part-time at the medical school “Stevica Jovanović” in Pančevo. He has been volunteering at the Red Cross for 6 years. In the Red Cross, he mainly deals with educating young people. She was a participant in the program “Youth can make a change” in Sremski Karlovci and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Damir Dizdarević was born in 1997 and graduated in 2020 from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, majoring in political science. In 2022, he graduated from the same faculty with a master’s degree in international studies: US studies module. The topic of the master’s thesis was the impact of US energy security on the outbreak of war in Iraq in 2003. He is currently employed at the Belgrade Open School, in the program area of energy, climate and environment, where he implements projects on the topic of sustainable development and Agenda 2030. Before that, he was engaged to support the development of financial and business plans for social startups within New Paradigm Ventures. His areas of interest are international politics and energy security, energy and public participation in decision-making processes, as well as social entrepreneurship.

Davor Stefanović was born on January 27, 2000 and he is a student in the course of Clean Energy Technologies – Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad since 2019. Since the beginning of his high school education, at the Zaječar Technical School, he has been engaged in activism and humanitarian work. He started volunteering at the Zaječar Red Cross, where he promoted voluntary blood donation. At the end of his high school education, he started volunteering for the NGO Children’s Center Zaječar, which deals with youth policy, women’s rights, ecology and workers’ rights. Today he is a member of the green-left party Zajedno, a member of the CK13 Youth Center where he works as a librarian and a member of the Novi Sad Solidarity Kitchen collective, which prepares meals for all those who do not have. His areas of interest are ecology, left/socialist/progressive politics and 19th and 20th century history.

Dušan Jakovljević, born in 1995, graduated as a scholarship holder of the Energy, Knowledge program of the NIS company, at one of the world’s best mining programs in Moscow: State University of Oil and Gas I.M. Gubkina. After completing his undergraduate studies, he received an offer to continue his studies at the conceptual engineering master’s program at Tyumen State University. After completing his studies, he got a job at NIS, where he had the opportunity to be part of a group of people who worked on various projects: infrastructure design, capital investment calculations for large projects, but also projects for decarbonization and diversification of business with green energy. In addition, he became a member of the organization YES-Europe Serbia where, in a very short time, he became the President of the Assembly of that organization.

Elena Demirovski is 25 years old and wants to work on herself. He believes that he needs to work more on dialogue. Communication is very important in the job she wants to do, which is a teaching profession.

Emilija Mladenović was born in 2000 in Raška, she is currently in her final year at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, majoring in Oriental Studies – Arabic language, literature and culture. After his basic studies, she plans to enroll in master’s studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences. She volunteered in numerous organizations and at various events during high school and college, through which she gained experience in the field of improving the rights of minority groups, primarily in the field of gender equality, education and youth inclusion. She also works directly with refugees and migrants through creating activities and workshops and holding classes for those who want to learn Serbian, English or Arabic. As a member of the Youth Forum within the European Movement in Serbia, she was the coordinator of the group for education, employment and inclusion of young people.

Ivana Petarić, born on April 4, 1994 in Valjevo. After finishing high school, she enrolled in a health school of professional studies in Belgrade and graduated in 2017. After which she started working in the emergency medical service in August 2018, where she still works today. In 2020, she became a member of the City Assembly, in 2021 she went to Russia for the first Russian-Serbian youth forum, where she and five other young people won a project that will be financed by the Russian Federation. She founded the Youth Office in December 2021. In April 2021, a campaign called “You are not alone” will begin, which deals with the prevention of digital violence, as well as the detection of victims of violence.

Jelena Banjac was born in 1994. She graduated in 2013 from the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation of the University of Belgrade, and in 2018 she defended her master’s degree at the same faculty. She is currently an educator in her second year of systemic family therapy. She founded the Educational Center in 2022, where she works with children and adults. Since 2023, she has been employed at the Secretariat of the Movement of Free Citizens. Before that, she worked as a preschool coordinator and as an individual teacher in a special school. She is interested in areas such as education, women’s and minority rights, as well as youth policy.

Jovan Maksimović Popov was born in 2003. He will enroll in the IT major at the Vocational College in Subotica in 2022. He is a member of the Subotica Development Center organization since 2021 and the AIESEC student organization since 2022. Participated in various socially responsible projects such as cleaning parks and placing bins in them. Within the AIESEC organization, he works on volunteer projects such as the Youth For Impact project, whose goal is to spread inclusivity among young people by bringing volunteers from foreign countries to represent their country and culture to children in primary schools. From 2022, he became a representative of the youth of the People’s Party in Subotica and began to deal with activities concerning young people and issues for young people. His areas of interest are working with young people, teamwork and mutual respect in the same.

Katarina Stojanović was born in 2000 and is a student of international relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. At the very beginning of her studies, she became a member of the student organization “European Student Forum”, which deals with information and affirmation of young people in order to create a better position and opportunities for exchange of students’ experiences. In addition, she is a member of the Center for Missing and Abused Children and a participant in numerous movements, seminars and conferences such as the New Leaders conference organized by AIESEC, the Belgrade Youth Fair, the Regional Seminar of Political Scientists and many others. She speaks English fluently, and also speaks French and German. Her areas of interest are Serbia’s foreign policy, international relations, public administration reform and the promotion of cultural diversity and gender equality.

