The expert jury chose 18 best candidates from all over Serbia, who have been awarded in the following categories: education/science, culture/art, entrepreneurship, social activism and creative industries. The main idea behind the competition is the promotion of true heroes of our time, young, successful and humane individuals who will be presented to the public as positive examples in society. Among hundreds of applications, the expert jury chose 18 best candidates from all over Serbia, who have been awarded in the following categories: education/science, culture/art, entrepreneurship, social activism and creative industries. Most winners have been selected in the area of education and science, and the winners include secondary-school and university students. The expert jury consisted of Nenad Borovčanin, State Secretary for Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia, Snežana Lakićević, NIS Manager for cooperation with educational and scientific institutions, Izabela Branković, Marketing Director at “Ringier Axel Springer Media AG“ and Ivan Petrović, Executive Director of the EXIT Foundation, while the fifth member of the jury was selected according to the areas, depending on the category in which the awards were presented. Sanja Lubardić, Director of the Function for Public Relations and Communication at NIS on the ceremony organized for the presentation of awards to young heroes “As part of its socially responsible activities, NIS is particularly committed to young people, their education and development. The result of such a strategic orientation of the company are the projects like “Youth Heroes”, aimed at promoting the heroes of Serbia, and that is just one part of all our efforts taken in order to support the young generation in our country. We at NIS are aware that support to these talented people is the best way to invest in a better future of the community where we operate, which is why we cooperate with partners who share the same vision”, said Sanja Lubardić, Director of the Function for Public Relations and Communication at NIS. A panel discussion entitled “How to achieve positive role models for young people in Serbia“ was held as a part of the ceremony organized for the presentation of awards to young heroes, and was attended by an activist Jovan Simić, psychotherapist Zoran Milivojević, musician Marko Šelić Marčelo and representatives of the EXIT Foundation. The project “Youth Heroes“has been supported through the NIS program “Together for the Community”, in which the company supports the development of the local community in which it operates. A panel discussion entitled “How to achieve positive role models for young people in Serbia“ was attended by an activist Jovan Simić, psychotherapist Zoran Milivojević, musician Marko Šelić Marčelo and representatives of the EXIT Foundation. Award winners: The first place among secondary school students went to Stefan Velja, a young inventor who has developed a patent intended to break up blood clots in the body, then Jovana Kondić, whose invention “Panels for Thermal Insulation of Buildings”, after being patented, can provide significant energy savings, and Aleksa Konstantinov, the winner of prestigious awards in international mathematical Olympiads. Among the university students and graduates, the winners in the area of education and science are the young robot scientist Kosta Jovanović, who develops simulation models of advanced humanoid robots, while twenty-nine-year-old Jasmin Nurković, with a PhD in Medical Science who invented a method for obtaining stem cells from easily available materials, and thus created the basis for the treatment of cartilage and non-coalesced fractures and Nikola Tepavac, the inventor of the humanoid robotic arm, have also been recognized as young heroes in this area. The founder of the Citizens’ Association for Helping the Homeless “we.care”, Lazar Erić, is the winner in the area of entrepreneurship. In addition to Lazar, Ivan Petrović, one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the domain of technology in Serbia, whose startup project “WorkPlus” has clients from over 50 countries, and Ivan Brkljač, the founder of the “Arbo” Project, an organization concerned with socially responsible fashion, are also among the awardees. The first place in the area of social activism went to the graduate chemist Mirko Kaldaraš, an activist in the projects for support to Roma students in education. The award winners also include Aleksa Živković, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Citizens’ Association “Leka” and the founder and volunteer worker in the projects “The Young for the Elderly”, “Solidarity Clothing”, and “Little Shanghai”, as well as Arsen Arsenović, the first para-kayaker in Serbia who advocates for the development of sport for disabled people. Gala Čaki, the award-winning painter and the holder of scholarships from foundations and associations in America, India, Finland, Egypt, and Qatar, distinguished herself in the area of culture and arts, while other award winners also include Jovana Bobić, founder of the art festival “Š.U.N.D – What Art Offers to Society”, and Tijana Kozarčić, a young and successful harpist. Jovan Simić, who organized action which collected 300,000 euros for successful medical treatment of the young girl Nađa Novaković was presented the special Youth Heroes award The first place in the area of Creative Industries went to Milan Inić for his distinguished work and for communication with young people through his YouTube channel “Yasserstain”. The second place went to Rade Joksimović, a young software developer who started his own business at the age of 19. The third place belongs to Tamara Jakovljević, the author of the documentary series “My Hero”, which has put on screen more than 45 hero stories about various virtues. The special Youth Heroes award was presented to the university student Jovan Simić, who organized the sale of his sports jersey collection and the action Sports Bazaar, which, with participation of the famous athletes and public personalities, collected 300,000 euros for successful medical treatment of the young girl Nađa Novaković.
