AWARD CEREMONY
Welcome         

Manuel Sarrazin, President of the Southeast Europe Association

Josip Juratovic, MP, Social Democratic Party (SPD), Vice President of the Southeast Europe Association 

Laudation    

Thomas Hacker, MP, Free Democratic Party (FDP), Vice President of the Southeast Europe Association

Acceptance Speech     

Ivana Gordić Perc, Journalist, Winner of the SOG 2022 Solidarity Award

DISCUSSION “WORKING AS A JOURNALIST IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE”
Speaker       

Ivana Gordić Perc, Journalist, Winner of the SOG 2022 Solidarity Award

Moderation         

Krsto Lazarević and Danijel Majić, Winner of the SOG Journalist Award for their podcast “Neues vom Ballaballa-Balkan”

THE WINNER OF THE SOLIDARITY AWARD 2022 

Ivana Gordić Perc is a journalist at VOICE- Vojvodina Research and Analytical Center with more than 20 years of experience in the creation of different media contents. She started her career in 1999 on Radio Zrenjanin, from where she moved to the legendary Radio Coyote. In 2021 she uncovered the story about the inhumane and forceful working conditions in which around 500 Vietnamese workers were employed at the construction site of the Chinese Ling Long tire factory in Zrenjanin, Serbia. This story caused a lot of media attention in Serbia and internationally, including a debate in the European Parliament and at the United Nations. Due to her reporting, Ivana was faced with a lot of pressure and threats from those who tried to cover up the whole case. In 2022, Ivana Gordić received the Annual Award for Investigative and Analytical Journalism of the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (IJAV) for this story. Despite being the mother of three children, she is fearless in her journalistic work, which in her case is often accompanied by threats, especially when investigating corruption at the local level

THE SOG’S SOLIDARITY AWARD FOR JOURNALISTS FROM SOUTHEAST EUROPE

The SOG Solidarity Award, which was first granted in 2021, honors courageous journalists from Southeast Europe, who often expose themselves to great personal risks due to their critical reporting. It aims to honor their outstanding work and to recognize their contribution to the promotion of democracy, rule of law and freedom of the press. The award is also intended to contribute to the protection of journalists on the ground through the public attention it attracts and to honor the great achievements of the award winners. With the award, the SOG wants to demonstrate that it stands by those who speak up for our European values such as freedom of the press and freedom of expression. The award is financed entirely through donations.