Annual awards presented to the winners of the Media contest "Different from others"

Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM), as part of the accompanying program of the 51st SCTM General Assembly, organized an awarding ceremony for the winners of the SCTM "Different from Others" Media contest on November 29, 2023. The eleventh Media contest on Local Self-Government practice, intended for journalists from local, regional, and national media, was realized within the project "Sustainable and inclusive services at the local level", financed by the Government of Sweden.

The winners of the Media contest and the participants of the ceremony were greeted by MD Goran Cvetanović, president of Temporary Body of the City of Leskovac and president of SCTM, who emphasized the importance of this year's contest topics, which are Environment, Local economic development - Women's entrepreneurship, Disaster risk reduction and Gender equality, as well as Monitoring the activities and impact of SCTM on local governments in Serbia.

"I congratulate the authors awarded today and I believe that the laptop computers they receive will be an additional motivation for reporting on the topics included in this contest. Also, I would like to thank all the journalists who applied with their reports and thereby pointed out the importance of monitoring topics that are under the jurisdiction of local self-government, and I invite you to apply and participate in the contests in the coming years as well", Cvetanović said and encouraged the journalists to continue, with equal quality, to cover and report on the work of local authorities and Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. The President of SCTM also thanked the partners from the Government of Sweden, who supported the organization of this year’s contest as well.

The best reports, according to the jury, were prepared by:

• Ana Filipović Gogić (TV Pirot) - "Strategy Pirot - smart city"

• Danilo Kocić (Media center 016), "The example of the City of Leskovac - priorities in 2023"

• Marija Vukićević (TV Prva) - "Healthy snack"

• Branko Đurić (Radio Television of Serbia) - "Romanipen"

• Sanja Đorđević (Storyteller online portal) - "Parks that save lives"

• Bratislav Ilić (TV Prva) - "Soaps from paprika waste"

• Marija Miladinović Lisov (Radio Television of Serbia) - "Fast fashion takes an ecological toll"

By organizing the Media contest, SCTM wants to emphasize the importance and the role of local authorities in these areas, with the aim of improving the quality of services they provide to citizens, as well as to emphasize the importance of media reporting on these topics to raise citizens' awareness.