Kristina Antić was born in 1991 in Smederevo. She graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Belgrade in 2016, majoring in agro-economics. After completing her basic studies, she completed her specialist studies at the Technical College in Požarevac in 2018, majoring in plant protection. She also finished her master’s studies at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade in 2019, majoring in agribusiness management. She is currently a PhD student at the Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development. She is employed in the City Administration of Smederevo, in the mayor’s office, where she performs the duties of Coordinator for public relations, media and information – junior advisor. The area of interest is political events at the national and regional level, as well as European and world events

Lazar Petrović is a master’s student in the field of tax law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade. In addition, he is also a master’s student in the field of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Niš. In the course of his career, he trained professionally through formal and informal education in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania and other European and regional countries. He specializes in the field of M&A transactions, corporate and commercial law, legal regulation of large corporate chains, protection of human rights, as well as in areas related to the proceedings of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia and the European Court of Human Rights. He is currently working as an intern at the Milošević Law Firm, and also serves as the president of the Student Association “MAAT”. He speaks English fluently, and he also knows German.

Lena Bogdanović is a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade, majoring in international studies. She was team leader of the Public Relations Team in the World Youth Wave and participated in the organization of the “International Student Week in Belgrade” (2022) and the “Volunteering Fair” (2021/2022). She was an activist in the “Ide glas” campaign, and is currently a team coordinator in a campaign that aims to motivate citizens to take local actions in their communities. She is an educator on the topics of gender equality and gender-based violence. In addition, she is an activist on the “EU Influencers” project, which is supported by the European Union and partner organizations. As the best student in her field, she got the opportunity to do an internship in the General Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, as well as in the City Municipality of Stari Grad.

Maja Marković was born in 1997 in Belgrade. After completing her basic studies at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade, she was employed in the Budget Sector of the Ministry of Finance. In the Ministry of Finance, she deals with salaries in public companies and with budget users of local self-governments. Since 2021, she has been engaged in the implementation of the Central Information System for the calculation of wages in the public sector – as a demonstrator at user trainings, user support and the module for analytical reporting. In 2022, she was a member of the working group for monitoring the implementation of the Employment Strategy in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2021 to 2026. Her areas of interest are social protection, inequalities between and within countries, improvement of living standards, education and public finance.

Maja Simić was born in 2002 in Belgrade. In 2021, she graduated from the XIII Belgrade High School, and is currently a second-year student at the Faculty of Political Sciences majoring in international relations. Also, she works as a teaching assistant at the elementary school “Jovan Dučić”. She is engaged in activism through work with children and young people, mostly in the field of education, anti-discrimination, gender equality and inclusion itself. She is a collaborator on many UNICEF projects, as well as the Roma Media Service and the women’s organization “Bibija”.

Marko Mijailović was born on February 27, 2000 in Kragujevac. Fourth-year student at the Faculty of Political Sciences, major: political science. Employed in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in the parliamentary group Moramo-Zajedno as an independent executor – consultant, in addition, he works in the Zajedno party in the narrow leadership, actively participates in all party activities. His areas of interest are Serbia’s foreign policy, especially regional policy, as well as the economy, and we work on these topics as the Zajedno party.

Mevlida Demić was born in 1996. She graduated from the high school of Economics and Trade in Vranje in 2015. She completed training for a pedagogical assistant in 2018 in Kragujevac. In 2019, she started working as a pedagogical assistant at the elementary school “Vuk Karadžić” in Vranje. She is a student at the Faculty of Education in Vranje. She was a participant in the project “Local initiatives to improve the social inclusion of young Roma men and women”. As part of that program, she volunteered in the “Gornja Čaršija” local community of Vranje and thus gained her first experience. She participated in the project “Let’s break down four walls” implemented by the Umbrella Organization of Youth, during that project we conducted research on the position of LGBT + youth in the bar and on their website you can see the publication they published.

Milica Ostojić is 22 years old and I am a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Media and Communications. She volunteered in several media houses, Belgrade Dance Festival and Serbia Fashion Week. She has been working as a presenter on Muzzik TV, part-time, for more than three years. I am currently attending a digital marketing and copywriting course at the IT Academy, because she realized that this type of work would best suit her personality, more precisely – her desire to travel constantly and not be tied to the office.

Milica Otović was born in 2002 in Gornji Milanovac, and is currently studying at the Faculty of Security at the University of Belgrade. Currently, in addition to being a student, she is a member of the UNICEF youth committee. In addition, she is interning at the Center for Geostrategic Research and Terrorism, where she writes her own analytical texts in the aforementioned fields. Her areas of interest are political participation of young people, strengthening the position of young people, studies of peace and strategic security.

