European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Stevan is a Serbian reporter, specialising in the investigation of organised crime, corruption, privatisation deals and money laundering. He is the Editor-in-Chief of KRIK and the Regional Editor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) for the Balkans, prior to which he was the founding editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia. The author of “Šarić”, a book which dissects the role of the Balkan mafia in international cocaine smuggling, Steven also teaches journalists how to collect and analyse business data and property records. He has received national and international recognition for his journalistic work, most notably as the recipient of the Knight International Journalism Award, the CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism and the Serbian National Award for Investigative Reporting. He was also a member of the award-winning OCCRP investigative team that uncovered links of the former Serbian government to organised crime.

A human rights lawyer from Serbia, Jovana Spremo is a fierce advocate of the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights, whose work focuses on supporting the EU negotiation process. As the Advocacy Director of YUCOM, she leads the development and implementation of advocacy strategies aimed at promoting its research and policy recommendations on the rule of law and human rights. Spremo coordinates the Working Group for Chapter 23 of the National Convention on European Union, which deals with Serbia’s policies related to judiciary and fundamental rights, and monitors access to justice pertaining to the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue.

Natalija Stojmenović is a member of the Serbian Parliament representing the opposition Green-Left Front. She was previously a Belgrade city councillor and coordinator with the Don’t Let Belgrade Drown (Ne Davimo Beograd) movement, which was founded in 2014 to promote citizens’ engagement to promote reform, transparency and environment protection. Stojmenović’s election in 2023 came amid a surge of support for a proEuropean, anti-corruption coalition standing in opposition to the populist government which has ruled Serbia for over a decade. She supports grassroots politics to counter the power of vested interests and has worked in Parliament to promote women’s rights, affordable housing and improved public services.

A Serbian storyteller and entrepreneur, Tijana Tamburic is the Co-Founder of Female Narratives, a London-based but globally affiliated creative agency and collective of freelancers that connects brands to real women with real stories. Tamburic was a model herself, signed to one of the world’s top agencies for nearly a decade, but decided to pursue something new in order to work collaboratively with women, rather than in competition with them. Female Narratives has created campaigns for female-led or ethical companies, such as Bumble, Allbirds, The North Face, Merrell and Kiehl’s, and is now composed of over 100 female and non-binary creators, from models and artists, to wordsmiths and choreographers. Tamburic also hosts The Vulnerability Challenge podcast, in which she sets monthly challenges and brings listeners along her journey of vulnerability. Notably, ‘When My Masculine Met My Feminine’, her TEDx Talk on the perceived boundaries of femininity and masculinity, has over 36,000 views.

Dobrica Veselinovic has been active in the civil sector in Belgrade for the past decade, working for various NGOs and jumpstarting projects related to urban development and education. It is his mission to advocate for public spaces and mobilise citizens to participate in decision-making processes. Dobrica is a co-leader of the citizen movement, ‘Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)own’, an initiative opposing the Belgrade Waterfront redevelopment project with broader aims to encourage sustainable development and give citizens voice to influence their urban environments. He is also the Founder of the collective Ministry of Space, the Institute for Urban Policy and the new political network, Civic Front, a network of grassroots initiatives and organisations from over 10 cities in Serbia.