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OSCE Mission to Serbia announces winners of its 2015 Person of the Year Award

BELGRADE 8 December 2015
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Peter Burkhard (l), presents the 2015 Person of the Year Award to three recipients (l-r): the Preševo Youth Office, represented by Agon Ajeti and Valon Arifi, Marija Ranđelović, Community Liaison Officer (CLO) of the Niš Police Department, and to Miroslava Milenović, forensic financial expert and Member the Anti-Corruption Council (ACC) of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. ACC Deputy President, Miroslav Milićević (r), received the prize on the behalf of Miroslava Milenović who was absent, Belgrade, 8 December 2015. (OSCE/Milan Obradovic) Photo details

BELGRADE, 8 December 2015 – The OSCE Mission to Serbia presented its 2015 Person of the Year Award to three recipients at a ceremony in Belgrade today to Marija Ranđelović, Community Liaison Officer (CLO) of the Niš Police Department, the Preševo Youth Office, and to Miroslava Milenović, forensic financial expert and Member of the Anti-Corruption Council (ACC) of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The recipients were recognized for their support of community policing, youth activism, the fight against corruption and the promotion of freedom of the media. This is the award’s tenth year celebrating citizens of Serbia who contribute to the promotion of OSCE values in the country.

Marija Ranđelović was recognized for her dedication to the promotion of community policing and to the increase of citizens’ trust in the work of the police. In 2015, in addition to her duties as CLO, which also included communicating and liaising with national minorities, Ranđelović served as focal point for LGBT rights and as the co-ordinator for the prevention of domestic violence.

The Preševo Youth Office, represented by Agon Ajeti and Valon Arifi, was selected for its outstanding contribution to civic youth activism and to ensuring the respect for human rights in response to the refugee crisis. One of their most important contributions has been the promotion of a positive response by the wider community to refugees and migrants in such a complex situation.

Miroslava Milenović received the award for her contribution to the fight against corruption and for the promotion of freedom of the media. The Council’s Report on ownership structure and control of the media, published last spring, used forensic accounting methods to identify ownership structures and non-transparent financing of media. Milenović also trained Serbian police and prosecutors, journalists and ACC staff on forensic accounting and on money-laundering techniques to improve their skills in investigating fraud and corruption.