OSCE Mission to Serbia announces 2009 "People of the Year" awards

BELGRADE, 10 December 2009 - A university dean, a police advisor, an editor-in-chief, a deputy public prosecutor and the director of the public procurement office received the OSCE Mission to Serbia's "People of the Year" awards at a ceremony in Belgrade today. 

"Each of these five people has in her or his way contributed to Serbia's democratic transition. It is important to recognize their excellent service to the Serbian public and it is an honour to recognize these individuals for upholding the OSCE's values and actively supporting the Organization's activities in this country," said Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

The awards were granted in five fields in which Mission is engaged: equal opportunities, judicial reform, economic transparency, independent reporting and police reform. The winners have agreed to donate the accompanying cash prize, worth 8,000 euros, to the Kragujevac Red Cross as part of an OSCE project to deliver winter food aid packages to 400 disadvantaged people in the Kragujevac region.

The winners are:

Nevena Petrusic, Dean of the Law Faculty in Nis, awarded for her contribution to the establishment of a programme for law students to work directly with clients on human rights matters, as well as for her promotion of women's rights and gender equality in Serbia;

Predrag Jovanovic, the Director of the Public Procurement Office, awarded for his dedication to pursuing increased transparency in public procurement;

Jasmina Kiurski, Deputy Republic Prosecutor and member of the Prosecutors' Association, awarded for her dedication and expert contribution towards modernizing the Serbian Prosecution Service and increasing its efficiency;

Vukasin Obradovic, the editor of the weekly magazine Vranjske, awarded for upholding the democratic principles of independent media reporting and objectivity, and for the promotion of inter-ethnic dialogue and co-operation between ethnic Serb and minority communities in South Serbia;

Ana Komnenovic, Police Advisor for Monitoring Regulations and EU Integration, and Advisor to the Head of the Criminal Police Directorate, awarded for her work as chairperson of the working group that developed the National Action Plan for Combating Organized Crime in the Republic of Serbia. This document was recognized as having contributed greatly to the EU visa liberalization process.

Organized for the fourth consecutive year, this award recognizes individuals for contributing to the implementation of the OSCE Mission's programmes and upholding OSCE values in their work.