Milica Stjepanović was born in 1997 and graduated in 2020 from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, Department of Ethnology and Anthropology. In the same year, she enrolled in master’s studies, which she also completed at the Faculty of Philosophy in 2021, and then enrolled in doctoral studies. Since 2022, she has been engaged as a researcher-intern at the Department of Ethnology and Anthropology and, as part of her dissertation, is researching the non-governmental sector and culture in Serbia. Her main fields of interest are cultural and public policies, the relationship between politics and culture, the influence of political processes on the daily life of society, as well as the reaction of society and culture to the introduction of new policies. In addition to academic work, from the middle of 2021 to the beginning of 2022, she first interned at the OSCE Mission in Serbia, and then she was hired as an assistant at the Department for Media and Political Affairs.

Milica Stojaković was born in 1999 and is currently studying at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade. She is interning in the National Assembly as an assistant/associate of a deputy and follows the work of the Committee for Culture and Information, non-partisan. Her areas of interest are human rights, media rights and international politics. Before the pandemic, she had her own non-governmental organization “Valkyra”, which dealt with empowering young people and providing opportunities for young people to get answers or discuss questions that interest them. In her private life, while she was growing up, she witnessed numerous injustices, especially towards young people, which motivated her to get involved in this sector – to make some change that will help young people.

Milica Jovanović was born in 2004. She is a student of the “Patriarch Pavle” Gymnasium and has aspirations to enter the Faculty of Media and Communications in Belgrade. She began her informal education when she became part of the 7th generation of the European School of Debate, and today she holds the position of President of the Supervisory Board in the organization “Move Young”. In addition to his activities in the civil sector, she deals with media and audio-visual content, media literacy and journalism. The stationery is on the “Evrovizija.rs”, “YouthVibes” and “Local Press” portals. She is particularly interested in the field of public advocacy, and she gained her knowledge through the Academy of Youth Politics, organized by KOMS (Umbrella Organization of the Youth of Serbia).

Nataša Stanojević was born in 2001. She is currently in her third year studying international relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. Since October 2022, she is a member of the Student Parliament of the Faculty of Political Sciences and actively deals with the rights of students at the faculty. In addition, she is a member of the student organization European Student Forum. Within that organization, she is the coordinator of the public relations sector. Since March 2022, she has been actively engaged in research aimed at encouraging democracy and citizen participation. And recently she became an educator of the program for gender equality. Her areas of interest are international relations, international organizations and human rights.

Nenad Ilijić was born on February 19, 1993. in Knjaževac. Graduated sociologist. Member of the Socialist Party of Serbia since the age of eighteen until today. President of the Council of Socialist Youth in Knjaževac in the second term, member of the executive board of OO in Knjaževac, vice president of OO SPS in Knjaževac, member of the team for cross-border cooperation with the Republic of Bulgaria. He is currently working as an assistant at the Faculty of Law in Niš. My areas of interest are international relations, law, economy.

Nevena Milivojević was born in 1997 in Užice, where she completed elementary school and high school. She entered the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, majoring in social policy and social work, in 2016 and graduated from the same in 2020. She is employed in the Department for European Integration and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Health, as a project manager in the group for the implementation of projects financed from the funds of the European Union. She is a master’s student at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade.

Nikola Brkić was born in 2000 in Belgrade. He is currently a student at the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade. Already at the age of 18, he became a United Nations volunteer, while shortly before that he earned the title of UNICEF educator on the topic of child and arranged marriages. He participated in the formation of the Association of Young Volunteers, of which he is a member in the sector for anti-discrimination and activism. As a young and ambitious man, he spent a relatively long time in the National Council of the Roma National Minority, through the program “Better Social Involvement of Youth in State Institutions”. He was soon elected as a representative of the Coordination of National Councils of National Minorities in the Government Council for Youth, where he performed his duties responsibly. He was engaged in several Erasmus+ projects as an assistant manager. Now he is a member of the Board of Education at the National Council of the Roma National Minority.

Sara Jovanović was born in 2003 in Nis. She graduated from the First Niš High School “Stevan Sremac”, special department for the German language, after which she enrolled in economics and management studies at the University of Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Apart from economics, her areas of interest are politics and psychology. During the past years, she actively volunteers in the economy sector as well as at fairs and festivals. In 2018, she participated in the programs implemented by the Young Ambassadors Youth Organization. Since 2020, she has been an active member of the Association of Hospitality and Tourism Professionals in Niš, where, together with other members, she advocates for the promotion of the south of Serbia through tourism and gastronomy. In 2022, she became a member of the Erasmus network in Nis. She actively speaks English, German and Turkish.

Stefan Filipović, born in 1993 in Pristina, graduated in 2016 from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Department of Political Science, in 2020 he defended his master’s thesis at BU, multidisciplinary studies of political science, law and security: “Terrorism, organized crime and security”. ‘. After his studies, he returned to Kosovo and Metohija in 2016. Short-term engagement by the EU as local staff at the EU Observation Mission for the elections in Kosovo* in 2017. He works for the CSO Domovik from K. Mitrovica (2016-2017), and in 2017 he was hired at the CSO Center for Peace and Tolerance in Gračanica, where he worked until 2020, when he was hired as a political advisor to the president of the municipality of Gračanica. His areas of interest are local self-government, the rights of non-majority communities, institutional mechanisms for the protection of citizens’ rights at the local level, and non-institutional mechanisms for developing the resilience of the local community to various forms of threats, from social to security.