Jelena Čolović spoke at a conference for young people

Our scholar, Jelena Čolović, stood out in the competition for the best activist story, which was announced by the Institute for Media and Clarity and the Umbrella Organization of the Youth of Serbia. Her story was one of the best in the opinion of the jury, so she got the opportunity to present it publicly at the conference "YOUTH speak, YOUTH listen". Below you can read her work and conclude why she was awarded.

Use the potential of the media for the right things

I am studying journalism and I would like to dedicate my whole life to the media. I have been working on it intensively for the last few years. As a high school student, I became interested in reporting on current events. I am excited by the dynamism of the journalist's call and the thought that I can help people and contribute to the development of society.
The media has great power. They are one of the important subjects of socialization, and journalists are the eyes and ears of the public. When I was in the fourth grade of high school, I edited the school newspaper. Then I connected to the local NMR info portal. I wrote about events, plays, village celebrations and all the events that I could go to. I conducted interviews with interesting residents of our small Banat towns. They are witnesses of a time, but there was no place for their stories in the big media.

It bothered me that I noticed that culture, art, education and science were on the sidelines. I think that art ennobles and should be given more space. I started writing for the iSerbia portal and there I went through mentor training and they gave me the chance to write about those topics. I then connected with the portal of the Belgrade Open School. The Mingle portal is aimed at young people. This encouraged me to look for young people who are enthusiastic, hardworking, creative, unusual and inspiring. They are my favorite interlocutors. Every conversation with them is challenging and instructive for me. I was very happy when I interviewed a creative assistant from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. He wanted to make teaching easier and more interesting for the students, so he recorded rap songs whose content refers to mathematical formulas and tasks. 
Later, Stefan Spalević was a guest in other media, and at the end of that year he received the PS Press award for the 50 most creative contents on the Internet. (https://www.iserbia.rs/oni-inspirisu/stefan-spalevic-matematika-i-rep-idu-zajedno-3009)

I am studying journalism and I would like to dedicate my whole life to the media. I have been working on it intensively for the last few years. As a high school student, I became interested in reporting on current events. I am excited by the dynamism of the journalist's call and the thought that I can help people and contribute to the development of society.
The media has great power. They are one of the important subjects of socialization, and journalists are the eyes and ears of the public. When I was in the fourth grade of high school, I edited the school newspaper. Then I connected to the local NMR info portal. I wrote about events, plays, village celebrations and all the events that I could go to. I conducted interviews with interesting residents of our small Banat towns. They are witnesses of a time, but there was no place for their stories in the big media.

A very poignant but interesting story was told to me by Matti Kamberi, a Roma who grew up in orphanages and foster families and who did not know how to read and write until the age of 12. However, that boy rose from the mud and fell in love with the book to write his autobiography "The City of Pain" at the age of 19. When I interviewed him, the book had just gone on sale. It was later reprinted and had several editions. The second followed, and his third book was recently published. Few people knew about Mattie, and his combativeness and mental strength deserve the bow he later received. (http://www.mingl.rs/apdejt/61/2020/06/03/mingl-intervju_-meti-kamberi-i-grad-bola.html )
When I first stumbled upon the lyrics of Kosta Kosovac, I was speechless. A person is born a poet and it is a gift that few people are born with, that was my thought. You don't expect such conciseness and wisdom from a person who is only 20 years old. I wanted to tell people about him, to point out to everyone the talent that delighted me. The media was my ally. After I had prepared well, I contacted him and he agreed to the interview. About a year passed, and Kosta called me to tell me that his first collection of poetry had been published by the Serbian Literary Cooperative. (https://www.mingl.rs/rubrike/mingl-kutak/2/2020/10/30/mingl-intervju_-poeziju-neces-naci-nigde-ako-je-prvo-ne-nades-u-sebi.html  )
I singled out these few people for whom I am very happy. I am glad that I met them and passed on the story of them and what they do.
Also, once I decided to support a friend who organized an environmental action in his area. The report from that event was also reported by the Danas.rs portal, after which they offered me an internship with them. (https://www.danas.rs/vesti/beograd/mladi-za-tri-sata-ocistili-otpad-koji-se-godinama-talozio-u-visnjickoj-banji-foto/ )
In the student radio show "Slušaonica 6", I hosted experts in the field of psychology, fighters for human and labor rights, artists, people dealing with the fight against corruption...
I recently wrote an extensive article on the impact of air pollution on the health of young people. I learned a lot about the subject and I am grateful to everyone who helped me. When the people who follow the analytics informed me that a total of about 100,000 reactions to that text were recorded, I was happy and it encourages me to try even harder. (https://www.mingl.rs/rubrike/mingl-kutak/2/5053/vazduh-koji-oduzima-dah.html )
That's how I use the media. The media has helped me a lot to spread important messages and interesting stories. I'll keep working on it! Themes are all around us.

Jelena Colović