The best Change-makers in Serbia, motivated citizens who persevere in their efforts to improve the lives of their fellow citizens in areas such as social protection, communal problems, support for single parents, support for people with disabilities - have been awarded the award "Change-makers 2022". This award is given by the Belgrade Open School, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) since 2019.

This year, the awards were given in five categories - four well-known ones, as well as one the new one, in which organizations that have achieved cooperation with the business community are rewarded.

Category I: Change through cooperation, examples of good practice and successful cooperation between public authorities and civil society organizations

  • Award winner: Caritas Serbia for the initiative "Development of social protection services in the municipality of Bogatić". Through the cooperation of the municipality of Bogatić and Caritas Šabac, as well as fostering good relations with social and health care institutions, educational institutions and the local community in general, the establishment of a home help service for the elderly and sick, provided by Caritas Šabac, and financed by the Municipality, is established. Currently, 80 people use the home help service, there are 18 users in the living room, and two people live in a supported housing apartment. Over the years of providing these services, hundreds of people have directly used them, and thousands have indirectly improved their quality of life thanks to them.

Category II: Success through synergy, examples of good practice and successful cooperation between the business community and civil society organizations

  • Award winner: Women's Association Ethno čarolija Prva Kutina for the initiative to restore the House of Culture in the village and to initiate citizens of all structures by organizing various cultural events in 2022. In this campaign, funds were provided through a couple of smaller projects and with the support of various donors. In the House of Culture, the cultural and artistic program was revived, the association was formed with a folklore, art, reading and poetry section.

III category: Citizen voice - a campaign that, through its public advocacy activities, mobilized a large number of citizens around a goal

  • Award winner: Creatively affirmative organization Parnas for the initiative "Accessible to everyone - Uhvati film festival". In Novi Sad, Parnas realized the 20th International Film Festival Uhvati film - a festival whose actors and authors are people with disabilities. What is unique about this festival, apart from the theme, is that the entire program was accessible to people with disabilities.

Category IV: Advocacy by a non-formal group - successful initiatives of informal groups

  • Winner of the award: Bežanija stays Kosa defies the initiative that initiated and united the residents of Bežanija Kosa, after finding out that the Proposal for changes and additions to the plan for the detailed regulation of one area in the settlement, with the aim of building a residential complex, was published. Citizens joined together in the fight against the construction of 3 skyscrapers of 100 and 120 meters in a quiet family neighborhood with mostly low-rise buildings.

V category: Individual best change-maker - for engagement and initiative of individuals was shared by two award winners:

  • Olivera Jovović for the initiative "Expanding the list of neonatal screening to spinal muscular atrophy". Starting from March 2022, for the next year, the activity of screening all newborn babies in Gynecological Obstetric Clinic "Narodni Front" will be financed by the project. The project was jointly initiated by Olivera Jovović from SMA Serbia as a patient association, the University Clinic in Tiršova and the Faculty of Biology as a laboratory that implements spinal muscular atrophy tests.
  • Vesna Stanimirović, director and teacher at the Stonogica preschool in Sremska Mitrovica, launched the initiative "Our little means a lot to someone". Through this initiative, many actions were launched that helped many organizations, educational and health institutions, individuals and families.

Special certificates of appreciation were also presented to:

  • PIN - Psychosocial Innovation Network - for contribution to systemic strengthening of mental health in the community
  • Association of Citizens Help and Support for Persons with Autism in the Kolubara District for contributing to the fight for a dignified life for children and young people with autism
  • Kolubara District Women's Association for raising the visibility of the problem of economic inequality between women and men
  • Association Zadrugarstvo for providing equal opportunities to people with disabilities and support in realizing the right to work
  • VIVA Water inspectors of Valjevo for their contribution to the protection of rivers in Serbia
  • Women's initiative for overcoming taboos
  • Dejan Zejnula for the fight to pass the Law on Emergency Aid.

The award ceremony was held on Tuesday, November 15 at 7 p.m., as part of the Move.Link.Engage 2022 conference, organized by the Belgrade Open School. Topics of common interest of all sectors, which are the focus of this year's MLE conference, are environmental protection, improving the employability of young people, social responsibility and conscientious corporate management. MLE was implemented for the first time in 2015 - from then until today, the goal of the conference remained unchanged: promoting knowledge, responsibility and respect for public interest, through constant work on improving the quality of life in the community and dealing with issues of social importance.